The Game Awards announced their list of nominees recently. While I’m generally excited for this and Summer Game Fest each year, I can’t help but feel like it’s due to what we lost with the end of E3.
There are times where The Game Awards feels hollow, less a celebration of gaming and more checking a box off. I do believe that the gaming industry deserves its own awards ceremony. But ideally one that evokes the sense of community that E3 did.
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ARE THE GAME AWARDS FOR US?
A lot was made of Geoff Keighley leaving to start Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards. He had a vision, and he has executed it well. And he’s not responsible for the death of E3. The Big 3 all deciding over time to do their own digital showcases (and COVID) contributed to it as well.
The problem is, there was nothing like E3. It was the Gamer Super Bowl. Even watching from home, it was incredible. The presentations, the coverage, seeing people interact, all of it was everything I believed gaming to be growing up.
So losing E3 hurt in a lot of ways. Because even if it wasn’t what I thought, it at least made the effort to appear that way. The Game Awards and Summer Game Fest feel clean and corporate. It doesn’t come off like a gathering of gamers celebrating the thing they love.
THERE’S ROOM FOR BOTH
I think the existence of E3 would enhance the prestige of The Game Awards. An industry wide convention mid-year and an end of year awards ceremony is the way to go. We had it for a brief moment, but towards the end of the E3 run when it was basically on the way out.
I know we likely won’t get it back. The Big 3 are entrenched in their decision to run their individual digital events. And without them, it’s hard to get anyone else to buy into putting it together. And both Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards have been very successful.
I do like both events, and I commend Geoff for finding a way to make it all happen and present the gaming industry in the light that he has. I just wish we didn’t have to lose what E3 represented in the process. It meant something to a lot of people.
