Rumor: E3 about to be cancelled, official announcement coming soon (Update: Officially Confirmed)

Winstano · Mar 11, 2020

"They could have waited until April or May" is such a bad take. Cancelling now gives an alternative time to be put together, travel plans to be cancelled with refunds in place etc. Leaving it until the last minute is just not an option.

I really do wonder what happens next year when publishers realise how much cheaper doing their own thing is. Sure, E3 is always about more than just the press conferences, but if they get the demos out to press in other ways & broadcast their own events, surely that's a better option?

ClickyCal' · Mar 11, 2020

HeroR said:
I was talking the US, not international where the new virus clearly affected more people. I thought I made that very clear in my post. Also, my post was more of commentary on how the US news blew up the new virus, while the flu went under the radar to point that the staff at the hospital had to tell people to stay home and all the severe cases they had to deal with. Even the candidates running for president barely mentioned the dangers of the flu season, despite them holding giant rallies with thousands of people where the flu can easily spread.

Also, not sure how my post is ignorant bullshit when it's coming from nurses who had to deal with this kind of thing.

It's affected more people internationally because it's just started spreading mainstream this last week here. Up until 2 weeks ago or so, it was 30ish people, a lot of them being cleared. Keep in mind that unlike almost every other country, the US doesn't have medicare for everyone, and everyone has to go to work.....and we have a president with an iq the same as his age.

spam musubi · Mar 11, 2020

HeroR said:
I was talking the US, not international where the new virus clearly affected more people. I thought I made that very clear in my post. Also, my post was more of commentary on how the US news blew up the new virus, while the flu went under the radar to point that the staff at the hospital had to tell people to stay home and all the severe cases they had to deal with, which could have been avoided with more awareness.. Even the candidates running for president barely mentioned the dangers of the flu season, despite them holding giant rallies with thousands of people where the flu can easily spread.

Also, not sure how my post is ignorant bullshit when it's coming from nurses who had to deal with this kind of thing.

The US is going to be in the same boat in a couple of weeks. This is not a "not US, not my problem" situation.

As for the flu, there's a reason the flu flies under the radar compared to this disease. And individual nurses can be misinformed about the large scale public health impact of a new, unknown virus. You should instead listen to the opinions of expert epidemiologists/virologists and public health specialists.

Cancel Everything

Social distancing is the only way to stop the coronavirus. We must start immediately.

www.theatlantic.com

Covid-19 outbreak: what do health experts mean by 'flattening the curve'?

Public health measures can slow the spread of coronavirus to keep the number infected at any one time at a manageable level

www.theguardian.com

(note that Japan seems to have an underreporting problem)

Kyra · Mar 11, 2020

Oh shit, now all of the publishers will have their own "When is the Direct?" threads.

Tovarisc · Mar 11, 2020

Electronic Entertainment Expo going finally fully electronic as everyone streams their reveals from home offices?

Mbolibombo · Mar 11, 2020

Correct thing to do. Yeah it's time for drastic measure. Sad but true, not only E3 needs to be put on hold.

Sporting events, political rallies, music concerts and other events that atracts lots of people.
Working from home should be the standard IF possible, and so on. But sadly, I think the US is in a much worse place to handle this situation when it arrives as US doesnt have paid sick leave for the most part and that's a real concern. People need money. And with a President that doesnt realize this is a problem.. it's gonna happen and in a big fashion.

Scherzo · Mar 11, 2020

yuoke said:
Outside of the handful of comments that actually were insulting other people and stuff, I don't think we need to play the hindsight game. Most people didn't think it would get this far, which seemed reasonable 3/4 weeks ago.

Uh, I remember a LOT of whining about companies pulling out of PAX and GDC; and there were plenty of experts warning about the risk of an international pandemic in early February. I feel like people were being extremely myopic and not recognize the severity of this issue.

Anyways, I agree that three months space is great for companies, it now let's them plan contingencies and get their plans in order. Frankly with how the supply chain has been fucked up and given how much economic dampening the virus has caused, I wouldn't be surprised if the XSX/PS5 get delayed to Q2 2021.

