Following last year’s scaled-down event at Santa Monica, the Entertainment Software Association has announced that the 2008 edition of E3 will be headed back to the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the move follows complaints about the 2007 event, which saw a significant format change over E3 events of previous years but was met with complaints regarding organization, scheduling and unreasonable distances between venues. But despite the return to the LACC, the show will be sticking with the scaled-down, booth-babe-free environment introduced last year.
“While there will be opportunities for game demonstrations, the 2008 E3 Media and Business Summit will not feature the large trade show environment of previous years,” according to the ESA press release announcing the event. PC, console, online and mobile game developers and publishers are eligible to participate, but as in the previous year, attendance will be by invitation only.
“The 2008 Summit will provide a professional and efficient environment for suite-based meetings with media and other industry leaders,” said ESA Chief Executive Mike Gallagher. “We look forward to welcoming the media and top industry executives to a centralized, business focused and personalized experience. Our program of high-level meetings, networking and personal dialog, and industry-shaping panel discussions will capture the explosive growth we have seen in 2007 and lay the foundation for the 2008 videogame marketplace.”
More information about the 2008 E3 Media and Business Summit will be released over the next few months at the Entertainment Software Association website.
