E for All to fill E3's shoes?
Sure, E3 may have been killed, and then ceremoniously transformed into a new, more media centric event, but we all know that the real E3 is dead. Still, it had perhaps grown too large for its own good. Perhaps its death was for the best. IDG World Expo today announced a convention that may just take E3's place. The new expo is entitled "Entertainment For All Expo." The name was chosen as part of a contest by the way, replacing the distinctly less awkward name, "The GamePro Expo." Like a hermit crab, the expo will take place in E3's former shell, the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The primary difference between E3 and E for All is the inclusion of (gasp) the general public. Anyone will be allowed into the expo (for a nominal fee perhaps?) and allowed to try the many products on display. Not only that, but retailers will actually be on hand to sell said products to gamers. After all the complaints that E3 cost publishers too much money, we're betting that they're kicking themselves for not thinking of that sooner ("you mean we could actually make money doing this?"). Of course, if the emphasis is placed on selling product at the show, then that may leave publishers with little incentive to show off games that aren't finished. For that matter, we wonder what efforts publishers will go to for the media in general. Still, the idea of an American version of the Tokyo Game Show makes us as giddy as a Japanese school girl.
The convention will take place this year, October 18-20. Assuming we can wrangle a ticket from our cruel overlords, we'll be there with bells on.
[Via Joystiq]
