• Light/Dark

[SuperData] AAA publishers are doing just fine without E3. Sony and Ubisoft had a higher audience than in previous conferences.

Era of not Yakuza

Era of not Yakuza

Banned
Dec 4, 2017
11,483
Brazil
The reception to the June 11 PlayStation 5 reveal demonstrated that Sony is one of the companies that is fine skipping E3. Plenty of people were eager to hear more about the successor to one of the most popular consoles of all time, and the event had the highest average minute audience (AMA) of recent similar gaming events like the Game Awards or the Xbox E3 2019 briefing.

Ubisoft showed AAA publishers can generate interest in standalone events even without something as significant as a console reveal. The Ubisoft Forward 2020 stream on July 12 had higher viewership than the company's E3 2019 broadcast, as gamers tuned in to see the Far Cry 6 trailer, which was teased after a prior leak. Viewership wasn't just due to organic interest, though. The publisher announced watchers would be rewarded with a free PC copy of Watch Dogs 2, and demand for the title caused the company's servers to be overwhelmed. It should also be noted that the company's misconduct controversy did not seem to impact viewership or interest in the Ubisoft game lineup in the short term.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
More at the link

www.superdataresearch.com

AAA publishers are doing just fine without E3 — SuperData, a Nielsen Company

It looks like the biggest publishers will be absolutely fine without big conferences like E3, but indie and mid-size developers may fall behind during this new normal.
www.superdataresearch.com www.superdataresearch.com

baU10Nw.png
xDIG6jz.png
 
Patitoloco

Patitoloco

Member
Oct 27, 2017
25,207
It helps that people are at home without doing nothing, and that the showings were at normal hours for Europe people (unlike the usual 3am time of Sony here)
 
Lelouch0612

Lelouch0612

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,200
I find the analysis flawed since last year didn't have COVID and lockdowns to push everyone home.
 
Transistor

Transistor

1+1+2+1
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
38,980
Washington, D.C.
Yeah, this is not a reliable statistic thanks for the pandemic. that being said, I do feel E3 is completely unnecessary now. It's a relic from the days when people got their information from a couple of news outlets or magazines. Now developers and publishers can just stream their own stuff
 
Temascos

Temascos

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,133
When the pandemic is over I imagine numbers next year will be lower but E3 as an event is becoming obsolete. While I imagine live events will come back in a big way, it won't all be in one single week, which is a shame but in terms of preparation and getting eyeballs on what you are doing it makes sense.
 
Le Dude

Le Dude

Member
May 16, 2018
4,709
USA
Lelouch0612 said:
I find the analysis flawed since last year didn't have COVID and lockdowns to push everyone home.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Plus Sony didn't have an E3 last year and the year before sucked . . . And this year is a next-gen reveal.

It'd be really tough to find a worthwhile metric to compare.

EDIT: Though I don't mean to sound too negative. I'm glad it's been working out for all companies, the comparison just seems worthless. We know gaming in general has seen a massive uptick due to COVID. The increased interest coupled with a lot more people who are free from work to watch should be more than enough to expect an increase.
 

Deleted member 10737

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
49,774
something similar was posted on gamesindustry.biz yesterday
www.gamesindustry.biz

We don't need E3 anymore

The question of how much "we" as in industry need E3 has been a hot talking point for years now with cases to be made f…
www.gamesindustry.biz www.gamesindustry.biz

basically, says revealing games without E3 has not hurt their metrics on youtube/twitter/etc whatsoever.
 
cw_sasuke

cw_sasuke

Member
Oct 27, 2017
27,684
I mean it's a console launch year and they revealed the LS5t on said stream.

Only relevant comparison would be e3 2013 but even that is flawed since streaming is much bigger nowadays than in 2013.

Buy obv. none of the big player need a convention like the e3 to get their message across - Nintendo proved that years ago.
 
Patapuf

Patapuf

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,926
The fact that the hours were much better for european audiences is surely a factor too. Much easier to watch a conferenc in the evening instead of 2 AM.
 
Galkinator

Galkinator

Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,418
I wouldn't mind this becoming the new norm. Wasting millions on producing these events is kind of pointless, all we want to see are good games.
 
ghostcrew

ghostcrew

The Shrouded Ghost
Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
31,043
Gonna say that any kind of analysis and comparison of 2020 and any other year is pointless.

As usual, Superdata is meh.
 
Konosuke

Konosuke

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,578
What a dumb comparison. We're riding on nextgen hype, this has nothing to do with the covid format.
 
