[Let’s Talk] Are there too many gaming showcases?

Posted on June 15, 2024 by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk

Many years ago, online gaming showcases weren’t really a thing. E3, which is now dead, was typically where you’d hear about the latest games from Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox plus others like Ubisoft, EA, Konami, and more. Gamescom and the Tokyo Game Show would bring us updates as well.

Nintendo upended the tea table by abandoning E3 press conferences and introducing the Direct format about a decade ago. Now others have really followed in their footsteps. Aside from the fact that Nintendo Directs were extremely popular, the pandemic seemed to push things further. More and more online showcases have continued to spring up over the past few years. E3 is gone and in-person showcases are more of a rarity, and meanwhile, live streams are an overabundance.

Online showcases don’t happen every day, but they do happen with high frequency with no signs of slowing down. Just off the top of my head, this is a list of the events I managed to come up with – and it’s far from everything (especially if you consider one-off streams that are typically dedicated to a single game):

Nintendo Direct
Pokemon Presents
Indie World
PlayStation Showcase
State of Play
Xbox Partner Preview
Xbox Games Showcase
Xbox Developer Direct
ID@Xbox
Future Games Show
Wholesome Games Showcase
Summer Game Fest
PC Gaming Show
Devolver Direct
Ubisoft Forward/Live
Level-5 Vision
Marvelous Games Showcase
Triple-I Initiative
Wired Direct
Capcom Showcase/Highlights
Nacon Connect
All Aksys
Day of the Devs
Indie Live
QUByte Connect
Flyhigh Express
THQ Nordic Showcase
Playism Game Show
Sonic Central
Annapurna Interactive Showcase
LRG3
tinyBuild Connect
Guerilla Collective
Best Indie Games Showcase
AG French Direct
Gamescom: Opening Night Live
The Game Awards

On one hand, gaming showcases are great in the sense that it can let more and more games get the spotlight. On the other hand, it can be tough to watch – let alone keep up with – all of these events. Could games end up being overshadowed since there are simply too many? As just one example, the Best Indie Games Summer Showcase 2024 from this month highlighted over 180 games.

So what do you think? Are there too many gaming showcases, or does it simply not matter? Is this ultimately a silly thing to even think about? Let us know in the comments.

Highlight from last week’s topic: Summer Game Fest 2024 reactions

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The highlights for me were the Shadow sections in Sonic X Shadow Generations. I was also interested in the fighting game character reveals, but the actual contents thereof were a mixed bag. Bison coming back to Street Fighter 6 was a safe bet, but they really should have let him stay “dead” for a few more seasons. And the new guy in Fatal Fury looks unimpressive; he’s a derivative of an existing character (Grant) and his animations look unfinished.

Interested in seeing where the Palworld update takes the game as well.