E3 2020 in question again as Los Angeles declares state of emergency

A few days ago, following the cancellation of GDC, the ESA reaffirmed that E3 2020 was still set to go ahead as planned. Since then though, the City of Los Angeles has declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus, putting the event in question once again. 

Currently, the ESA is still planning for “a safe and successful E3 show” but they are also “monitoring and evaluating the situation daily”. This includes developing “measures to further reduce health risks at the show”, such as increasing the number of hand sanitising stations, frequently cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and additional medical staff that can attend to anyone who becomes ill while on site.

However, the ball isn't entirely in the ESA's court, as prominent exhibitors could pull out of attending E3 due to health concerns. If big publishers and developers decide to not attend, then similarly to GDC and MWC, E3 could end up being cancelled regardless.

The ESA is bound to do everything it can to try and keep the event in-tact this year though, as the launch of next-gen consoles and next-gen games will draw a lot of interest. This is also an experimental year for E3 as the show attempts to appeal to the public and distances itself from its trade show, industry-only roots.

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KitGuru Says: Given how big of a year 2020 is set to be for gaming hardware and software, I do hope that E3 goes ahead. However, it does seem more and more likely that the event will be cancelled or postponed at this point. There is still a couple of months to go though, so it makes sense to hold off on any definitive decisions for now at least. 

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