Nintendo says E3 2023 “doesn’t fit into its plans”

Earlier this month, it was reported that Nintendo, alongside Sony and Microsoft, wouldn’t be attending E3 2023. As of this morning Nintendo has now confirmed that it will not have a presence at the show or have a booth on the show floor.

This may or may not come as a shock given that this is the first in-person E3 event since 2019. And in that three years, Nintendo has relied more heavily on its own Direct livestreams for just about all its announcements. According to Nintendo, it decides on whether or not to attend shows like E3 on a case-by-case basis. And E3 this year just “didn’t fit into its plans” so it decided not to participate.

Nintendo does make sure to point out though that it still supports the ESA and E3. With no involvement whatsoever from any of the big three gaming companies, this might signify E3 sort of fading into the background. What was once the go-to gaming convention, is now no longer a priority for gaming’s biggest names. Times do change of course. And perhaps it was just time for Nintendo to move on. Or maybe it really just didn’t factor in the possibility of an E3 this year. Either way, attendees won’t see the company at the show. But that doesn’t mean it won’t have anything show off.

Nintendo may skip E3 2023, but it could still have its own livestream

When you sit back and think about it, it’s sad to imagine an E3 without Nintendo. Or Xbox or PlayStation for that matter. But even if Nintendo isn’t showing up to the event, that doesn’t mean it won’t have things to show off. Nintendo could still very well hold its own livestream around the time of the show. It wouldn’t be officially part of the show, but timing any livestreams or announcements around it would keep things organized for viewers. And ensure that there are lots of eyes on whatever it has to reveal.

For now, Nintendo has not officially announced any plans for livestreams or events around summer shows like E3. But there will certainly be more from Nintendo in the near future and the months ahead. It’s just a matter of when.