e-for-all posts

Is E For All Expo done? IDG CEO gives a cryptic answer

by John Callaham Oct 22nd 2008 @ 6:00PM

Earlier today we reported on the resurgence of the large trade show version of E3 for 2009. That event will be handled by IDG World Expo (who also handled the two smaller invite only E3 events for the ESA). But what about the fate of IDG's own consumer game show E For All Expo? The event has not received the kind of publisher support that the old E3 or the current Penny Arcade Expo has received and this year's event, held just a few weeks ago, only brought in 15,000 attendees.

Big Download contacted IDG World Expo for comment and received this rather cryptic response that's attributed to its CEO Mary Dolaher: "We want to thank all of our E for All partners for their support, and we encourage E for All exhibitors to participate in the E3 new event, which we believe will meet their needs as well as those of the industry at large. IDG World Expo is very pleased to be partnering with the ESA on E3 and continuing to play a central role in that important industry event. We look forward to furthering our contribution to the success of the video game community."

While that statement doesn't state flat out that IDG has decided to finally put E For All Expo to bed, the fact that IDG is encouraging "E for All exhibitors to participate in the E3 new event" doesn't sound promising for the future of the show. We will keep you updated.

Filed under: Biz, Culture

E3 2009 coming June 2-4; invite-only format gone but will booth babes return?

by John Callaham Oct 20th 2008 @ 8:15PM

For the past two years the Entertainment Software Association has made its annual trade show, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, a smaller invite-only event for the media rather than a massive trade show with large exhibits and booth babes. The result was a show that, while good for journalists to quietly check out upcoming releases, fell flat as a way for the game industry to promote themselves and their upcoming games.

Last month rumors began to surface that E3 2009 could be open to the public. Tonight, on G4TV's X-Play TV show it was revealed that the event would return to the LA Convention Center and while it still technically won't be open to the public the TV show stated that it won't be invite-only either. Apparently the show will be returning to its larger trade show roots which should allow the event to also return to its larger attendance numbers of around 60,000 people or so.

The dates for the show have also been confirmed; it will be held June 2-4 which is a month earlier than the invite-only format's July dates but still a few weeks later than the old trade show version's May dates. It's currently unknown if IDG World Expo, who has helped the ESA run the two previous invite-only events, will return for the new expanded show. More info on the new E3 is expected to be revealed tomorrow morning.

Update: Newsweek is reporting that E3 2009 will in fact open its doors to the public on June 5-6 and that the attendance will actually be capped at around 40,000 attendees which is less than what Penny Arcade Expo had at its event last August. Again more news is coming tomorrow.

Filed under: Biz, Culture

Lower attendance for E For All Expo 2008

by John Callaham Oct 6th 2008 @ 8:00AM

The second annual E For All Expo is over and the self-proclaimed "North America's premier video game event" actually came away with lower attendance than last year's inaugural event. The show, held at the LA Convention Center, had 15,000 official attendees this year compared to 18,000 for the first edition of the show (the number might have been even smaller had E For All not hosted two pro gaming events organized by third parties).

As they always do the organizers of the show, the IDG World Expo, claim the event was a "true success" despite the fact that only three major game publishers (Microsoft, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft) exhibited at the show. The press release had no mention of any plans for a 2009 edition of the event. Meanwhile our sister site Joystiq has their own impressions of the event. This coming weekend will find a really successful consumer game show being held, Blizzcon, where the $100 tickets for the two day event sold out quickly.

Filed under: Biz

E For All Expo begins today but will anyone come?

by John Callaham Oct 3rd 2008 @ 1:00PM

Today is the first day of the 2008 edition of the E For All Expo, the self-proclaimed "North America's premiere video game event." to be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The first event, held in 2007, was heavily hyped beforehand with the expo's organizers, the IDG World Expo, predicting in interviews with their CEO that they were expecting between 20,000 and 30,000 attendees. In the end the event only brought in 18,000 attendees and only five major game publishers exhibited at the event.

This year's edition hasn't gotten nearly as much hype as the inaugural event, possibly because there's even less participation from the actual game industry than last year. Only three major game publishers (Microsoft, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft) are scheduled to exhibit at the event, compared to last August's Penny Arcade Expo, which had over 20 publishers showing their upcoming games. Furthermore, the 2008 edition of E For All will be a three day event as opposed to the 2007 show which stretched over four days. Even the venue itself has gotten smaller. The 2007 event was held in the LA Convention Center's large South Hall while the 2008 show is being held in the building's West Hall which is about half the South Hall's size.

Continue reading E For All Expo begins today but will anyone come?

Filed under: Biz, Culture

E For All Expo 2008 to host IndieCade game titles and developers

by John Callaham Sep 25th 2008 @ 7:30PM

The line-up of events for next weekend's E For All Expo at the LA Convention Center continues to grow and today the organizers announced that the IndieCade festival of independent games will make an appearance at the show. Over 20 indie games will be shown at the event and many of the games' developers will also be on hand at the show.

