Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has commented on the downfall of E3, claiming that the show didn’t know what it wanted to be and couldn’t seem to navigate the transition from trade show to consumer show. Shawn Layden appeared at E3 regularly during his time with PlayStation, giving presentations and meeting with people from all around the world.
E3 is short for Electronic Entertainment Expo, an annual event that played a crucial role in the gaming industry for decades. The event took place in Los Angeles, California from 1995 through 2019. E3 had one last hurrah in 2021, but the once-annual show has not resurfaced since then. At one point, E3 was a highly regarded event. Many gamers would eagerly await the show, as developers often created impressive E3 presentations designed to dominate headlines for days. While plenty of developers still prepare exciting trailers for shows like Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards, many fans feel that no single event has brought the entire industry together quite like E3.
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Shawn Layden Breaks Down E3’s Function and Failure
In a recent appearance on Game Rant’s Character Select, Shawn Layden talked about his experiences with E3. When asked about the downfall of E3, Layden simply said, “it didn’t know what it wanted to be.” He explained that, in 1995, E3 had been a trade show. As a trade show, its main function was to bring companies and retailers together. As he explained, someone from a retailer would walk the floor of the trade show looking for products they might be interested in carrying at their store. As such, a developer would show off what they’d been working on and try to sell the retailer on why they should carry the game. He also discussed the importance of the press at E3, as gaming magazines were still a popular way for gamers to connect with the hobby. Impressing a journalist could lead to landing the September cover of a major magazine, which would be beneficial for anyone marketing their game or product. Layden expressed that all of this was standard business, but things began to shift in the early 2000s.
The rise of the internet meant that media surrounding video games had become much more prevalent, which meant that a lot of information would be leaked ahead of the show. Retailers had also become much more knowledgeable about games and didn’t need as much guidance when choosing which ones to buy. Layden also went on to explain that, from a retail perspective, E3 taking place in June didn’t really work. According to Layden, June was too late for retailers looking to stock their shelves with promising products in time for the Christmas rush. Those kinds of deals often take place near the beginning of the year, in January or February. Instead, the expo almost acted like a progress report for products the retailers had already committed to carrying. According to Layden, this was the moment where E3 had sort of “lost its purpose” as a trade show.
While he said that the people behind E3 had tried to build in consumer elements, trade shows and consumer shows are fundamentally different. He offered the popular Tokyo Game Show as an example of a successful consumer show, which allows gamers to experience a wide variety of titles with ease. In contrast, Layden stated that trade show booths are meant to be “traps,” because companies want to keep the attention of those coming to the booth for as long as possible. After all, moving on to another booth likely means giving attention to the competition. Unfortunately, E3 never quite adapted or fully committed to becoming a consumer show, which likely contributed to its demise. While E3 may be gone, plenty of other events have sprung up to fill the void. For instance, fans looking for fresh announcements can always tune into Summer Game Fest, which offers a fresh look at upcoming titles.
