E3 exhibitor numbers dwindle

A "complete" list of publishers and developers attending the newly slimmed-down E3 have been made available to press, and as expected the numbers fall far short of previous expos.

Just 32 companies (yes, you read that right) are listed for this year's event, which will take place in Santa Monica in July. Attendees include (deep breath) 1C Company, Activision, Akella, Atari, Atlus, Disney Interactive Studios, Capcom, Codemasters, Crave Entertainment, Eidos, Electronic Arts, Konami, LucasArts, Majesco, Microsoft, Midway, Namco Bandai Games, NCsoft, Nintendo, Sega, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Online Entertainment, Square Enix, Take-Two Interactive, THQ, Ubisoft, Vivendi Games, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Most of the big players seem to be there but it's a big way off last year's exhibitor list which exceeded 400. There are also only two independent developers listed, id Software and Foundation 9 Entertainment, which is disappointing seeing as one of the biggest reasons for the down-scale was to give smaller devs a chance in the spotlight.

This year's E3 will consist of an exhibit hall in Santa Monica's Barker Hanger as well as company-run demos in nearby hotels. As always third-party press conferences will be held in a common location while platform holders will hold their own bashes - though the big three are yet to make any announcements.

Invitations are expected to number between 3000 and 4000, a mere fraction of last year's 60,000. July 11-13 is the date and we'll let you know if it's worth making a fuss about.

April 23, 2007