E3 is going the way of the dodo..

GameSpot has learned that tomorrow the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) will announce changes to the format and scale of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the game industry event that typically draws in excess of 60,000 attendees and includes over 400 exhibitors.

On July 28, the Web site of UK trade magazine MCV reported discussions had taken place between the ESA and E3 exhibitors which addressed the future of the annual trade show. GameSpot spoke with informed game industry sources late Friday and Saturday and learned that the show would radically shrink in size and move from its usual Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) venue to a smaller location.

Sources said that rather than fill the 540,000 square feet of the cavernous LACC, the show will take place at a location that would support exhibitors in meeting room space only, with companies showing their wares to a select group of attendees numbering in the hundreds rather than thousands.

No! NO!! NOO!!! I can't believe it! Not E3! For some reason I always thought it was great for developers and publishers to get their games shown off to the public.. I don't see how it can be that bad at losing money. It's not official thankfully, but with how detailed this is, it sounds like it will be soon.

I understand that it might be hard for some small companies to pay for going, but more of the bigger news comes from companies like Ubisoft and Nintendo.. And they can then use the kind of responses they get to modify their games and consoles, but now it won't happen.. This is just really hard for me to grasp.

Zam and I had hopes of going some day.. now all we'll be able to do it watch it online like I did last year, and that's crappy. So remember today - 7/30/06 - as the day that E3, the awesome gaming convention, became just another TGS. Linky has the full story :'-(

-Ton