You've heard our initial thoughts on E for All, but as day two starts we thought we'd gather up some early impressions of the show from other outlets and slap them together in a classic metareview. We'll probably end up doing another one of these at the end of the show if enough outlets do wrap-up impressions. Just to be clear, these are initial impressions and do not convey what can or will happen with the E for All show over the weekend (when there's gotta be more people going). Check out the shot of the LA Convention Center lobby from E3 2006 after the break for a comparison to the E for All one above.

• Macworld: "Some industry veterans who arrived on Thursday were a bit disappointed by what they saw. E3 veterans are accustomed to seeing every square inch of the mammoth convention center overflowing with game content. That's not the case with the new E for All show, as it only occupies the center's still-cavernous South Hall. But still, visitors were upbeat about getting their hands on the latest games and gaming technology, and vendors were anxiously anticipating a steadily increasing stream of foot traffic throughout the next few days."
• NextGen: "On a preliminary basis, the show does seem to suffer from the fact that Sony and Microsoft aren't present-maybe next year. Not having several of the big third-party publishers present as exhibitors also brings down the energy level a bit, perhaps more so than we expected now that we're actually on the show floor."
• Game|Life: "E for All is a ghost town, right now. I was talking with the Nintendo guys about how nice it is to be able to actually swing your arms and not hit other people. But that's because the show floor is small and attendance is smaller. There are maybe a few thousand people in South Hall, spread wide out across the thin showing of booths. ... To be fair, the show's currently only open to pre-registered attendees. And it's a Thursday. Hopefully things will improve for this show closer to the weekend, or once they let in people off the street at 3 PM. But right now, wow. It's pretty sparse."
• Kotaku: "Around 3 PM, when those who hadn't pre-registered for the event were permitted to enter, crowds grew by about a third, but there was virtually no waiting to get on most games. ... Granted, it's Thursday, and many of the gamers who might be interested in hitting up E For All may not be able to make it down until the weekend, but first impressions of public interest in the event isn't fantastic. We could very well be looking at the first, and the last, E For All Expo. No one will mistake this event for the 'new E3.'"

Since we were running from appointment to appointment, we didn't have much time to shoot video, although be sure and check out our 200+ image (and growing) E For All gallery for your edutainment.

What video we did manage to shoot and cram into iMovie and then upload hastily to Viddler is here, also for your edutainment. As you can see, Rock Band and Guitar Hero III were popular stops, and Namco's Pac-Man heads were a hot commodity. There's a bit of Super Smash Bros. Brawl tossed in, although a Nintendo-bot came over and told us that we couldn't film the gameplay footage since, "The game isn't out yet." Strange, but we sort of thought that was the idea behind showing it off at E For All. Anyhow, she let us keep what we filmed, and then went off after another amateur cameraman.

We'll be bringing you more from the floor today and through the weekend, including more impressions of MGS4, some interviews, and more hands-on than you can shake a Wiimote at. If there's something you've heard about at the show that you want captured on video or with some photos, let us know ... just please don't make us document the selection in the food court. We beg of you.

So, we came, we saw, and we'll be back for more throughout Friday and the weekend, but the big question you all wanna know is ... will there be an E For All 2008? Signs point to "not very likely." Judging by some of the empty rows of gaming stations we saw, and the fact that it doesn't fill the South Hall at the Los Angeles Convention Center, it's hard to imagine this show being a giant success.

In fact, since it's held in the exact same place that E3 used to be, it's impossible not to compare it to the other shows. In fact it sort of feels like E3 reborn, except that they forgot to send out invites and let people know about it. There were a few busy areas, like the Konami booth which had a line of people all day long waiting to play the MGS4 demo (which was sweet, more on that later), and the Nintendo booth had bleachers set up where people patiently waited to get their hand on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which was also sweet. If by sweet you mean button-mashy, which we do.

Also popular was Link's Crossbow Training, which we'll be playing tomorrow, and of course, Guitar Hero 3. We also witnessed several people pulling Peter Moore's at the Rock Band trailer, which was an extremely cool setup ... but sort of sparsely attended. Probably due to the fact that no one really wants to hear perfect strangers butchering The Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go."

While there's not a ton of material out there that hasn't already hit the shelves, we did have fun playing around at the EA booth (we still love you, The Orange Box), and Civiization: Revolution is a lot of fun, which we'll be telling you more about soon. For now, the obligatory Guitar Hero III stations, the elaborate Rock Band stages, the ubiquitous cosplay shots and an overdose of Fatal1ty await you in the gallery.

IDG Entertainment is running into a little trouble crafting "a follow-up to the now-defunct E3 Expo." Firing Squad is reporting that Sony Computer Entertainment will not be attending the upcoming E For All Expo.

Along with the major console maker, publishers NCSoft, Sega and Capcom will also be missing the October show, according to FiringSquad. The show won't be a total bust, though: Nintendo and EA will be there, along with THQ, Konami, Namco, Intel and NVIDIA.

