ESA confirms smaller, 'more intimate' E3 in 2007

The Entertainment Software Association confirmed Monday that it plans to scale back the size and scope of E3, the video game industry's largest trade show.

The event, which has been held each year at the Los Angeles Convention Center, attracts tens of thousands of journalists, exhibitors, retailers and others. But in its release Monday about its E3 plans, the ESA said it intends the show to be "more intimate" and that it would not have the feel of a giant trade show in the future.

E3 has long been known for the mammoth booths of exhibitors like Electronic Arts, Activision, Sony, Microsoft and others, and the ESA's statement suggested that the show would no longer feature booths of that scope.

Still, the statement, from ESA President Douglas Lowenstein, said that E3 would remain in Los Angeles in some form.

"E3Expo remains an important event for the industry, and we want to keep that sense of excitement and interest," Lowenstein said in the statement, "ensuring that the human and financial resources crucial to its success can be deployed productively to create an exciting new format to meet the needs of the industry."

The ESA said it would reveal more details about its plans for E3 in the coming months.

Calls to the ESA were not immediately returned Sunday and Monday.