Update 01/04/21 20:05 – The ESA has denied claims that the event will have features locked behind a paywall. The organisation has also told VGC that there won’t be any events or features locked behind a paywall.
Original Story – E3 2021 is apparently now a digital event according to a new report from VGC. This new report details some of the plans the ESA has for the show, including locking certain events and features behind a paywall.
The event will run for a week from June 13 and will reportedly be rebranded as the “Electronic Entertainment Experience” (rather than “Expo”). Three days of broadcasted content are planned, followed by a consumer experience run through an official E3 app.
The goal of this event within the E3 app is to hold multiple keynote sessions from partners and publishers, broadcast from a stage in Los Angeles, with an awards show, preview night, and scheduling sessions for media and business. On top of that, the ESA wants to partner with Nvidia to power game demos via the GeForce Now platform, making these game demos available to the public or to press and businesses.
The most controversial part of this plan and pitch that VGC has seen is that some of these offerings, such as extra access and game demos could be locked behind a paid access pass. However, this plan for a paid pass isn’t set in stone and one company told VGC that the ESA could be willing to back down from that position.
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Right now these plans aren’t set in stone and still have to be approved by the ESA’s membership, which seems unlikely given that it is made up of game publishers and companies and many are forming their own Summer showcases. Multiple publishers also told VGC that they would reserve the majority of reveals for their own independent shows while offering something to the ESA to show support.
So, what do you think of these plans and would you pay for access to game demos for upcoming games? Or, do you think E3 will just collapse again this year.
E3 2021 is set to begin on June 13, 2021.
Source – [VGC]