Kotaku
I spoke with ESA president Doug Lowenstein last night for a story I wrote for the Rocky Mountain News about the new face of E3.
He had some pretty interesting thing to say. One of the biggest changes, I think, is that the new E3 is going to be by invitation only. From now on, if you're not on the list you won't be able to attend no matter who you are or where you work.
Where the old E3 was a thing of multi-million dollar booths crowded in the mammoth Los Angeles Convention Center during May, the new E3 will be a smaller, more intimate by-invitation-only event likely held in a hotel lobby, Lowenstein said.
Lowenstein acknowledged that the change in attendance policy is due in part to the failures of the system in place for E3 attendance in the past.
There was a lot of leakage and thousands of people coming in there who were not central to the business of interactive entertainment," he said.
He also said the part of the reason E3 is getting overhauled is because industry leaders didn't think the old venue was doing the job anymore.
Lowenstein said that while developers' rising costs for putting together booths for the show was a factor in the decision to overhaul E3, it wasn't the deciding factor. "The question wasn't are people willing to spend money, it's how do you get the highest return for your money," he said. "Many felt the investment was no longer as compelling as it was."
Check out the full story over at the Rocky.
