2007 E3 Media and Business Summit Details Revealed

Following the confirmation by the Entertainment Software Association of a smaller, "more targeted" E3 event in 2007, the ESA today announced that it will hold the new E3 Media and Business Summit from July 11-13, 2007, in Santa Monica, California. The newly restructured three-day event will, as expected, be invitation-only, and will offer the opportunity for both ESA members and non-members to stage major press events, and to have intimate meetings in hotel suites and meeting rooms with media, retailers, developer partners, and other unspecified audiences. ESA expects that event booking will be launched within the next 30 days. The new E3 will also feature a daily luncheon conference session with top executives and/or analysts and a Serious Games showcase. In addition, ESA is exploring adding an independent games showcase and including the longrunning "Into The Pixel" video game art competition and exhibition. Finally, evenings will be a time for receptions and parties so participants can interact at the informal events that have been an E3 tradition. In addition, the ESA notes that the nearby Barker Hangar will be converted into a software showcase where attendees will be able to casually test the featured video games planned for the coming holiday season and beyond. The venue will allow participating companies to showcase their games in standardized, turnkey displays areas ranging from 100 square feet to 400 square feet. All display areas will be developed by show management to ensure that the venue is staged efficiently. "By combining suite-based meetings with the software showcase in a controlled and business-like environment, we believe we will successfully fulfill our primary objective of giving high-level media the best of all worlds -- the chance to engage in highly personal, one-on-one dialogue with leading game company executives, as well as the chance to demo games on their own time and to check out offerings from both the best known and emerging game publishers and developers," said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the ESA "It will also provide an excellent opportunity for meetings with retailers, developers and other audiences." Lowenstein added that all the hotels involved will be within easy walking distance of one another, and there will be a shuttle bus system to facilitate movement to the hotels and Barker Hangar, as well as to major off-site press conferences, such as those staged by the major console companies. "The new E3 event will be more personal, efficient and focused, and it will provide the top stakeholders who make games, sell games, and cover games streamlined access to the people and products they most need to see."