E3 to scale back in size, attendance

The Entertainment Software Association, the trade group in charge of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 for short, has voted to radically scale down the event (Subscription required). According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the group will hold a smaller conference next July, with an expected attendance of 5,000 — in comparison to the 60,000 recent expos have drawn. The newly-named event, currently called the E3 Media Festival, will still be held in LA, but is expected to occupy suites and conference rooms at two downtown-area hotels. This change has come about due to the rising costs of exhibiting at E3 and the "mine's bigger than yours" showmanship that has become evident at recent expos. In addition, attendance numbers had gotten so high that companies were having trouble scheduling important meetings and interacting while at the show — this was an important goal of the show at its inception.