Electronic Entertainment Expo to Shrink – Report

Smaller is Better: E3 Gets Small

by Yaroslav Lyssenko

[ 08/02/2006 | 01:26 PM ]

Eleven years ago Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) started as a small event with an aim to improve relationship between game publishers and retailers. Nowadays, E3 turned into a major year event in the game industry, with more than 60 000 attendees in May.

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But not everyone is happy with such a huge event. According to CNET News.com, on Monday, the Entertainment Software Association announced that it is scaling back the Electronic Entertainment Expo, as the event no longer meets the demand of the game industry.

“E3 Interactive Media Festival,” will likely be an invite-only event in July 2007, and it probably will have less than 7,000 attendees. The idea, he said, is to give publishers an opportunity to interact directly with media outlets in small settings without all the hoopla”, said ESA president Douglas Lowenstein in an interview with CNET News.com.

ESA’s idea finds a lot of support since smaller event also means less money spending by companies involved.

“If I can get the president of EA (to sit down in a small meeting) with the president of the major retailers - the guys who are going to buy a huge amount of these products. I don’t need an 80-foot-by-80-foot exhibit to accomplish big things,” said Stephen Schuldenfrei, president of the Trade Show Exhibitors Association.

• CNET News.com: Why E3’s Shifting to a Smaller Playing Field.