Gamertell

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) recently announced that E3 2009 will be expanding into something that more closely resembles the massive spectacle the event used to be known for, as opposed to the smaller E3 Media & Business Summit of recent years (2007‒2008).

In response to this news, the International Data Group (IDG) has confirmed that the E for All Expo will not be making a comeback in 2009. Speaking with Joystiq, an IDG spokesperson confirmed that the organization’s “focus now turns to E3.”

An ESA spokesperson explained…

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Combat Arms, Nexon’s free-to-play, MMOFPS (massive multiplayer online first person shooter) has launched commercially, and to celebrate there will be a tournament at E-for-All 2008. On October 4, 2008, from 11am to 6:30pm PST, the PMS Clan (Pandora’s Mighty Soldiers) will be at the Combat Arms booth, ready to take on opponents…

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As much as E for All had a lackluster first showing last year - this year’s expo isn’t looking any better. In fact, the only major companies signed on to show their wares - Microsoft and EA. Everyone else is a minor entity or peripheral peddler. GameDaily has the scoop on the absentees, which include “Sony, Midway, Atari, Sega, Warner Bros. Interactive, NCsoft, LucasArts, Sony Online, Square Enix, Codemasters, Gamecock, Southpeak, Disney Interactive and Capcom.“ Also according to the post “Nintendo, 2K Games and Activision were contacted, but were still uncertain if they will be attending. Representatives for Ubisoft and Namco Bandai have not responded to press queries.“

This doesn’t bode well for the fledgling conference, especially when PAX is looking so hot this year. If you’re dying to go to a game conference in the next few months, you’re better off going to Seattle next weekend. E for All is still scheduled for October 3-5, 2008 at the LA convention center.

Read [GameDaily] Also Read [The Cut Scene]

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The first big announcement for this year’s E for All came today with a press release announcing that Microsoft will show it’s latest games at the expo. The convention is set for October 3-5, 2008, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

From the press release:

“Microsoft’s presence at the 2008 event will help us build on the great success of last year’s inaugural E for All event, and will further our goal of building an exciting and cutting-edge event that brings the best and newest games to gamers of all types.“

This is a great sign for the event, as MS passed on last year’s event. Now, lets let the predictions fly for what specific games will be on display.

Read [Kotaku]

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E for All is again going to be taking place in October. The second annual E for All will be once again held at the Los Angeles Convention center and will run from October 3-5, 2008. According to GameDaily, the convention was originally going to be held August 28-30, 2008. However since the Penny Arcade Expo already had been scheduled for August 29-31, 2008 in Seattle, the dates were changed. I guess they figured the Penny Arcade Expo would steal E for All’s thunder.

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Feeling creative? New videogame expo E for All is teaming up with threadless.com to create the “E for All loves threadless” t-shirt design competition. The theme is E for All’s motto “power up and play”, and the winner receives $2000, a trip the first ever E for All expo, a Nintendo Wii, and other fabulous prizes (like E for All swag and a threadless gift certificate).

Graphic designers take note: “The purpose of this competition is to create a stand-alone design inspired by the theme, not a brand tee. Your design should not have the brand name or logo on it.” The deadline runs through October 1, 2007, so there’s plenty of time to get your image ready.

E for All takes place October 18-21 at the LA convention center, and is set to include a Video Games Live concert, the Into the Pixel art exhibit, the World Series of Video Games competition, a game developer conference, and even a game careers seminar, among all the exhibits from game developers (not Sony or Microsoft, unfortunately).

Site [Threadless] Read [Gaming Today]

• It’s on - Combat Arms tournament scheduled for E for All 2008
• 2Bits: Keep those E3 doors closed
• Say “buh bye” to the E for All Expo

While the debate rages on about whether or not videogames themselves are art, collections of game-inspired art are gaining popularity.

Case in point: The Into the Pixel art exhibition to be shown this July (11-13, 2007) at E3 2007 and opened to the public at the E for All Expo at the LA convention center October 18-21, 2007.

The collection was unveiled online yesterday (June 22nd) and features 16 multimedia works “selected by a panel of jurors from a field of submissions gleaned from artists around the world”. Now in it’s fourth year, the collection includes concept art, sketches, and digital paintings from and inspired by games as diverse as Viva Pinata, Dawn of War, and Lair.

Site [Into the Pixel] Read [Destructoid]

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