The Electronic Entertainment Expo Media and Business Summit is fast approaching, but this isn't the same E3 of the past. The Entertainment Software Association made it clear last year about significantly downsizing E3 to invitations only event. It was a quite a significant blow to gamers and small media outlets who reported from E3 as now only the bigger media outlets would be able to report from it.

With E3 moving from the L.A. Convention Center to the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, we are seeing the major size reduction to a 3,000 to 4,000 in attendance this year. Does this mean E3 isn't the gaming event of the year anymore? It's pretty obvious that E3 isn't the major industry spectacle on par with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) it used to be but it's still rather an important event for the console companies and third party developers to announce new games and any other exciting news.

The smaller capacity crowds it does lets the major outlet media get more time with the games which allows them to cover a more in-depth report and convey to us, the gamers. But with the departure of E3 organizer, Carolyn Rauch, for the E For All expo earlier this month, it's pointing to that E3 maybe losing it's importance.

With the new and small E3 this year, we do have what many gamers who consider the successor: IDG's Entertainment for All expo coming this October. It's held at the old stomping ground of E3 at the L.A. Convention Center. Being held during a more consumer-friendly time of year during late October. With a bigger venue than E3, E For All has received the attention of many gamers who would never have got the chance to attend E3.

This is the first revamped E3 so lets give it the benefit of the doubt that maybe a small venue will be able to help the people in attendance gain more exclusive interviews, and better hands on report of the games. I will miss some of the events like the "Running of the Nerds" towards Nintendo's booth, the booth babes, and loud music as the media reports from E3, but maybe E For All can fill that void. We have two new different type of events coming up and I look forward to hearing about both of the them.