IndieCade is preparing to announce the winners of their festival the weekend after E For All in Bellevue, Washington and our sister web site Joystiq has been running a week-long series that showcases the 26 finalists that are eligible for the awards. All of the winners have downloadable demos or the full free game that you can grab right here at Big Download..

Filed under: Contests, Culture, Downloads, Demos

E For All Expo 2008 update

by John Callaham Sep 24th 2008 @ 6:00PM

We are now less than 10 days away from the 2008 edition of the E For All Expo consumer game event and today its organizers at the IDG World Expo sent over an update on some new activities that will be at the show. E For All Expo will be held Oct. 3-5 at the LA Convention Center.

The event will have what organizers are calling a "gaming bootcamp" on Oct. 4 "to provide an introduction on the world of video games from basic "how-to's" to gaming terms to what's new and next in games." Also the LA Unified School District will send up to 600 high school studios to the show where they "will obtain a deeper understanding of video games and how they can be incorporated into their future careers." As we have reported previously, the game industry itself has taken little interest in E For All as only three publishers (Microsoft, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft) have announced plans to exhibit at the show this year.

Filed under: Biz, Culture

E For All 2008 to bring in classic video game champs

by John Callaham Sep 17th 2008 @ 1:30PM

Earlier this week the organizers of the upcoming 2008 edition of the E For All Expo announced plans to host a children's film festival which to us is pretty far away from the event's theme of being "North America's premiere video game event." Today the organizers announced something right in line with their event as they will be bringing in several champs of classic video games to meet and play with attendees.

Among the video game champions coming to the LA Convention Center on Oct. 3-5 is Steve Wiebe, made famous by the documentary King of Kong. Wiebe will attempt during the show to break the current Donkey Kong record that's held by his King of Kong rival Billy Mitchell. Also appearing is Todd Rogers, considered the first paid professional video game player. Rogers will play the classic game Dragster at the event and will give $100 to anyone at the show who can bet him in the game. He will also give $10,000 to anyone who can beat his world record in Dragster during E For All. He has held that record since 1980.

As we have reported previously only three major game publishers (Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft) are currently announced with plans to exhibit at E For All this year.

Filed under: Biz, Culture

E For All Expo to host . . . a children's film festival?

by John Callaham Sep 15th 2008 @ 2:30PM

E For All Expo builds itself in its own press releases as "North America's premiere video game event." However, after failing to get most game publishers to participate in the Oct. 3-5 show in the LA Convention Center the organizers, IDG World Expo, are apparently trying some new tactics...like hosting a children's film festival.

Yes, you read that correctly. E For All will host the fourth annual Los Angeles International Film Festival during the event, which will have over 70 animated, live action and documentaries planned along with basic animation workshops. Mary Dolaher, the head of IDG World Expo, states that the film festival will provide "show attendees with access to an even broader range of creative entertainment." As we have reported previously only three major game publishers (Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft) have announced plans to exhibit at E For All this year.

Filed under: Culture

Joystiq gets response from E For All organizers

by John Callaham Aug 27th 2008 @ 12:30PM

We are not sure why the IDG World Expo would respond to our sister site Joystiq about a story that we first wrote about the apparent lack of game publisher interest in this year's E For All Expo. In fact we alerted IDG that we were working on such a story and wanted a comment beforehand. But in any case they did indeed send a comment to Joystiq and other media outlets so in the interest of fairness here is that response:

"We're disappointed that you didn't contact us yesterday before putting up your E for All post, and we hope you'll do so in the future. At this point, we'll just say that the show isn't over until Tiger hits his last hole in one, Microsoft has packed up its last Xbox, Target has sold its last Wii Fit, Fatal1ty has blown away his last opponent, and the World Cyber Games National champions are crowned. Further announcements are forthcoming, and we are confident that E for All 2008 will be a great event for everyone in the game community."

Filed under: Biz, Culture

Update on E For All 2008 exhibitors

by John Callaham Aug 25th 2008 @ 7:00PM

Earlier today we reported on the apparent lack of support the upcoming 2008 E For All Expo has with game publishers with the vast majority of those companies currently having no plans to attend the Oct.3-5 event in Los Angeles. After the posting of our article Big Download has gotten some updated information as PR reps for Ubisoft, Activision, Namco Bandai and 2K Games have all told use they have no current plans to attend. 2K Games was an exhibitor at last year's E For All.

In addition we have learned that another publisher, Eidos have not yet decided on whether or not they will be attending E For All this year. We have once again attempted to contact the PR rep for E For All's organizer the IDG World Expo for comment but so far they have not yet sent us a response.

Filed under: Biz, Culture

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