Two more major publishers have pulled their booth presence from E3 this year.
Disney Interactive and Wargaming today confirmed they will not have booths at the Los Angeles Convention Centre, joining Activision and EA who’ve already confirmed the same.
“We have a record number of press briefings this year in the ramp to opening the show,” the Entertainment Software Association’s (ESA) Rich Taylor said in reply to the news.
The ESA is a major trade group and organiser of E3.
“That’s an indicator that folks recognize how valuable a launch pad” E3 is, he added.
Wargaming issued a statement as to why it will not have a booth this year.
“From a company perspective, we’re focusing a large majority of activities on events focused on our players and community. Whether it’s a small group of players or hundreds at one of our player gatherings, they’re our main priority,” Wargaming said. “From a strictly business perspective, E3 just doesn’t fit our current direction. It’s a show that is very centralized on retail product, and as a free-to-play digital download gaming company, we’ve realized that while the show may be a good fit for lots of other publishers and developers, it’s currently not a great fit for us. And, of course, we appreciate all that the ESA does in their legislative efforts and their work to raise and discuss issues surrounding video gaming as an industry, hobby and way of life.”
Disney VP of Production, John Vignocchi, took to Twitter to affirm his company’s stance on E3.
Hey guys re: E3 – We’re focused on different activations throughout the year that allow us to engage directly with our fans and community.
— John Vignocchi (@JohnVignocchi) March 4, 2016
EA is opting out of E3 to focus on more community-minded events, while Activision said it will show off wares as part of Sony’s E3 booth.
Do you think this is the beginning of the end for the gaming expo?
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