Carmelozi

Carmelozi

Banned
Nov 6, 2017
2,158
For AAA maybe, but for indies I don't think has helped. I know big events like E3, Gamescom or TGS can help them to make deals with publishers and it's better to do in person rather than doing online meeting on Zoom.
 
Xando

Xando

Member
Oct 28, 2017
31,470
Considering it's most likely cheaper aswell i don't see why the big guys will go back to the old format of having 1-2 events per year rather than a small event every other month.
 
Everyone's talkin' 'bout Bugsnax
  • Index
    • OP
    OP
    Era of not Yakuza

    Era of not Yakuza

    Banned
    Dec 4, 2017
    11,483
    Brazil
    Cactuar said:
    No shit, Sony had Bugsnax.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Until big in-person gaming events return, the most successful small developers will be those who can form partnerships with platform holders and top publishers. This allows them to get their games in front of consumers when they are keeping an eye out for the biggest announcements. For example, the indie game Bugsnax from Young Horses generated buzz after its trailer debuted during the PlayStation 5 reveal. For companies that aren't AAA publishers or associated with one, the current environment will limit their exposure to potential players and has shown just how valuable these gatherings can be.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
     
  • Index
    • AllEchse

    AllEchse

    Member
    Oct 29, 2017
    4,162
    Maybe they are doing fine from a viewship standpoint now, but they can't keep it up if these digital events stay as underwhelming as they have been for most companies contentwise.
    It'll probably improve when the pandemic isn't as much of a factor anymore but still, recpetion has been bad for many of them, even if lots of people tuned in.
     
    TheDarkKnight

    TheDarkKnight

    Member
    Oct 25, 2017
    8,141
    I'd be curious to see the comparable deltas between a next gen year and the one before it.

    Just to minimize some of the many variables for 2020
     
    JorRaptor

    JorRaptor

    Member
    Feb 19, 2018
    120
    I think the point more is that with spending way less money, these companies are still doing fine & even reaching more people. Like why go back to spending way more money?
     
    Tiago Rodrigues

    Tiago Rodrigues

    Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
    Banned
    Nov 15, 2018
    5,244
    E3 is obsolete in 2020...we knew that already honestly. Those conferences are good for hype in places like ERA but in the end it doesn't make games or consoles sell more.
    It also means now you can spread out announcements in a way you didn't before. Games don't have to outshine each other. And you can cut a lot of costs as well.

    Sony already missed last year and after 2020, they won't be back. They might still do one or 2 conferences a year but those days they'd do E3, TGS, GAMESCOM, Playstation Experience, etc are over.
     

    Deleted member 4976

    Banned
    Oct 25, 2017
    13,246
    Sony was pretty much done with E3 anyways so the PS5 reveal being something like 10m viewers across the board was just the cherry on top.
     
    formasymphonic

    formasymphonic

    Member
    Oct 27, 2017
    4,795
    They don't need E3 at all — but I sure as hell miss everything being all together in one week instead of this dripfeed process we have now.
     
    Plinkerton

    Plinkerton

    Member
    Nov 4, 2017
    6,552
    The conclusion is probably right, but it seems unfair to me to compare this year to 2019. This is a new console launch year so of course there's going to be higher interest... how does this year compare to 2013 for example?

    Also yeah we're all stuck inside at the moment with nothing else to do so what else are we supposed to be doing with our time?
     
    pswii60

    pswii60

    Member
    Oct 27, 2017
    27,854
    The Milky Way
    Transistor said:
    Yeah, this is not a reliable statistic thanks for the pandemic. that being said, I do feel E3 is completely unnecessary now. It's a relic from the days when people got their information from a couple of news outlets or magazines. Now developers and publishers can just stream their own stuff
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    E3 is as much about networking as it is about the conferences, if not moreso.
     
    Cactuar

    Cactuar

    Banned
    Nov 30, 2018
    5,878
    I'm seeing a lot of, "Well of course Sony's numbers were higher than their previous year, COVID is a thing in 2020" or something to that effect. If COVID is some magic thing we can blame Sony's higher numbers on, was Microsoft's showcase higher than their E3 last year?

    This article seems to pit Sony's 2020 numbers against everyone's 2019 numbers. They should have waited until after the Microsoft's showcase to collect their data, and see if Microsoft bettered their last E3 in the same way that Sony's bettered theirs.

    Does anyone have that data?

    If everything is high due only to COVID, everybody's numbers should be higher across the board and not just select companies. Otherwise, there are other factors in play.
     

    dep9000

    Banned
    Mar 31, 2020
    5,401
    we need e3 back. These presentations have been mediocre at best and horrible at worst. Increased viewership means little when there's a pandemic going on. Hopefully e3 is back next year, but that is unlikely. Definitely 2022!
     
