Why the ESA couldn’t save E3 | Stanley Pierre-Louis interview

14.12.2023 - 14:51 / venturebeat.com / Geoff Keighley

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The Entertainment Software Association finally pulled the plug on the Electronic Entertainment Expo yesterday after years of trying to hold the center of gaming events.

The U.S. trade association decided the game industry had evolved and support had waned for the show, which typically drew crowds of 70,000 to Los Angeles in June to hear about the latest games and celebrate gaming itself.

The pandemic took its toll on physical game events, the press and retail segments that held the show together became weaker and even PAX organizer Reedpop failed to revive E3.

Big companies such as Electronic Arts, Sony and others broke off to create their own online and physical events and finally even Nintendo withdrew. The self-interests of each game company were no longer aligned with E3, and Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest stole many of the online eyeballs.

The result was not unexpected, and the Washington Post reported the death of E3 yesterday. I had a chance to interview Stanley Pierre-Louis, CEO of the ESA, yesterday about the demise of E3. I have extremely fond memories of going to E3 since the first year it was in Atlanta — which means I went to the event for more than two decades — and I started our conversation with Pierre-Louis’ own memories.

Here’s an edited transcript of our interview.

GamesBeat: I see a lot of people on social today talking about E3 memories. I don’t know if you have a favorite memory.

Stanley Pierre-Louis: I very much enjoyed walking the floor my first year at ESA. Just taking in the sights and sounds of the event. But also seeing the people who make up the industry at its core, both the creators and the people who enjoy the games. That’s the relationship that our industry has, that’s very different from many other industries, including other entertainment industries. There’s a real feeling of kinship, not just between the brand and the players, but between the content and the players. It’s very personal.

It’s because the people who make games also love what they make. They have a reverence for the content they create, the characters they build, the universes they create. There’s a word that companies use: “Delight the audience.” Really make people excited. Games are about having fun and engaging people in another world. It has the impact of bringing people together. We’ve talked about bringing them solace. The connection that was important during COVID, and at all times. But at core, games are entertainment. They’re about having fun and surprising people, about what we can do together.

GamesBeat: For me it was being able to interview people who were normally