Back when it was announced that E3 was putting an end to the proverbial booth babe, many saw this as a huge a critical aspect that defined an incentive to attend the trade show. Of course, we ended up discovering this year that the presence of the booth kittens was still very much in effect, albeit dressed more …appropriately.

Personally, I could live without booth kittens. I mean, other than being great to look at… they tell me nothing about the game. Few are even fortunate to properly know how to pronounce the very booth they represent as Candice discovered first hand.

But what if there E3 was terminated altogether? Well guess what — it’s true. According to Next-gen.biz, industry sources have reported that the Entertainment Software Association has reached a decision in which they feel the annual expo’s “costs… do not justify the returns, generally measured in media exposure.”

And it would appear that even game publishers have been considering new alternatives towards that are geared specifically towards their own product lines instead of the entire industry as a whole.

Next-gen biz states: “ESA president Doug Lowenstein will likely announce the news some time within the next 48 hours, possibly on Monday. It’s likely that the ESA will seek to limit the damage by organizing some form of lesser event in May, possibly even with the E3 brand, but this will be no more than a fig-leaf. The days of an industry event attended by all the major publishers, spending big money, are gone.”

I must say, this news comes as a bit of a shock. It would be cooler if they just looked into a smaller scale of what E3 offers, perhaps even break it down by regions. While it’s going a bit off tangent, I’m sure many editors who reside on the Mid or East coasts would be thrilled if the trade show was held closer in their backyard. I’d be all up for something right in New York. Not only would this make it easier on my travel expenses, not to mention, there would be little need for a hotel. But back on topic, this sort of event worries me, because it’s probably going to lead to something else I’ve been meaning to discuss for awhile: the end of the gaming enthusiast site. Or more to the point… publishers jointly making a decision to terminate their support for sites operated by dedicated gaming enthusiasts. Perhaps I’m jumping the gun a bit, and for what it’s worth — I’d still prefer to save that discussion for a later date… but for now, with E3’s existence apparently put on hold, anything is possible.

Edit: With a bit of digging, my assumptions have been confirmed that E3 isn’t being cancelled, merely downsized as reported here. (Thanks, Travis!)

Thoughts?