The newswires are abuzz from the rumor from NextGen that the E3 for 2007 is canceled. Ars Technica is reporting that E3 2007 is still on, but it will likely be downsized.
I had realized a few years ago that professional press was getting better information out of E3 booths than I was by personally attending, and while that I meant I couldn't play the games, it also meant that I didn't need to sit through a sales pitch about the game. A couple of years ago, indie developer Gathering of Developers (G.O.D.) rented a parking lot across from the E3 venue which they called "the Promised Lot" to act as their main "booth" for E3 -- easily visible on the way from convention center, it generated enough buzz to get the large publishers wondering if the advertising money wasn't being spent elsewhere on their own shows.
In the recent past, E3 served as a showcase for press and buyers to get a feel for the products coming out. Developers were there usually to help sell their product (I know I did my share of talking about the bullet points of various Blizzard Entertainment properties). When I attended, the goal for me in every E3 was to find the diamond in the rough -- the game that was a hidden gem that might not have a big name publisher behind it that was a triple A title in the works. These days that task is harder, perhaps even impossible with the number of games being showcased. Some games can't be properly evaluated at E3 -- something with an intricate battle system (such as the latest Final Fantasy game) is near impossible, and with cinematic gameplay dominating games these days, it's hard to play a game when all you're doing is reading text or watching a cutscene.
If E3 goes away, I don't think anything will really change. The game showcase will likely change instead to being at the Game Developers Conference. The press are already there covering the panels and getting interviews from the big names, so covering a couple of the big name games on the expo floor won't be much more work for them (definitely not as much as covering E3), and there will likely be smaller developers showcasing their things at E3. It is also possible that E3 will be a smaller venue for a few years, but as the big name players realize that E3 isn't going away and that they are missing out on a big PR opportunity by not having a booth there it will grow again.
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