The ESA’s first event since the late, largely lamented E3 has been built with a very different objective. Rather than a brash, sprawling conference centre with consumers as the explicit audience and implicit attendees, iicon took place on one stage and a handful of meeting rooms in a new, sparsely-populated casino towards the bottom end of the Las Vegas strip. The audience could be counted – just about – in hundreds, rather than tens of thousands; the stage presentations were about strategy, government policy and brand partnerships. The attendee list was ruthlessly policed, the news value was negligible, the coffee was good: the only similarity to E3 was the timezone and the logo on the invite.
This post highlights some important points about ESA’s iicon event. It’s interesting to see how the organization is evolving after E3 and the challenges they face. Looking forward to seeing how they address these concerns moving forward!
shift away from E3 has sparked new conversations about the future of gaming events. It’s crucial for the ESA to embrace transparency and community input to build trust. Engaging with a broader audience could really help shape more inclusive and exciting future events.
Absolutely, the shift away from E3 does open up new avenues for dialogue and innovation in gaming events. It will be interesting to see how the ESA can leverage this change to better engage the gaming community and address their expectations moving forward.