EA Just Canceled Its Biggest Event
On top of the announcement that E3 would be canceling their live event, EA has also followed suit and announced the cancelation of their biggest event.
With the uncertainty of the pandemic still looming within the United States, summer gaming events have long been in peril. E3, which is a live gaming conference that has the smallest and biggest game studios showcasing their upcoming titles to investors and fans, was the first to announce that they would not be allowing an in-person event. With so many studios opting to showcase their titles through small events via YouTube, like the Sony State of Play, the streaming event for E3 might also be canceled as a result of this. EA aka Electronic Arts has and will always remain an integral part of the E3 showcase, with them turning their live event into the aptly named, “EA Play.” Now the gaming studio has also announced the cancelation of their live event.
This cancelation is sure to be a letdown for a great many gamers, as EA Play was usually the point where fans attending E3 would be allowed to test or demo the studio’s upcoming titles. This is especially disappointing considering one of their biggest talked about titles is the Dead Space remake, which is set to drop in early 2023. Fans are begging to get their hands on the space horror reimagining. On top of that, there are promises of brand-new Star Wars games being developed as well, which could have been the ones on which fans would have been able to play first. Sadly, that is not going to be the case any longer. According to EA via a statement given to IGN, “We love EA Play Live as it’s our way of connecting with our players and sharing what’s new with all of you. However, this year things aren’t lining up to show you everything on one date.” As previously mentioned, it seems that studios are more in tune with introducing new games via small video showcases. Quite honestly, it has worked well.
The ongoing health concerns due to the continual pandemic might push studios to remain showcasing games via digital mediums from this point on. Regardless of if people are allowed to see these game announcements in person, they will still flock to purchase anticipated titles. Take Elden Ring, for example, the game is currently smashing all kinds of records. Word of mouth and a strong advertising campaign can make anything successful without having to lean on live demos. While E3 and EA Play were incredibly fun due to being able to try out new games, studios could go the route of releasing their demos online via beta trials or some such thing. That is generally a great idea that works well too.
While fans might have to wait a bit longer for more gameplay for the upcoming EA titles, it seems that they are also planning to update everyone in the coming months with smaller showcases. EA Play might return sometime in the future, but it appears as if it’s just another hit to live events due to the safety and health of the public. Studios will need to find a way to continually bring in content that will help be the placeholder for the missed live events. Smaller showcases and demos that follow said showcases might just have to be the wave of the future.
