E3 2007 Officially Downsized
July 31st, 2006 by Matt Stone in News
True to the plan, ESA, the organization behind E3 has today announced its plans for the event in 2007. Just as we expected, the E3 as we know it is over, and will from 2007 be an event for press and retailers only. Avid gamers will no longer be able to try out new and upcoming games at the event.
ESA (Entertainment Software Association) president Douglas Lowenstein says in a press release:
“To better address the needs of today’s global computer and video game industry, the 2007 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3Expo) is evolving into a more intimate event focused on targeted, personalized meetings and activities, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced today.”
E3 2007 will still be hosted in Los Angeles, Lowenstein says, over the next few months they will decide what shape E3 will return in. He mentioned that there was no reason for E3 to be a big event because of the presence of Tokyo Game Show and Leipzig Games Convention. He continues:
“E3Expo remains an important event for the industry and we want to keep that sense of excitement and interest, ensuring that the human and financial resources crucial to its success can be deployed productively to create an exciting new format to meet the needs of the industry. The new event ensures that there will be an effective and more efficient way for companies to get information to media, consumers, and others.”
The average gamer will certainly be disappointed by this news, and I believe that some developers might be disappointed as well, since they cannot get any feedback on the games they display. The uge crowd of people at E3 made it popular in the first place, everyone that has been there will tell you just how many gamers visit the event. I think this is a wrong step by ESA.
Read the full press release here.
Tags: News
