E3 Exhibitor Numbers Dwindling 29
CVG is reporting on the full list of exhibitors at this year's E3 (now the E3 media Expo), and things are looking quite a bit slimmer than in past years. As you'd expect given the change in tone, the smaller development houses are much thinner on the ground than they used to be. Only 32 companies will be making the trek to Santa Monica, and you can probably name them all off the top of your head. "Most of the big players seem to be there but it's a big way off last year's exhibitor list which exceeded 400. There are also only two independent developers listed, id Software and Foundation 9 Entertainment, which is disappointing seeing as one of the biggest reasons for the down-scale was to give smaller devs a chance in the spotlight. This year's E3 will consist of an exhibit hall in Santa Monica's Barker Hanger as well as company-run demos in nearby hotels. As always third-party press conferences will be held in a common location while platform holders will hold their own bashes - though the big three are yet to make any announcements."
Re:Small devs and E3 (Score:4, Interesting)
Showing your product to 4000 journalists (or bloggers or online comic authors I guess) is very different from showing your product to 4000 random gamers. My guess is companies go hoping their game will receive some of the buzz in the E3 coverage on gaming sites and magazines, and not for the E3 attendants themselves.