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LOS ANGELES - A new attempt to recapture the former spectacle of America's biggest video game show got off to a rocky start, with sparse crowds and the absence of many big-name game companies.
The inaugural E for All Expo wrapped up a relatively quiet four days at the Los Angeles Convention Centre over the weekend.
E for All, or E4, was meant to fill the void left when the industry's biggest trade show, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, downsized and moved out of the LA Convention Center.
During recent years E3 had ballooned to 60,000 attendees before being reduced this past July to 3,000 hand-picked guests who attended a more buttoned-down show that received mixed reviews from participants.
Unlike E3, E for All was open to the public. Organisers said 18,000 people attended over the four days, but despite the return of scantily clad models, or "booth babes," and tons of free giveaways, there were few times when it seemed crowded.
"You could knock out everything you wanted to see in a couple of hours," said James Cardona, a 20-year-old gamer who was attending his first industry show. "From what my friends tell me, this is nothing compared to E3."
The lack of big-name companies was hard to miss. Two of the three major console makers, Sony and Microsoft didn't participate. Electronic Arts, the largest game publisher, was there but many top publishers decided to sit it out.
E3 used to fill almost the entire convention centre, but E4 didn't even fill the single hall it occupied.
"A lot of the publishers weren't taking it seriously," said Jeremy Parrish, features editor for gaming website 1up.com.
He is the only editor from the site who attended the show, and only stayed for the media day.
"It wasn't worth it for us (to stay) because there was so little new information," Parrish said.
However, the companies that did attend made every effort to bring the buzz back. Nintendo dominated the show with a large booth that let eager fans play highly anticipated titles such as "Super Mario Galaxy" and "Smash Brothers Brawl."
"We don't have many opportunities to show products to consumers," said Perrin Kaplan, head of communications for Nintendo of America.
"So we thought it was a good idea to attend. We'll see what happens with the show going forward."
Others were downright happy that rivals didn't show up.
Game publisher Konami chose E4 as the only chance for US audiences to get their hands on "Metal Gear Solid 4," an upcoming action game that is expected to spark sales of the PlayStation 3 console.
Attendees queued up to be one of just 250 people picked daily to spend 12 minutes playing a preview of the game, which will be released in early 2008.
"We feel like we own this show, really," said Ryan Payton, assistant producer of the game. "I'm not willing to write-off E for All like some other people are."
Organizers have already announced that E for All will be returning next year in August, closer to the date of the new E3 as well as the Penny Arcade Expo, a show held in the Seattle area that has gained in stature in recent years.
"We're in this for the long haul," said Carolyn Rauch, a vice president at show organiser IDG World Expo.
- REUTERS
