E3 2020 Officially Cancelled Due To Coronavirus Concerns
Posted on March 11 2020 by David Nystrom
It seems the rumors were true. The 2020 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has been canceled. With some companies having pulled out before the coronavirus (COVID-19) even became a thing, it seemed like the big hitter this year was going to likely be Nintendo. But alas, one of the major annual highlight’s in pop culture will not be happening this year.
With the fear of coronavirus spreading and growing over the past month, it seemed almost inevitable that E3 would join the list of canceled events. There have been many notable cancellations of large group gatherings, especially in Italy where more than 9,000 cases of the infection have been reported (CNN). The southern European country also made headlines last week with the cancellation of all sporting events until April.
In a statement, E3 organizers Entertainment Software Association said:
“After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry–our fans, our employees, our exhibitors and our longtime E3 partners–we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles. We are also exploring options with our members to coordinate an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020.”
Other conferences in addition to E3, like the Game Developers Conference in LA, had already been canceled. Esports events like the Mortal Kombat 11, Apex Legends, and Rocket League to name a few, have had major championships cancelled or postponed as well.
This restriction on public gatherings has been heavily encouraged by the World Health Organization, and has been made official policy by several nations worldwide. Some countries, the USA included, have implemented travel bans or restrictions from particularly stricken regions of the world, with the hopes of limiting further spreading of the virus.
The entertainment industry has taken a hit as a result of the outbreak as well, video games included. Movies and TV shows have taken a hit, pushing back release dates or filming without audiences. In Japan and China, some game companies have told their employees to work from home until further notice.
Despite the cancellation, many companies are likely to still hold press conferences and announcements via online platforms. Even with a floor presence, Nintendo will likely still have their Direct streamed everywhere like before. Just now, this will be the route all those who planned to attend will likely go with.
While it’s unfortunate that E3 had to take this year off because of an even more unfortunate occurrence with the outbreak of COVID-19, we can only hope that it will return next year with a bigger and better show than could have been planned this year.
For all of you who are reading this, please take care and be safe.
David is an editor at Zelda Dungeon. He’s the author of the ongoing series, The Era Without A Hero, and his favorite Zelda games are Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, and Skyward Sword. He’s also generally a fan of JRPGs and other major Nintendo titles, such as Smash Bros. and Mario.
