ESA boss admits publishers didn't need E3 to reach consumers

pcgamesinsider.biz:

The CEO of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) Stanley Pierre-Louis, has said that the industry didn't need E3 to reach their audiences.

In an interview with GamesBeat, the exec said that games companies now have a large and growing number of ways to reach consumers meaning the need for a large event like the LA trade show was less of a necessity than it used to be.

"Video game companies now have a variety of outlets to promote their games, to introduce fans to new worlds, to experiment with new kinds of characters and experiences," he said.

"We see it every week. Last week we had the rollout of Epic’s metaverse. If you go each week before that, there’s a great game that got released or a new opportunity for people to engage with a video game world that they didn’t know about or decided to explore again. Even if you go back to Fortnite, the release of the original map is their largest-selling game ever.

"Video game companies have new and exciting ways to reach people. They can do it on a timetable that meets their business needs. This doesn’t take away from the need to bring people together. We’ll think about exploring ways to bring everyone together to tell a story about the industry. I don’t know what form that will take. We’re spending time thinking through what that narrative is, because there’s a nice moment for the industry to reshape and refashion how the public thinks about games. But it’s early thinking. There are exciting opportunities for our industry. When you look at the marketing and business needs, our companies have shown that there are many outlets they can explore and exploit for the benefit of things."

The ESA announced earlier this week that it was axing the E3 trade show.