The ESA has announced that 90 percent of the available floor space for the 2009 E3 Expo has been sold, another step on the show’s journey back to relevance.
Over 100 exhibitors have signed up for E3 this year, with attendees including Activision, Microsoft, Nintendo, Electronic Arts, Sony, Bethesda, Take-Two, Majesco, Epic and numerous other software and hardware companies. The ESA is predicting that 40,000 “qualified individuals” will attend the event and has promised an efficient, “high-caliber” experience for everyone.
“E3 Expo is back, and that’s a very good thing,” said industry analyst Michael Pachter. “The conference is being held at just the right time, with June late enough in the year for the publishers to feel confident about game quality, and early enough in the year to generate retail buzz. The show’s format is a return to the great E3 Expo’s of the past, and there is tremendous interest from investors, publishers and media.”
“I expect buzz about the show to build every week until June, and expect many breaking announcements the first week in June,” he continued. “E3 Expo will re-establish itself as the preeminent North American computer and video game show, and also will likely be considered the preeminent computer and video game event globally.”
The ESA has been promising big things for the 2009 show and may be setting expectations just a little too high for its own good. On the other hand, given the train wrecks of the past couple of years it’s hard to imagine that the show can go anywhere but up. We’ll find out soon enough. The 2009 E3 Expo runs June 2-4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. For more information, including a full list of exhibitors, check out e3expo.com.
Published: Mar 19, 2009 06:17 pm