This morning’s confirmation thatE3 2020has been canceled due to concerns regarding the novel coronavirus is slowly garnering reactions across the industry. Several publishers, including Microsoft andUbisoft, have announced plans to go forward with a transition to online presentations instead. Other companies have simply acknowledged the reality of the situation and have yet to announce their future plans. Nintendo has now joined the latter group.
Nintendo has issued an official response to the ESA’s decision to cancel plans forE3 2020, offering a message of support and understanding, first and foremost. “Nintendo supports the ESA’s decision to cancel this year’s E3 to help protect the health and safety of everyone in our industry – our fans, our employees, our exhibitors, and our longtime E3 partners,” is the heart of Nintendo’s message.
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Nintendo continued, noting that it’s concerned for and supportive of “all those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak during this challenging time.” Japan, whereNintendois based, is a region that’s significantly affected by the coronavirus, with significantly less testing than other regions.
Because of the scale of the coronavirus outbreak, Nintendo is acknowledging the realities of the situation. E3 2020 is justthe latest gaming event to be canceled. “Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, large industry events may be untenable for the foreseeable future.”
Nintendo isn’t going to settle for no communication with its fans, however. While Nintendo isn’t announcing any specific plans going forward, it does tell fans to keep listening. “We’ll continue to be flexible and redirect our efforts to other ways of keeping our fans up to date about our activities and products,” is Nintendo’s subtle hint thatE3’s cancelationisn’t a worst-case scenario. “We are considering various ways to engage with our fans and will have more to share ass the year continues,” likely implies that there are more Nintendo Directs on the way.
By all accounts, while E3 2020 the convention is canceled, E3 2020 the idea will live on in some form or another. It remains to be seen whether the ESA will put together some type of online-only event for publishers and developers to replace the convention. Even if it isn’t able to, however, publishers and developers seem intent on doing the groundwork themselves. It may not end up being as organized or as impactful as a single event likeE3 and its keynoteswere, but the important announcements will still be shared.
In the meantime, as Nintendo says, everyone’s health and safety remain the priority.E3will be back as soon as it’s able.
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