E for All consumer show scrapped

IDG World Expo has scrapped plans for a second E for All consumer event in Los Angeles this October.

The decision comes after the Entertainment and Software Association decided E3 should go big again, following a downscaled expo that received bad reviews two years running.

"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," said IDG in a statement on VE3D.

"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 videogame community."

E3 takes place on 2nd to 4th June 2009, in Los Angeles, and remains a trade-only event. Attendance will not be capped, however, and could be as high as 40,000.

Games Convention, the biggest show on the calendar for the last two years, also undergoes meaty changes in 2009. The German event moves from Leipzig to Cologne - better travel access, accommodation - and has been renamed GAMESCom by the new organisers.

Games Convention has been pushed back from mid-August to September, too. This puts even more distance between itself and E3, hopefully increasing the likelihood of three platform holder conferences and less duplicate game demonstrations.