E3

[ztemplarz]

This might not be new news to anyone, and it most certainly isn't a Kotor 3 rumor, but if it is in the plans, we ought to know this July.

 

Feature Article 4/23/2007 7:35:46 AM

 

 

 

 

E3 Exhibitor List Narrowed Down to Just 32

 

Don't expect to see John Q Publisher at the new E3 Media & Business Summit taking place this July. An exhibitor list has been unveiled to the media for the first time and it's dramatically smaller than what we're used to seeing. Still, it looks like the most important companies will be on hand. [updated]

 

 

E3 over the last few years became a major spectacle for the video game industry, with attendance in the range of 60,000 to 70,000 people and 400 or more companies exhibiting. When the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced the new format for E3, everyone knew it would be a much downscaled event, but the drop in the number of exhibitors is perhaps even greater than we expected.

 

 

Over the weekend, GameDaily BIZ and other media outlets received official invitations and access to a website with exhibitor information. According to the site for the new E3 Media & Business Summit (which takes place July 11-13), participating companies have fallen to just 32, although the list does include some of the top publishers and developers in the business.

 

 

The full list so far is as follows: 1C Company, Activision, Akella, Atari, Atlus, Buena Vista Games, Capcom, Codemasters, Crave Entertainment, Eidos, Electronic Arts, Foundation9 Entertainment, Konami Digital Entertainment America, id Software, Logitech, LucasArts, Majesco, Microsoft, Midway, Namco Bandai Games America, NCsoft, Nintendo, Nyko, Sega of America, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Sony Online Entertainment, Square Enix, Take-Two Interactive, THQ, Ubisoft, Vivendi Games, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

 

 

The E3 Summit should have around 3,000 to 4,000 attendees (invitation only). Santa Monica's Barker Hanger will host the event and numerous hotel suites in the area will allow media, retailers, developer partners, and other key industry contacts to have business meetings without all the distractions of E3s past. Although there will be no huge expo per se, organizers intend to convert Barker Hangar into a software showcase where attendees will be able to try out featured video games outside of the companies' suites.

 

 

[uPDATE] Pete Hines, V.P. of Public Relations and Marketing at Bethesda Softworks (makers of the blockbuster RPG Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) contacted GameDaily BIZ to let us know that ESA accidentally omitted Bethesda from the exhibitor list, but that Bethesda will indeed be at the Summit.

 

 

 

 

by James Brightman

 

Comments or questions? Send them to editor@gamedaily.com

[Char Ell]

Nobody seems to really know what E3 will bring this year. The expo has undergone such a significant restructuring that it's almost like E3 is a brand new event.

[Darca Lar]

I'm pretty sure one way or the other, there'll be a point where we all just stop and go, "....huh..."

[Titanius Anglesmith]

I'm almost afraid to find out. I would just be crushed if after having such high hopes, they don't even mention K3. My birthday is in July, so if K3 is announced, it would definitely be the best gift I've ever received.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

Nobody seems to really know what E3 will bring this year. The expo has undergone such a significant restructuring that it's almost like E3 is a brand new event.

 

 

Not that this is good. Reducing the size of the Expo,l justifying it with the motto: "Less show, more business.", just made me sad...

[playloud]

I was at last years E3 (the only I have ever attended). It was just a big crowded mess. I think the restructure is a good idea.