The ESA (Entertainment Software Association) president Doug Lowenstein has today confirmed that the E3 Expo will no longer continue to be the biggest event in the games industry calendar. Instead it will focus on a "more intimate event" that is still in planning.

"The world of interactive entertainment has changed since E3 Expo was created 12 years ago. At that time we were focused on establishing the industry and securing orders for the holiday season.

Over the years, it has become clear that we need a more intimate program, including higher quality, more personal dialogue with the worldwide media, developers, retailers and other key industry audiences.

From now on, the focus for E3 will be on targeted, personalised meetings and activities."

This comes a bit out of the blue, but if you think about it the new ideas do make sense. Is this bad for gamers like you and I? No, not at all. Infact, we should see a more steady release of information from publishers, getting more announcements throughout the year rather than a single bucket-load all at once around E3 time.

Not to worry, we'll still have those Reggie Show/Nintendo Media Briefing's that we all love, just not the large trade show environment of previous years.

E3 2007 will continue to be a hot topic in the games industry, so check back for further updates in coming weeks and months.

[source gamesindustry.biz]