IDG World Expo on Friday revealed the new name for the consumer video and computer gaming expo that will replace the now-defunct E3 — it’s called E for All Expo, short for Entertainment for All. It’s planned for October 18 – 20, 2007 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the same venue that’s hosted E3.
IDG World Expo has put up a Web page for the site and advises visitors that registration for E for All will commence in Spring, 2007. In the interim, visitors interested in joining the mailing list can sign up using a form on the home page.
The show will let consumers “test-drive the latest in games and gadgetry, as well as purchase products they enjoyed.” IDG World Expo says additional attractions are in the works, such as video game tournaments, a job fair, family-friendly offerings and Video Games Live, a concert of video game music. The show also plans to expand into the LA Live area that adjoins the LA Convention Center.
In August, 2006 the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced plans to downsize E3 from the giant spectacle it had become to a more intimate show intended specifically for high-level media, analysts and industry movers and shakers, such as retail chain buyers.
Many large companies exhibiting at E3 had complained about the size of the show. E3 was positioned as an industry-only event with ticket prices set accordingly. That didn’t stop tens of thousands of video game enthusiasts without any direct connection to the industry from descending on the LA Convention Center and paying to get their hands on the latest games and gaming hardware.
In early November, IDG World Expo — coordinators of next week’s Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, Calif. — revealed plans to replace E3 with a consumer-oriented video game event, endorsed by the ESA itself. At the time, the company didn’t reveal the name of the show, instead referring interested people to a Web site through which naming suggestions could be made.
The winner has been chosen from more than 3,000 entries, according to IDG World Expo. Entertainment for All Expo, or E for All Expo, was proposed by Dante Padre, a California resident. Padre explained that the was inspired by IDG World Expo’s decision to make this show for everyone, rather than just industry insiders.
“Now everyone will have the opportunity to experience the excitement, the entertainment, and the early look at the industry that’s only been available to insiders before,” said Padre.
IDG World Expo and Macworld publisher Mac Publishing are both owned by International Data Group (IDG).