    BreakAtmo

    BreakAtmo

    Member
    Nov 12, 2017
    13,885
    Australia
    Transistor said:
    Yeah, this is not a reliable statistic thanks for the pandemic. that being said, I do feel E3 is completely unnecessary now. It's a relic from the days when people got their information from a couple of news outlets or magazines. Now developers and publishers can just stream their own stuff
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    In fairness I have heard E3 can be very important for industry meetups and pitches and the like. Supposedly a bunch of small devs have gotten their big break by meeting big execs at E3 and getting them interested in what they were making (often over copious... libations).
     
    Transistor

    Transistor

    1+1+2+1
    Administrator
    Oct 25, 2017
    38,980
    Washington, D.C.
    BreakAtmo said:
    In fairness I have heard E3 can be very important for industry meetups and pitches and the like. Supposedly a bunch of small devs have gotten their big break by meeting big execs at E3 and getting them interested in what they were making (often over copious... libations).
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Oh, I agree completely. In my followup post I mentioned that they should just go back to the E3's of old and make it an event for press and developers. The millions spent on conferences for the public are just a waste when they can upload trailers online and get just as positive public feedback.
     
    ghostcrew

    ghostcrew

    The Shrouded Ghost
    Administrator
    Oct 27, 2017
    31,043
    Xando said:
    They can still send people to E3 while avoiding to spend millions
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    The thing is, even if the numbers of people watching are really good, people don't seem to actually be enjoying this new format? We had a poll here and a whopping 70% of people said that they were missing the traditional E3 format.

    www.resetera.com

    [POLL] Who misses E3 this year?

    Basically as the title says, do you miss E3 and why? I do miss having a specific moment where everything gaming comes together. I miss the pre-E3 Leaks weeks, the days of press conferences from major platforms/developers, followed up by deep dives with developers and hands-on impressions...
    www.resetera.com www.resetera.com

    Having a centralised, neutral source that pulls everyone together for a week/a couple of weeks is probably a positive overall. The general consensus was that this disparate, smaller online events are just awkward to keep up with and a lot of people thought that stuff was getting lost in the shuffle.

    Like, it's cool that a lot of people watched these shows while stuck at home and when they were announcing new consoles in 2020. But is the excitement gonna last for following years if even in a console launch year, people are complaining about the format? If pubs think that a big stage show at a globally recognised event in June like E3 is gonna get them better results you can be sure they'll be happy to spend that money come next year.
     
    Yasuke

    Yasuke

    Member
    Oct 25, 2017
    19,867
    Covid or no covid, you're kidding yourself if you don't think E3 as we knew it is over.
     
    Xando

    Xando

    Member
    Oct 28, 2017
    31,470
    ghostcrew said:
    The thing is, even if the numbers of people watching are really good, people don't seem to actually be enjoying this new format? We had a poll here and a whopping 70% of people said that they were missing the traditional E3 format.

    www.resetera.com

    [POLL] Who misses E3 this year?

    Basically as the title says, do you miss E3 and why? I do miss having a specific moment where everything gaming comes together. I miss the pre-E3 Leaks weeks, the days of press conferences from major platforms/developers, followed up by deep dives with developers and hands-on impressions...
    www.resetera.com www.resetera.com

    Having a centralised, neutral source that pulls everyone together for a week/a couple of weeks is probably a positive overall. The general consensus was that this disparate, smaller online events are just awkward to keep up with and a lot of people thought that stuff was getting lost in the shuffle.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    No offense but i wouldn't take ERAs opinion as representative for the main stream audience
     
    Linus815

    Linus815

    Member
    Oct 29, 2017
    21,642
    a console reveal having bigger viewership than a regular e3 isnt exactly a surprise. there is no way to compare to anything because we didnt have a console reveal yet in such a stream focused time.
     
    fourfourfun

    fourfourfun

    Member
    Oct 27, 2017
    8,359
    England
    I think the industry would prefer to have more chance for software highlights than suffer the risk of being lost in the E3 rush. While most people are not used to it, following Nintendo over the years gets you accustomed to not waiting 11.5 months between information dumps.

    People love the seratonin rush of game announcements one after another. No need for the model to continue to be like that.

    I remember watching the GameTrailers E3 where they announced FF7r. The showcase after that point got totally lost. No wonder Devolver went it alone.
     
    You must log in or register to reply here.