By now you ’ve in all likelihood read that the Entertainment Software Association is “ germinate ” the Electronic Entertainment Expo ( E3Expo ) into a more “ sexual ” event . That intend that E3Expo ’s days as a monolithic , sprawling trade show are done — start in 2007 , the case will be invitation - only and will feature a greater focal point on specific segments of the industry . I ’m all in favor of this , because as much of a spectacle as E3Expo has become , it ’s distracting and metre - wasting away .

I ’ve get going to almost every E3 since 1998 , the last it was held in Atlanta , Ga. ( Organizers moved it from Los Angeles to Atlanta for a couple of years , then switched back . ) So I ’m an E3 veteran , and I know what to look from the show .

For one thing , people who search at it from the exterior see a lot of glamour and amusement . They see the videos of tightly - clad “ John Wilkes Booth babe , ” monolithic monitor read the latest video game , and row after dustup of the latest information processing system and video secret plan computer hardware showing off titles you ca n’t rule anywhere else .

The sheer volume of selling that break on at an issue like E3Expo is staggering to contemplate . Vendors spend weeks ahead of time setting up multi - level John Wilkes Booth that can engage thousands of satisfying foot in the main halls . For several years Sony has used the area outsideDodger Stadiumto host extravagant invitation - only political party — multi - million dollar affairs have top Sony entertainers , DJs , and endless buffets and open Browning automatic rifle . The graduated table of the integral event is mind - boggling .

And I ’ll readily admit : that part is fun . So is collecting booth swag , getting free munchies or beverages from vendors , and some of the other perks . But there is a lot that has made E3Expo a downright unpleasant experience in years by , too , especially for someone who ’s try on to get work done .

See , in late years , gaming has become so intermingled with our cultural zeitgeist that many people who are n’t even really in the business are willing to pony up the hefty price tag for access to maltreat out onto the show floor and see the massive stall of Electronic Arts , Sony , Microsoft , Nintendo , and others just to see new games . More than 60,000 people , in fact — enough to create vainglorious line and big crowds in just about every quoin of the massiveLos Angeles Convention Center .

On top of that , E3Expo is a reasonably short show — only three days long , shorter even thanMacworld Expo , with many , many more vendor spread over a much great space . That means that diary keeper like me have had to meticulously design almost every minute of our days to check that we ’re in the right berth at the correct time to verbalise with people we need to . It did n’t allow for very much , if any , spontaneousness , which meant that I often missed feel things at the show that I only record or saw much later .

The sign - to - randomness proportion at an issue like E3Expo can be almost unbearable . So many party are clamor for any attention they can summon , and digging through crush releases and statements about forthcoming products — trying to get a beading on the “ next big thing”—can be a bit like taking a drink from a firehose .

And even though there ’s usually a very limited amount of Mac - specific news at E3Expo , I was almost always overwhelmed with meetings and get - togethers with Mac companies , or companies that were sample to gauge Mac gamers ’ stake . That part , frankly , I ’ll miss very much , and I do n’t think that E3Expo ’s 2007 centering is going to give up for as much of that as in old age past .

I ’ve say it a number of times : I could have easily clone myself three or four times and still not managed to see everything or done everything I need to at E3Expo . So from my own , true selfish view , I receive the changes announce by the ESA .

While it ’s not the optimal solution for all the vender that have exhibited at E3 ’s in years past , this new turn of events will adjudicate a spate of problems a lot of us have voiced in yr retiring , and should be a homecoming to some stratum of sanity , even if the fun is diminished a bit . But the important thing to remember is that playfulness as it is , gaming is a business organization , and while E3Expo is “ where business capture sport , ” agree to the ESA , it ’s also where business concern gets done .