E For All 2008 - More like P for Peripherals

There are a number of reasons why E For All just isn't as good as the old E3 that it replaces, and part of that is that it costs money to attend E For All, and everyone can attend, whereas the old E3, though it may not have seemed like it, has a fairly exclusive bunch of insiders, most of which were getting free admission, either by dint of having an exhibit on the show floor, or through professional courtesy. E For All, in comparison is open to anyone willing to shell out for the pass. The biggest problem E For All has facing it is that game companies can't be bothered to show up and show off their games -- which is, of course, the main attraction of the convention. Part of this is due to IDG, which has a great deal of experience running trade shows, but not a lot of experience running conventions, which is what E For All is, but that IDG doesn't seem to understand -- for a successful convention, it's not enough to have an exhibit hall -- you actually also have to have events that will draw in people -- special guests, special panels, special presentations, special events. People need a reason to go to E For All, and at this point, they know that what they'll be seeing at E-For-All can already be seen on any one of a dozen different gaming sites on the internet. When E3 started, the only way to get gaming information was through game magazines, which usually ran the E3 stories a month or two later or through the word of someone who was actually there; with the internet, information is passed nearly instant now, and even companies know that there are far more effective ways of reaching their audience than running a booth in the LA Convention Center for three days.

E For All's Exhibitor List is pretty sad, with a whole 32 exhibitors commited to showing up; of those 32, only EA and Microsoft have any real reputation with gamers; even professional game player Fatal1ty has a booth as an exhibitor. For a full list of the exhibitors and a short summary of what they do, see the extended.

Total Exhibitors: 32
Game Companies/Publishers: 5
Educational Institutions: 4
Retailers: 3
Peripherals: 9

Is it any wonder why companies are putting their marketing resources into PAX and conventions like BlizzCon sell out in hours? E For All is seriously missing the gamer market -- at E3 in the years past, the peripherals section of the show was the least visited, next to the International Pavilion -- I can't imagine that a show that nearly outnumbers the game companies 2 to 1 with peripherals is going to do well.