Geoff Keighley isn't selling dreams at Summer Game Fest – he's selling attention. For publishers, the stage is a marketing channel; for viewers, it's often two hours of hoping for that one big moment.
When the chief organizer promises the "biggest live show yet" five days before Summer Game Fest, it's not the gamer in him speaking, but the producer who wants to make money. The announcement is, once again, a pure tactic to secure ratings, and it's being regurgitated by uncritical news outlets as a panacea.
The Dolby Theatre as an Oscar factor
In marketing jargon, size is the cheapest smokescreen for a lack of substance. Keighley's definition of "big" is reduced to mere logistical data: moving to the Dolby Theatre, more sponsorship deals, more advertising. Add to that an artificially extended runtime and an inflated production budget. These parameters only line the pockets of the organizer. They say absolutely nothing about the quality of the games shown. The industry is suffering from creative stagnation, and here it's merely masked by pompous sets.
The qualitative decline of recent years follows a clear pattern. Between 2020 and 2022, the format benefited from the vacuum left by the dying E3, fueled by a naive euphoria within the community and readily amplified by magazines that prefer to steer hype trains rather than check facts.
Since 2023, disillusionment has reigned. Reality consists of an endless string of interchangeable CGI trailers that offer no clues about the final product, interrupted by tedious commercials for energy drinks. Genuine surprises are often nowhere to be found. The content-based pacifier for unfinished products has long since replaced the classic "One more thing"—and the Game Awards have recently perfected this logic: less surprise, more curated expectation management.
The platform holders dictate the rhythm.
The era of historic E3 moments is over. Anyone expecting an equivalent to the glory days of 2015 or 2018 is ignoring the changed power structure of the industry. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have long since deconstructed the relevance of Keighley's curatorial stage. They are using their own digital Direct formats, such as tomorrow's... State of PlayThere, the studios communicate without the distracting baggage of third-rate mobile games. Traditionally, the Summer Game Fest is left with the remnants of the third-party market. Anything but the prime cuts.
The event will only reinforce this impression. Publishers are using the platform for updates on already well-known titles to secure visibility in the algorithm. A lineup of ten first-party blockbusters exists only in the forums of optimists and on the clickbait sites of competitors. The show delivers exactly what the industry pays for – an extended advertisement with two somewhat relevant highlights. The market simply doesn't offer anything more at the moment.
What remains? That Game Summer Fest Keighley suffers from chronic overseas megalomania. When every solid, average presentation is hyped up as a historic event, player disappointment is the logical consequence. Keighley can deliver on his promise of the biggest show and still produce the worst event of the year. Quantity has never equaled quality.
Important notes: The views expressed in this article are the personal opinion of the author. They do not necessarily reflect everyone's point of view – and are intended to stimulate discussion.
I find it crazy that you have such a negative view of the Keighley shows.
It's pure marketing, sure... but in some years it can also be very entertaining and good to watch.
There's nothing left except gamescom... ( )
I think Jeff has too much power. What started as an event by a gamer (according to his own statement) for gamers has now been completely commercialized and dominated by marketing, just like every other showcase, whether it's from Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft. Some gatcha games and other GaaS garbage get the stage because they can afford the appearances, while other game announcements that deserve the stage don't get a single spot. I also find the different pricing somewhat questionable. On paper, it sounds great, but does Kojima, who's bro with Jeff, really have to pay the same amount for screen time for his Death Stranding 2 as other publishers? Even though Sony was behind the game.