EarlGreyHot · Mar 11, 2020

Kyra said:
Oh shit, now all of the publishers will have their own "When is the Direct?" threads.

... My god

Frozenprince · Mar 11, 2020

While probably sensible, the death of E3 is going to do a lot of financial damage to video game media outlets who rely on it as a mid-year financial bump.

LilScooby77 · Mar 11, 2020

Let us just test those demos from home plox.

Mutedpenguin · Mar 11, 2020

Hopefully Nintendo will still do a Treehouse live stream...even if it's just a few people at NOA headquarters doing it.

ClickyCal' · Mar 11, 2020

Kyra said:
Oh shit, now all of the publishers will have their own "When is the Direct?" threads.

Nintendo fans:

ClickyCal' · Mar 11, 2020

Mutedpenguin said:
Hopefully Nintendo will still do a Treehouse live stream...even if it'just a few people at NOA headquarters doing it.

It'll just be Bill. He will run back and forth throughout different rooms switching his clothes and stuff.

Temp_User · Mar 11, 2020

Yep. Cancelling E3 is the correct decision. Cant help but feel that Sony right now be like:

Plasma · Mar 11, 2020

I'd imagine for most people who don't attend it probably won't be that much different from usual watching the conferences online.

The Praiseworthy · Mar 11, 2020

No E3..... this is so depressing and sad.

Fuck Corona Virus.

ClickyCal' · Mar 11, 2020

Temp_User said:
Yep. Cancelling E3 is the correct decision. Cant help but feel that Sony right now be like:

HeroR · Mar 11, 2020

spam musubi said:
The US is going to be in the same boat in a couple of weeks. This is not a "not US, not my problem" situation.

As for the flu, there's a reason the flu flies under the radar compared to this disease. And individual nurses can be misinformed about the large scale public health impact of a new, unknown virus. You should instead listen to the opinions of expert epidemiologists/virologists and public health specialists.

Cancel Everything

Social distancing is the only way to stop the coronavirus. We must start immediately.

www.theatlantic.com

Covid-19 outbreak: what do health experts mean by 'flattening the curve'?

Public health measures can slow the spread of coronavirus to keep the number infected at any one time at a manageable level

www.theguardian.com

(note that Japan seems to have an underreporting problem)

Jesus, did you really get that from my post? My point was that the nurses were annoyed that while the new virus gets a lot coverage to the point of people staying home, the flu was also extremely severe this year and many deaths could have been avoided if people stood home if they were ill. But they didn't because many people were ignorance of how severe the flu season was this year because it was barely covered and came to work while clearly being sick to the point that they had to tell their own staff not to come to work if they felt ill.

While this new virus is more dangerous, the flu shouldn't' have gone under radar, especially during an election year where people by thousands went to giant rallies. Which was a giant failure on the US news media.

Iucidium · Mar 11, 2020

9-Volt said:
We'll probably still get Nintendo E3 Direct but we're definitely losing Treehouse segment.

Nintendo go ahead the curve and release playable demos?

Alex840 · Mar 11, 2020

ZeoVGM said:
It will be back next year.

Doubtful. So many publishers are going to realise they don't lose anything by just having an online stream instead. E3 is so expensive to attend for companies and is a massive hassle in so many respects.

Begun, the Direct wars have.

ClickyCal' · Mar 11, 2020

HeroR said:
Jesus, did you really get that from my post? My point was that the nurses were annoyed that while the new virus gets a lot coverage to the point of people staying home, the flu was also extremely severe this year and many deaths could have been avoided if people stood home if they were ill. But they didn't because many people were ignorance of how severe the flu season was this year because it was barely covered and came to work while clearly being sick to the point that they had to tell their own staff not to come to work if they felt ill.

While this new virus is more dangerous, the flu shouldn't' have gone under radar, especially during an election year where people by thousands went to giant rallies. Which was a giant failure on the US news media.

It was absolutely covered by the media, a lot. I remember back even around thanksgiving seeing stuff and talking about the flu being more rough this season. Nothing you can do to stop people.

spad3 · Mar 11, 2020

This makes me worried about comic con. Hopefully that's far enough to avoid all this hullabaloo

HeroR · Mar 11, 2020

yuoke said:
It was absolutely covered by the media, a lot. I remember back even around thanksgiving seeing stuff and talking about the flu being more rough this season. Nothing you can do to stop people.

