E3

The expo that aims to become the monster that once was E3 has received a new name, a new website, and timeframe for registration. IDG, the publisher of GamePro Magazine and the owner of the new show announced that the GamePro Game Expo will henceforth be called the "E for All Expo" ("E" for entertainment). The show will take place inside the Los Angles Convention Center from October 18-20 and will allow the public to "test drive tomorrow's tech and be on the inside track of all things in electronic entertainment."

Ironically, the ESA endorses the E for All Expo, even though it appears to embody the spirit of E3, which underwent major changes earlier in 2006. Registration for the new show starts in spring.

The ESA revealed more information about the future of E3 including dates, a location, and a subtle name change. The E3 Media and Business Summit (formally known as the E3 Media Festival) will be held in Santa Monica from July 11 to July 13. The invite-only event will take place in several hotels and Barker Hangar, a Santa Monica Airport hanger that's used for large events.

The hotels will host intimate chats between media, retailers, and developer partners as well as daily luncheons featuring top executives. According to an ESA press release, the hanger will be used as space for "companies to showcase their games in standardized, turnkey displays areas ranging from 100 square feet to 400 square feet." Hopefully the ESA will allow companies to have some creative freedom.

Reports started coming in yesterday from Next Generation and GameSpot that an E3 as we know it in 2007 was a no go. The Entertainment Software Association, the organization that has put on the show for more than a decade, released an document outlining an "evolution" for the show--not a flat out cancelation. No plans are definite yet, but we know that the show will be greatly scaled down to create a more personal environment for media relations.

Refresh this page for the latest updates about the Sony Conference.

4:54: Ok it's starting now. 54 minute late! Kaz Hirai, President and CEO of SCEA is talking about the importance of the PS2 and the PSP to the video game market.

5:01: A video is playing that showcases a bunch of PSP titles that are set to release this year. I see LocoRoco!

5:03: Kaz is talking about the Greatest Hits program for the PlayStation and the PS2. He just announced a Greatest Hits program for the PSP. Moving over that quickly: now talking about the UMD format.

5:06: Sony plans to add RSS video, VoIP features, and camera support to the PSP later this year. Now a video featuring some people talking about there experiences with Sony products is rolling.

The pre-E3 festivities will begin about 24 hours from now, starting with Sony's press conference. In about 63 hours, the doors of the Los Angeles convention center will spring open, and droves of pale-skinned industry professionals and "industry professionals" will enter on their way to see the latest in all things video games. We'll laugh, we'll cry (tears of joy), and we'll find it hard to continue breathing consistently. Gmrblogs will be providing as much coverage as humanly possible in the form of articles and videos at www.gmrblogs.com/e3.

Sony launched their E3 2006 site which will provide news, interviews, and video footage throughout the duration of the show. Currently, the site is only host to a short introduction video featuring Steve Truitt and Diane Mizota. The coverage will probably have a pro-Sony spin on it, so stick with gmrblogs for unbiased news and video directly from E3. True that!

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By no means am I the kind of person who gets worked up about what they wear. I have a rotation of about ten t-shirts that I cycle through. But, after reading a post on Joystiq about the different styles of dress that appeared at GDC this year, I found myself considering my E3 my wardrobe. One wrong move, I could end up being featured in a Joystiq article (what an honor!).

I want to avoid the confused geek look so I was planning on wearing a pair of kayaks and a nice button down shirt. But according to Joystiq's post, this outfit is reserved "for denizens of corporate cubicle farms." One thing is for sure. I'll avoid the "Just one more level" t-shirt that I gave to Russ a few years back for his birthday. I have never seen him wear it out in public. But he owns it, and that's enough for me.

[image:530 align=left hspace=5]Sorry to all those video game business people hoping to nab the final square feet of E3 floorspace at the last minute. The ESA announced that they have successfully filled 540,000 net square feet (a space the size of 4,650 Olympic swimming pools) with over 400 exhibitors for this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

E3 is the largest yearly event for the video game industry and is host to some of the most exciting news about future product launches. gmrblogs is proud to provide coverage from the expo floor this year. So between May 9th and May