Well, I must be a visionary, because E3 is cancalled. Next-Gen.biz had an
exclusive report today, which featured "well placed sources" who claimed that
the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) decided to pull the plus on E3
after several major exhibitors had decided to pull out of the world's largest
video game show for 2007.

There was just one problem. Not long after Next-Gen "broke" the news, several
other competing video game news outlets, such as Ars Technica, issued their own
reports Sunday that E3 was, in fact, not cancelled and would go on, albeit on a
smaller sclae. Then more reports trickled out that featured their own un-named
industry sources, which claimed that E3 would undergo drastic changes -- like
being moved from the Los Angeles Convention Center to a smaller venue -- and be
significantly downsized because the show was becoming a Comdex-like behemoth
that was out of control. All of these conflicting reports have led to insults
and bickering between the trade news organizations, blogs and enthusiasts that
follow the video game industry.

Apparently, one thing is true -- the ESA is having serious discussions with
industry folks and major exhibitors about paring down E3 to a smaller, less
costly and more manageable event. According to the official E3 Web site,
planning is already underway for E3 2007 at the L.A. Convention Center, May 16-
18. The ESA is supposed to release the official word on the future of the show
this week, perhaps as earlier as tomorrow, which will hopefully do two things.

First, it will put an end to some of the immature behavior and silly
gamesmanship (no pun intended) that some "news" sites are engaging in with this
particular hot item. And second, it will give the video game industry a chance
to examine it premier trade show and figure out how to fix it before it breaks
for good and become another Comdex. Sure, tech trade shows aren't what they used
to be, but there's a still a place for smaller, more targeted events that
actually deliver value like CMP's Game Developer Conference.
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But E3 was becoming too crowded and too hard hard for people to digest. There
were too few informative seminars, panels or keynotes. Major players like
Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony getting their big news out of the way prior to the
event at adjacent locations (seriously, that's how it starts -- just as Comdex).
People waited six hours to play Nintendo's Wii, which is half the time they had
to wait in line to get lunch. All in all, E3 had turned into a mangled mess.
When you ask people if they are going to E3, and 99 percent of them let out an
exhaustive sigh followed by "Yeah, I'll be there, but I don' really want to go,"
well, that's when you know something is wrong.