It wasn't really coverage by the media outside of 30 seconds new blips and some articles that popped on your smartphone. Compared that not only the giant new cycle for this new virus on giant news sites like CNN and MSNBC, but also daylight talk shows talking about it.

It wasn't just people being dumb about the flu. It was also ill-information about just how bad the flu season was because we had 'rough' seasons before, but this was one of the worst we had.

Aztorian · Mar 11, 2020

E3 Direct.

RestEerie · Mar 11, 2020

HeroR said:
I was talking the US, not international where the new virus clearly affected more people. I thought I made that very clear in my post. Also, my post was more of commentary on how the US news blew up the new virus, while the flu went under the radar to point that the staff at the hospital had to tell people to stay home and all the severe cases they had to deal with, which could have been avoided with more awareness. Even the candidates running for president barely mentioned the dangers of the flu season, despite them holding giant rallies with thousands of people where the flu can easily spread.

Also, not sure how my post is ignorant bullshit when it's coming from nurses who had to deal with this kind of thing.

not another 'what about the flu though' comments....

at this point, anyone comparing COVID-19 with the common flu is indulging in their own ignorance and bordering on spreading logical fallacy.

PlzUninstall · Mar 11, 2020

This is probably the most sensible thing the ESA has done in years. Luckily for me I never had plans to go but I hope people can make alternative arrangements and get money back for hotels/flights/expenses.

Maximo · Mar 11, 2020

Microsoft's clapback to Sony about not attending E3 is mildly funny now.

DixieDean82 · Mar 11, 2020

Phil Spencer needs to do a GiantBomb interview this year.

HeroR · Mar 11, 2020

RestEerie said:
not another 'what about the flu though' comments....

at this point, anyone comparing COVID-19 with the common flu is indulging in their own ignorance and bordering on spreading logical fallacy.

The nurses were not comparing the COVID-19 in that way. They were mostly talking about how flu went under the radar because 'it's the common flu' and people came to work clearly sick which infected other people and people being generally ignorance about how bad the flu season was.

In other words, if the new sites were even half as aggressive about the flu season as they are over the COVID-19, a lot of people getting needlessly sick could have been avoided.

Deleted member 5028 · Mar 11, 2020

Maximo said:
Microsoft's clapback to Sony about not attending E3 is mildly funny now.

No, not really. This shit is serious and nobody foresaw this being such a massive worldwide problem.

Monkey D. · Mar 11, 2020

Sanka said:
Gamescom is threatened too if the situation goes out of hand in germany.

Every event over 1000 people is banned so no way Gamescom will start if we don't fix this problem by then.

Today will be the first time in the history of Germany a Bundesliga soccer game is played without a crowd . Gladbach vs. Cologne making history today

Jack-O-Lantern · Mar 11, 2020

Seing some fanboys turning this cancelation on some console warring Xbox vs Sony, is just.... sad. This epidemic situation is serious.

Jamie OD · Mar 11, 2020

ClickyCal' · Mar 11, 2020

HeroR said:
The nurses were not comparing the COVID-19 in that way. They were mostly talking about how flu went under the radar because 'it's the common flu' and people came to work clearly sick which infected other people and people being generally ignorance about how bad the flu season was.

In other words, if the new sites were even half as aggressive about the flu season as they are over the COVID-19, a lot of people getting needlessly sick could have been avoided.

People are going to work even with COVID, so that wouldn't change either way because most don't have an option.

Bonejack · Mar 11, 2020

Well, i'm going to miss Treehouse Live. But health > everything else, so go ahead and do what's best in this case.

HeroR · Mar 11, 2020

yuoke said:
People are going to work even with COVID, so that wouldn't change either way because most don't have an option.

People are also staying home because of COVID to the point that business actually went down in my area because people are afraid to go out. That and buying all the toilet paper. So it isn't true that 'wouldn't change either way'. The schools in my area are also on high alert that any case of COVID will shut down the school for over a month.

