E3

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Template:Otheruses1 Image:Electronic Entertainment Expo.png The Electronic Entertainment Expo (or Exposition), commonly known as E³, is the world's largest annual trade show and the third largest gaming convention for the computer and video games industry. The expo is open only to game industry professionals, celebrities and journalists who are over eighteen.

E³ is usually held in the third week of May of each year at the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) in Los Angeles. The Expo was held in Atlanta for two years during the late 1990s, in which attendance plummeted. The ESA said that over 70,000 people attended the show in 2005.

Many video game developers show off their upcoming games and game-related hardware at the event, over a fifth of which have never been unveiled prior to the expo. The independent "Game Critics Awards" have been given to "Best of E³" games in various categories since 1998.

The first E³ was put on by the Interactive Digital Software Association (now the Entertainment Software Association) in 1995. Previously, most game developers went to other trade shows to display new products, including the Consumer Electronics Show and the European Computer Trade Show.

The Game Developers Conference is another yearly milestone for developers held in the spring each year in California, but it focuses on talks and discussions about the development of games.

Contents

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Schedule

Image:Dsc00708.JPGE3 happens on a week-long fixed schedule from year to year, making it easier for visitors. This also allows some regularity for journalists and those who work at E³.

Many of the big players (Currently Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo) have their press conferences on the Monday and Tuesday of the week of E³. Generally large-scale events are at a rented-out hotel or the amphitheater around greater Los Angeles and are usually invite-only. The large console makers will generally make the biggest splashes in the industry during these events and unveil the products attendees are to expect on the show floor. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are reserved for the conference program which is aimed at game publishers and developers to discuss the development of the industry. Conferences generally happen behind closed doors on the second floor of the Los Angeles Convention Center, away from the eyes of the public.

Wednesday starts the three days of the exposition (designated Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3). This is where the attendees get to move around the floors. Ziff Davis provides fresh-off-the-press newspapers called ShowDaily each morning of the Expo detailing special celebrities featured at different booths, news from the press conferences the nights before, maps of booth layouts of the different halls, and articles on the line-ups of some of the larger publishers in the industry.

Friday ends the exposition and is also the shortest day for attendees to traverse the expo so that booths may be taken down. The E³ 2006 will run May 10-12.

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Layout

Using the LACC, over 540,000 square feet (50,000 m²) are available for exhibition space across the five halls. The LACC is located over two blocks in downtown Los Angeles and shares a block with the Staples Center. Parking is available under the West Hall for $10 a day (as of E³ 2005).

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Show floor

The show is exhibited over five halls: Kentia, Petree, South Hall, Concourse Hall, and the West Hall. Booth space is purchased ahead of time by publishers. The publishers, in turn, spend millions of dollars creating elaborate displays and structures to accommodate the promotion of their bigger titles. E³ is loud and busy, and it's similar to being at a massive rock concert and every booth wants your attention in different ways.

Booth babes are deployed specifically to promote various games. There is the wide spread misconception that ‘booth babes’ have been banned from E³ 2006 and future events – this is incorrect, however guidelines have been set in place regarding how they are dressed. The enforcement of the rules is at the discretion of the event organisers.

Different booths will also invite celebrities over for signings for their specific games. For 2004, Activision brought in Stan Lee and Tony Hawk to promote X-Men Legends and Tony Hawk's Underground 2 while Vivendi Universal brought in Vin Diesel to promote his new game The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay based slightly on the summer 2004 movie of the same name. Celebrities are generally only available for a few hours, so line-waiting is a general practice at E³.

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Concourse Hall and lobbies

The external apparatus that connects the bigger halls is the Concourse Hall and subsequently, the West Hall and South Hall lobbies. The lobbies are used for registration, picking up badges and badge holders, and other general information. Bag stands and the ShowDaily paper are available in the lobbies. The lobbies are also the signature glass structures of the LACC and are massive awe-inspiring structures.

The Concourse Hall generally features four booths and a few media outlets as well as the recent Into the Pixel game art exhibition started at E³ 2004. The Concourse Hall is generally used as a link between both lobbies and features a window display looking out on downtown LA.

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South Hall

The largest hall of the LACC and the largest exhibition space by default. Microsoft and many of the largest Western developers from North America and Europe generally find their homes here.

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Kentia and Petree Halls

The second smallest and smallest halls respectively. The Petree hall is the indefinite home to Atari and Midway's massive booths. The Kentia Hall is generally used by smaller developers who can't afford the hefty fees of having a booth 'topside'. As a result, the look of the Kentia hall at E³ is similar to that of a bazaar.

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West Hall

By coincidence or otherwise, the West Hall is used by the biggest publishers from Asia. Nintendo and Sega's booths are normally located here. The West Hall is also where one will find the various gaming media outlets such as IGN, GameSpy and GameSpot doing interviews with various gaming celebrities.

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See also

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External links

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