Earlier this month the Entertainment Software Association announced plans to downsize the popular Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3Expo) from a massive trade show to a “more intimate event.” Now the owners of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) have announced plans to explore “gaming event options.”
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has announced that it is forming an advisory committee to solicit gaming industry feedback. The organization is considering the possibility of a West Coast event in late spring 2007, separate from the annual CES, which takes place in Las Vegas each January.
CEA said it attracts 2,700 member companies and exhibitors its annual CES. What’s more, 11 percent of 2006 CES attendees — 17,800 in all — expressed specific interest in gaming and gaming products.
Gary Shapiro, CEA’s CEO and president, said in a statement that since the ESA announced plans to downsize E3, his organization has “been deluged with inquiries” on whether it could develop a tradeshow specifically for smaller video entertainment companies.