Takeaways from E3 2017: Enhancing the Gaming and VR Experience

Last month, the Immersion team hit the ground for E3, the world’s largest event for those in the interactive entertainment industry.

I’ve been a gamer most of my life and this is the place to be to engage with others who are passionate about the gaming industry. Every year E3 packs the house with passionate developers and designers who create groundbreaking technologies in computer, video and mobile games. Immersion is always excited to be a part of this event. It’s one of my personal favorites to attend, so I wanted to share my key observations.

  • For the first time ever, E3 was open to the public without needing an industry invitation and it showed in attendance. Long lines to watch or play product or game demos proved consumers were excited to be a part of the event versus watching from afar. I hope E3 continues to be open to the public, as it’s super valuable to hear real-time feedback from players and to see how they interact with the different consoles and emerging capabilities. By-the-numbers, in 2016 exhibitors were able to invite 4,000-5,000, non-industry attendees. This year open registration to the public allowed for 15,000 non-industry attendees.
  • Virtual reality had a presence throughout E3 but was surprisingly more in the background, unlike last year where VR was front and center. Ubisoft was showing Fallout and Skyrim VR demos, and Sony had amazing PlayStation VR demos. While technology is starting to catch up to the requirements needed for a compelling VR gaming experience, it still has a long way to go before it reaches mainstream home gaming. We’re still in the “Wild West” of VR game play standards, and the industry is beginning to reset its product roadmaps, strategies, and financial expectations.
  • The main buzz of the show focused on upcoming big console releases for franchises like Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed, as well as many new titles like Anthem, Life is Strange and Monster Hunter World. There was incredible buzz surrounding the Nintendo Switch, which was the hottest tangible hardware at E3. Nintendo had numerous Switch stations with large monitors and small tables for users to experience Switch gameplay – lines were long for both.

Overall, we see big potential for companies to continue enhancing the gaming experience, especially around VR. Since the gaming experience is at the heart of what Immersion does, we continue to keep a pulse on the landscape and explore how to bring better VR experiences to the consumer in an impactful way. Stay tuned for more relevant industry news and information from Immersion on what is to come!