ESA: E3 doesn't compete with public expos

24.10.2008
E3 is back, baby!

Thanks to some , the void of E3 2007 and 2008 will be a distant memory. In their place will be the circus atmosphere of yesteryear, when the conference was as much about new games as it was about and loud noises.

But is it really back? Sure, the halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center will be elbow to elbow next year, thanks in part to a more lenient attendance policy. But there's one group that will be conspicuously absent: You, the gamer.

"You'd think the interactive entertainment industry would be better at, well, interacting," wrote the editors at this week in their subscription-only newsletter.

Indeed, what makes the 2009 show peculiar is the fact that PAX, Blizzcon, Comic Con, and the Tokyo Games Show are all thriving thanks to open door policies, while a media-only E3 has been shrinking over the last two years.

Nevertheless, E3 promoters maintain that consumer shows and E3 are different beasts. "The important thing to remember is that the E3 Expo and PAX/Comic-Con, etc, aren't competitors," said Dan Hewitt, director of public relations for the ESA in an email to GamePro on Thursday. "We serve completely different purposes."