The big three videogame companies with major consoles to their name are apparently all planning to skip this year's E3 conference in LA.

The first report came from IGN, claiming that its sources indicate all of Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation will be skipping the show in terms of an actual booth presence.

That was then corroborated on two counts by VGC, which has its own sources confirming that information regarding PlayStation and Nintendo, at least.

This is the first time in a few years that E3 will actually be a physical show, after a lengthy pause initiated by the first wave of lockdowns during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, so it could be a bit of a blow to the well-known show.

It also comes against the backdrop of the increasing prominence of Summer Games Fest, the rival show that's grown in huge leaps and bounds during E3's absence. It's taken advantage of its position as the default pick for announcements in the last couple of summers.

On the Xbox side of things, Phil Spencer has left things open to the possibility that it could still attend, according to recent statements, but it sounds a lot more like Xbox will just hold a virtual showcase of its own at around the same time as E3.

While PlayStation skipped E3 2019 after disagreements with the show's organisers, making its absence less of a surprise, Nintendo not having a booth would be another blow.

If all three companies do skip the show floor, that doesn't necessarily mean that E3 is sunk, of course, with huge publishers like Ubisoft and EA more than able to fill the gap if they step up to the plate.

Still, with two major shows in one summer, the face-off between Summer Games Fest and E3 looks like it'll be a fairly feisty one, and might just come down to which show can secure the bigger exclusives for its opening-night broadcast.

With major games like Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Forza Motorsport coming out later this year, any of the big three publishers could lend a serious bit of weight to whichever show they do decide to grace with their presence.