On the back of Sony choosing to forgo its traditional E3 press conference comes news that the EA pre-E3 2019 press conference is also being skipped over, the publisher has announced today. In its place, EA has announced it will focus on the “gameplay” at its EA Play event with “multiple live streams” taking place across June 7 and June 8.
In a move that will have E3 traditionalists panicking, EA is mixing things up for the fourth year of EA Play, the press conference that isn’t really an official conference, by scrapping the “conference” part entirely. While EA hasn’t been a part of the E3 setup since 2015, it still marks a big change in the landscape surrounding the annual LA-based flagship consumer and industry event.
EA’s statement outlines that it’s instead “replacing [a press conference] with multiple live streams that will air during the first two days of the event, bringing you more of what you’ve told us you want – more gameplay and insights from the teams making the games,” perhaps opting for a Nintendo Direct-style approach when it comes to presenting its upcoming titles.
With no E3 2019 EA Play conference (despite not being an official part of the event in recent years), and Sony also stepping back this year, it’s not a great stretch to suggest that this year’s E3 will be its most low-key in some time, especially with the will they/won’t they debate around the debut of the next generation of consoles still very much up in the air.
Still, the emphasis on gameplay on EA’s part must be applauded, even though it’s probably a especially keen to get away from the environment at least year’s E3, which saw EA apologizing for loot boxes. This year at E3 2019, the conversation is very much being steered in another direction entirely. It’s no coincidence that the publisher is leaning heavily on the idea of having “plenty more to show” in the coming months, but it may prove to be another nail in the coffin for E3, at least in its current guise.
