E3 Renamed Entertainment for All Expo 44
Next Generation is reporting that what-was-once E3, and what could have been the 'GamePro Expo', has now been renamed to the Entertainment for All expo. 'E For All', for short, will feature an open door policy: all you have to do to get in is pay the $100 admittance fee. From the article: "E for All will be held at the L.A.C.C. October 18-20, 2007, just as the holiday gift-buying season ramps up. Attendees will be able to buy exhibitors' products from the show floor. Dolaher wasn't yet ready to announce exactly which companies are participating as contracts are being worked out. Other highlights at the event will include hands-on opportunities to try out the latest games and gadgets, videogame tourneys, a job fair and 'family-friendly offerings.'"
E for all (Score:4, Interesting)
Personally, I hope this doesn't get off the ground. I'd rather see an expanded GDC, with more serious discussion and seminars instead of a public amusement fair. Partly, I'd rather the GDC expand because it gives developers more breathing room with their projects. When their main audience is other game developers, the tech demonstrations they have don't have to be so extravagent that they need to fudge the results to convice people "this is what we're aiming for." You can see those quarky, buggy, but above all, real works developers are making or even just skip the demos; a convincing speech helps pull an audience into a developer's dream more than any video ever could.
I'd also rather see E for all left behind because of it sounds too much like E3. The industry is maturing and I'd rather see E3, MTV, and the likes be left behind and develop a more professional attitude.