Gamestop offers new details directly from the ESA who have confirmed that E3 will in fact be smallerl, “more intimate” and possibly even relocated.

It’s also interesting that several big game publishers like Microsoft, Sony, and THQ Electronic Arts are in full support of this envisioned, downsized event. There’s been talks of these companies supposedly pulling their support for the ‘mega show’ held annually in the Los Angeles Entertainment Expo. The essence of their joint reasoning is mostly monetary as the article notes the high costs for constructing elaborate, attractive booths designed to draw attendees in.

“It may feature some people looking at games in a big room. There may even be some free drinks. But it ain’t going to be E3.”
- Colin Campbell, Next-Gen.biz


Rich G brings up a good point. E3 has definitely gotten out of control. I mean, it’s always been a loud atmosphere of unimaginable proportions. As of late, it does seem to have become so obnoxious with little balance that you often wonder if the organizers have forgotten the true function of what the trade show should represent. E3 ‘06 was merely a pinch on the arm to what now will feel like getting walloped by a heavyweight boxer. The impact of a scaled down E3 may not be obvious to all affected right now, but it’s bound to create some uproar and disappointments in weeks to come as the ESA sheds more light on things.

Personally, I’m all for it, provided that it allows the expo goes back to its roots. I found smaller meetings to typically be more enjoyable back when I lived in NY. Posh office space was rented out and only a handful of select editors were invited to come check out the featured titles over the span of a few days. Sure it’s not as flashy, but it seems this would be more cost-effective and practical for everyone. Besides, I don’t particuarly care for booth appointments where I’m rushed through 30+ games while the rep battles to iterate key details as a cacophony of sounds are going off at once. And while I’m not trying to ruffle any feathers, the attendance issue seriously needs to be moderated even more. Even though this year saw a big drop in the overall attendance, it was still pretty crowded. Why not just make the first two days a media only event only and leave the last day open to the casual types? But I don’t expect it to be the same as Colin Campbell writes in his article (see link below): “Whatever passes for E3 next May, Next-Gen will be there. It may be called E3. It may feature some people looking at games in a big room. There may even be some free drinks. But it ain’t going to be E3.”

And what does the city of Los Angeles think? Given the significant spike of profits E3 brings during that time of year for restaurants, hotels and yes, even taxi drives — should we be surprised that they wouldn’t be particularly pleased of a scaled down event?

E3 ‘06 was merely a pinch on the arm to what now will feel like getting walloped by a heavyweight boxer.


“One group that will clearly suffer from a downsized E3 is Los Angeles taxi drivers. “The youngsters spend a lot of money, and they don’t stay in one space,” said Nettabai Ahmed, president of Los Angeles’ Independent Taxi. “For taxis, it was really a good convention for us…A regular convention boosts the drivers’ income by about 25 to 30 percent. But E3, it goes up to 50 percent boost in their income.”

You can check out the entire article here.

Update: Here’s another excellent article featuring 10 reasons that analyzing the reasons that lead to E3’s fall.

Update2: UGH. As more information continues to trickle from various media sources, the less optimistic I become. Gamespot has reported that not only has trade show formerly known as E3 will be no longer be held during the month of May as it’s become tradition over the past several years. Instead, it’s tentatively slated to be held… in July. But it gets better… Lowenstein revealed not only will the event be getting a new name, but it won’t be held at the LACC. According to the article, the attendance is planned to only accomodate 5,000 people (a HUGE drop from the usual 60,000 that LACC could easily house) in “at least one” hotel. While my kneejerk response would be “wtf?”, it’s still too early to start looking at this restructuring process as a negative thing. As many of my friends and colleagues have agreed on: perhaps this will force developers to go back to their roots. Perhaps this will mark the end of the “come big or go home” niche (see: extravagant E3 booths). And perhaps this will ultimately lead to better form of quality articles that everyone would come to appreciate. I never found exactly found out where it was reported, but apparently enthusiast sites are supposedly another factor that’s lead to what’s to come. Unappreciative folk that feel it’s cool to write abrasive articles, created for the sole intent other to bring down the reputation of a publisher. And if you think that this is minor, think again. Bad press hurts sales and in effect, can hurt the progress of game development and ideas. I’m not saying that there are times when it’s best to be honest, but there are ways to go about it.

I just hope this site doesn’t have to experience the likelihood of never being able to attend whatever type of media event is set to come. There’s a few more things I’d be curious to know in the weeks to come. Gamespot notes that it may be called the E3 Media Festival or something chitzy. One thing is for sure… the E3 many of you have come to grow and love is officially dead.