For game journalists, the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) was the “Mecca” that gathered the big-wigs of the gaming industry. I never did score a trip to the show, and I guess I never would. This year’s edition was cancelled. It had been coming — the show had been declining over the years, and COVID didn’t help.
What replaced E3 is a plethora of online showcases from publishers and developers. There’s the Summer Game Fest from Geoff Keighley (Game Awards). Sony and Microsoft also hosted their own shows. The latter, especially, needs a boost with its Xbox console lagging behind Sony’s PlayStation 5 in sales. The new Starfield gameplay certainly looks promising, while the upcoming open-world Star Wars Outlaws game (trailer) seems to be more like Andor (with no lightsaber in sight) rather than another Jedi vs Sith struggle.
Gamers will get more out of these online showcases compared with the traditional E3 format. Most folks won’t be …