These losses are a pretty major blow as the new show tries to become a must-attend event. Any show that's going to replace E3 is going to have to quickly build up to a critical mass of publisher attention to draw in the press and consumer interest that makes an expo work.

Carolyn Rauch, former Senior Vice President of the Entertainment Software Association, has been named VP of event development at the International Data Group World Expo. Rauch's move follows in the footsteps of Mary Dolaher, a former VP for ESA who early last month became CEO of IDG World Group.

The E for All Expo is being organized by IDG World Group in the shadow of the ESA-organized E3 (now shrunken like an iPod to the E3 Media and Business Summit). Don't expect competitive words or sentiments, as IDG is managing E3, but two figures from the glitz-era E3 handling E for All is further proof the public event is trying to retain the atmosphere the formerly extravagant convention.

The ESA recently appointed Michael Gallagher as the new head of the ESA.

E for All, with Nintendo as its flagship, is coming to the Los Angeles Convention Center October 18 to 20. The invite-only "Min-E3" is July 11 to 13 in Santa Monica.

We are gathered here today, not to remember E3's death on July 31, 2006, but rather its life. A life which we would have celebrated this week if it weren't for its untimely passing. In the words of 20th Century wordsmith P Drs, we take a moment to remember:


It is hard to imagine that the event so many loved to hate to love is actually gone now. Right about now journalists, industry folk and the legions of fanboys who scored a pass would be preparing to fly to Los Angeles tomorrow and get settled into our ghetto hotels before the madness of Wednesday. The sweat, the ecstasy and the pounding beat of thousands of speakers vying for consumer industry attention. But, like a tweaked-out twink on a three-day bender, the party couldn't last. The scene became too much for the big publishers and they decided to scale it down, keep their party tight and in private hotel rooms. Abandoned and with no place to go, with no more support, E3 passed. And so, we lost a good friend.

But let us not forget that left behind are PAX, E for All and Min-E3. Two events geared for the masses and one ultra-exclusive meant to take E3 back to its roots. Get the journalists who didn't make their business cards with mom's HP inkjet in to the cover the event. It is sad to think many will not know the joy and exhaustion caused by E3, but in time the pain will fade, like all pain does, and the happy memories will remain. We miss you E3.

Though mention of Gamepro's E for All Expo may prompt you to envision a discreet gathering of drug dealers or a wild party where people bash each other over the head with giant foam letters, the truth is that entertainment will be the only thing being distributed. With Nintendo acting as a "flagship" for the October event, many expect it to replace the glitz and clamor of E3, with the exception of it being open to all. All with at least $50 in hand, of course.

Speaking to Gamespot last week, IDG World Expo vice president and show organizer, Mary Dolaher, revealed the exact pricing of the different entry tickets. How Mary Dolahers many dollars are you expected to part with, exactly? Single day tickets for Thursday and Friday will set you back $50, whereas single day tickets for the weekend go for $75. A four-day pass is set at $110.

Though the precise scope of industry support for the expo has yet to be seen, there are probably more terrible ways to spend $50 in a day. The E For All Expo will run in Los Angeles from 18 October to 21 October, with general admission tickets going on sale in June.

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

IDG World Expo, the company that puts on the Macworld Expo, is already advertising its Tea for Two Expo E for All Expo at this Mac convention with stacks of fliers greeting show visitors. (We hope there's a Mac games audience here this week; is that the reason for the fliers? Is IDG Expo just trying to reach show-goers on the way to the iPhone?)

Of course, it's hard to predict the show vibe of the EA Expo E for All Expo, but these cards and their edgy Halloween font scream "attitude to the max" or maybe just "quick turnaround." If E3 died because it cost exhibitors too much to cause a scene -- waving shiny models at retailers and the media -- here's hoping that E4EVR E for All reigns in some of the hype. Nah, who are we kidding? If it's aimed at a consumer audience, won't that just be an excuse for more noise?

See the full fliers after the break.

The "E" referring to "Entertainment" mind you, not the easily obtainable street drug. Let's face it, the joke comparing gaming trade shows to free-for-all drug parties practically tells itself.

On the topic of terrible and somewhat inappropriate jokes, Gamepro's website has officially revealed the new title for their upcoming "E3 follow-up" expo, to be held in association with IDG World Expo. Equal parts Marx and Mork, "Entertainment for All Expo" is the winning title chosen out of 3,000 entries on Gamepro's website. It certainly speaks volumes about the quality of the other 2,999.

The E for All Expo is fully endorsed by the Entertainment Software Association, despite it flying in the face of E3's concerns like a shrieking bat. The event will give consumers the chance to experience all manner of games and gadgetry, allowing them to purchase some of the items they've seen on the way out. E For All will also host gaming tournaments, job fairs and Video Games Live concerts.

Throbbing mass of gamers -- check. Extraordinarily loud music -- check. "No longer just for industry insiders" -- check. The evidence makes it quite clear. This is the successor to E3. Looks like members of the press will just have to make due with Min-E3 (at least it has a cooler name).

[Thanks fonz!]