E3 has struggled in recent years, with cancellations due to the imposed measures of 2020, as well as growing competition from other shows. Now it seems that the event is over for good, as the official E3 Twitter/X account has announced its discontinuation.

E3 has ran for decades and been host to some of the most iconic reveals in gaming history. This very site has covered a huge amount of E3's going back to the early 2000s.

We saw Reggie storm the stage to unveil the DS while “kicking ass and taking names”, Miyamoto wield the Master Sword to unleash an iconic Twilight Princess trailer, Satoru Iwata proudly holding the Revolution high up in the air, as well as Cammie Dunaway try her best to sword fight her way to victory with her top-tier wrist action.

Nintendo were perhaps the first to shake the once stable foundations of E3, as they went their own way with Nintendo Direct broadcasts early in the Wii U era, with Microsoft and Sony following suit in the coming years.

On a personal note I’ll remember how wild the E3 evenings were at its height for the staff of N-Europe, as we all scrambled over MSN or Skype (showing our age) to decide who was posting what as the show was playing live.

The live shows had a sort of energy that I personally find can’t quite be matched with the pre-recorded Nintendo Directs, but given certain iconic blunders, such as the Wii Music demonstration, or the less than ideal on-stage motion controls of Skyward Sword, it’s easy to see why Nintendo were keen to shy away from the live stage presentation route.

Still, here's to the end of an era!