Say “buh bye” to the E for All Expo

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) recently announced that E3 2009 will be expanding into something that more closely resembles the massive spectacle the event used to be known for, as opposed to the smaller E3 Media & Business Summit of recent years (2007‒2008).

In response to this news, the International Data Group (IDG) has confirmed that the E for All Expo will not be making a comeback in 2009. Speaking with Joystiq, an IDG spokesperson confirmed that the organization’s “focus now turns to E3.”

An ESA spokesperson explained to Gamasutra that the IDG will once again be taking on full co-production responsibilities for E3 2009, just as it has done since the event’s inception in 1995.

It is expected that around 40,000 games industry professionals will attend E3 2009 — a significant jump over E for All 2008′s lacklustre 15,000 attendees, which was itself a drop from the 18,000 that attended the first E for All Expo in 2007.

Read [Joystiq] Also Read [Gamasutra]