THEVOID · Mar 11, 2020

Hopefully Phil still does GB interview?! That was the best part of E3.

ClickyCal' · Mar 11, 2020

HeroR said:
People are also staying home because of COVID to the point that business actually went down in my area because people are afraid to go out. That and buying all the toilet paper. So it isn't true that 'wouldn't change either way'. The schools in my area are also on high alert that any case of COVID will shut down the school for over a month.

Yea...and those things wouldn't happen from even a stronger flu, for some legit reasons.

tzare · Mar 11, 2020

Wow, overreaction? Gaming is cancelled and no games to show by any publisher?

/s

Seriously, good decision, a pity so many events cancelled but better safe, and hopefully everything will recover in a not very distant future.

Ojli · Mar 11, 2020

This is a bummer for a lot of smaller developers and media outlets that are sometimes more dependent on these types of events.

ivan.k · Mar 11, 2020

Now Microsoft and 3d party publisher won't wait to announce their new games. Tired of this useless "event". If you have something to announce then do it, instead of making the show out of an announcement on the specific date once a year.

Selphie · Mar 11, 2020

Would be the best decision. gotta keep everyone safe.
Shouldn't matter to much for the people who want reveals and previews, companies need to show off their products anyway, they will find a way to do it outside of E3 at around the same time of year.

Theorry · Mar 11, 2020

Sucks. Even more with new consoles coming.
Maybe MS still does a show. They probably have reserved the MS theatre already. They can maybe do a show in a smaller scale with less crowd.
Would suck if we get something like a Direct for this.

Bonejack · Mar 11, 2020

ivan.k said:
Now Microsoft and 3d party publisher won't wait to announce their new games. Tired of this useless "event". If you have something to announce then do it, instead of making the show out of announcement.

I'd guess MS just makes a longer ... what's their Direct-like thing called? Inside Xbox? Anyway, they're probably going to make a longer of those presentations to air around the usual E³ time.

ClickyCal' · Mar 11, 2020

Theorry said:
Sucks. Even more with new consoles coming.
Maybe MS still does a show. They probably have reserved the MS theatre already. They can maybe do a show in a smaller scale with less crowd.
Would suck if we get something like a Direct for this.

Even nintendo that pioneered the direct, had an event for their new system. Obviously not during something like this, but sony and microsoft still could at some point.

HeroR · Mar 11, 2020

yuoke said:
Yea...and those things wouldn't happen from even a stronger flu, for some legit reasons.

The school one was the most extreme example, and that wasn't even my point. You said:

yuoke said:
People are going to work even with COVID, so that wouldn't change either way because most don't have an option.

So the whole 'it wouldn't make different' isn't true.

Windu · Mar 11, 2020

A MS video with no idiots yelling in the crowd will certainly be nice.

Skyfireblaze · Mar 11, 2020

This is sad to hear but a very good and sensible decision.

Scherzo said:
Uh, I remember a LOT of whining about companies pulling out of PAX and GDC; and there were plenty of experts warning about the risk of an international pandemic in early February. I feel like people were being extremely myopic and not recognize the severity of this issue.

Anyways, I agree that three months space is great for companies, it now let's them plan contingencies and get their plans in order. Frankly with how the supply chain has been fucked up and given how much economic dampening the virus has caused, I wouldn't be surprised if the XSX/PS5 get delayed to Q2 2021.

Honestly I have the opinion that if the entire world would have done a controlled, public-life shutdown along with a private and business travel ban from people leaving China for the entirety of February we wouldn't be in the bad situation we are now. Yes the economy would have taken a hit too but atleast it would have been somewhat predictable instead of the uncertainty we have now.

Kolibri · Mar 11, 2020

Yeah, this seemed inevitable didn't it.

ClickyCal' · Mar 11, 2020

HeroR said:
The school one was the most extreme example, and that wasn't even my point. You said:

So the whole 'it wouldn't make different' isn't true.

People still wouldn't be panicking even if the news every single day for 10 minutes said the flu is strong this season, etc etc etc. People would still be going to work.

Rumor: E3 about to be cancelled, official announcement coming soon (Update: Officially Confirmed)

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