COVID-19 Can’t Stop Us All
COVID-19 has turned 2020 on its head. Just about every aspect of normal life has been irreparably altered due to the restrictions that have had to be enforced in order to stop the spread of the deadly virus. This has led to the cancellation of just about every video game conference in the world. Having large amounts of people in close proximity to one another has become too great a risk for organizers and governments to take. To get around this problem, companies have been launching their own digital showcases and expos to show off the latest and greatest the industry has to offer. Both PAX West and PAX Australia have come together in order to forge an online conference of their own.
These two organizations plan on launching a 9-day event that will take place in early September of this year. However, the organizers have stressed that aside from the showcase being hosted online rather than in person, fans can still expect everything they would take place at a regular PAX event. Plenty of launch trailers, juicy announcements from company big wigs, tournaments, and much more will still be present.
As much of a headache as COVID-19 is, it has been fascinating how various industries have managed to work around a rather dire situation. Especially those involved in gaming. While it might feel strange now, there is a good chance that large conferences and expos could be held online via live streams long after we overcome the coronavirus. The relative cost and hassle to set up a live event are infinity greater than that of one that is hosted in an online space. The option to save money could be too large a temptation for big corporations to pass up in the coming years. Only time will tell.