E³ Tradeshow Turns 10
Games industry expands even while some lament that gamers are graying
By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 5/24/2004
LOS ANGELES—In the decade since a disgruntled group of video game exhibitors left Intl. CES and started their own show, there's been little looking back.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo, owned by the Entertainment Software Assn. and managed by VNU Expositions, has evolved from a 250,000 square foot launch with 240 exhibitors to a Tradeshow Week 200 event twice that size.
Each year, three halls of the Los Angeles Convention are transformed into an unearthly paradise of pounding explosions, super-sized video screens and flashing lights, replete with booth personalities that appear as though they've morphed from one of the thousands of new games on display.
This year's May 12-14 show spanned 540,000 net square feet and drew 436 exhibitors and 65,300 industry members. That was up from last year's 521,000 net sq. ft. event with 400 exhibitors and 62,000 attendees.
Whether they sported business suits or tattoos and facial piercings, most attendees showed up extremely eager to get their hands on the latest games and game players.
A trio of managers from GameStop, an online game purveyor, said they waited in line three hours before the exhibit floor opened to be among the first to try out Nintendo's new dual-screen handheld player. Even after the showfloor opened, they had to wait at least another hour in the Nintendo line.
But the waiting didn't faze them. All three were just happy to be finally working in the industry and allowed admittance. E3 requires attendees to be 18 and bona fide professionals. Several years ago, the show was moved from weekend days to midweek to staunch the flow of teen-gamer gatecrashers.
"I've been wanting to come since I was 12 years old," said GameStop's Matt Szewczyk. "I think anyone into games wants to be here. You get to see all the new products."
And the show's reputation isn't just restricted to the United States. "It's known as the biggest gaming show in the world," said Jihad Abdullah, editor-in-chief of Strategic Publishing & Media Services, who journeyed from the United Arab Emirates to attend.
Mary Dolaher, ESA vice president of events, said easing of visa-processing problems helped boost international attendance this year.
Besides a museum intended to pay homage to video games' history, this year's event featured a member survey focusing on the past decade and the launch of "E3Insider," a streaming-rich Web site intended to reach out to consumers.
Increases in the number of female game players, international expansion and advances in online games are expected to drive further growth in the industry – and consequently the show – in years to come.
But with the average age of gamers now 29, some worry about "the graying of gamers." Doug Lowenstein, the association's president, said he expects the aging of gamers to continue into the next decade. "Thus we cannot assume that the gamers of 2014 will want the same experience they had when they were younger," he said.
Lowenstein acknowledged being initially uncertain the breakaway show would succeed. "I remember the first year pulling up to this building with knots in my stomach, worrying whether we had made a terrible mistake leaving the consumer electronics show and launching E3. Then I saw the long lines to register and knew we had a hit."
He added, "A lot of people thought we were nuts. CES thought we would be crawling back to them in short order."
The show has been held in Los Angeles every year, except 1997 and 1998, when it was moved to Atlanta due to construction at the LACC. Dolaher said the association wants to keep the show in the entertainment capital of L.A. Space is on hold there through 2012.
Dolaher said the convention center has done its best over the years to accommodate E3, which requires a 10-day move-in. "There are a lot more two-story booths and smoke and lights and the whole immersive experience is greater," she said. "Every year, there are new challenges, but there's new excitement too."
