E For All detailed

Organizer of this year's open-to-the-public event, as well as E3 Media Festival, lays down ticket prices, explains different approaches to each show.

Earlier today, the E For All Expo announced that Nintendo would be its flagship exhibitor, putting one of the first pieces of the puzzle together for gamers wondering what to expect from the inaugural show.

Executive vice president of IDG World Expo Mary Dolaher is organizing the E For All Expo and divulged a few more details about the open-to-the-public show to GameSpot earlier today. Dolaher has plenty of experience to draw on in coordinating E For All, having worked on the Electronic Entertainment Expo since its inception.

First and foremost, Dolaher revealed ticket prices for the show, which runs October 18-21 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, former home of the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Single-day passes for Thursday and Friday will cost gamers $50 each, while admission on Saturday or Sunday will run $75. A full pass for all four days will also be available for $110. Dolaher said there might be a number of different promotions that could change the final price for customers.

As for what gamers can expect once they're through the front doors, Dolaher said attendees will get a chance to try out the big-name holiday releases in a finished state, participate in tournaments, and even add games to their collection from retailers in Kentia Hall. It obviously won't be just Nintendo at the show either. Dolaher said she has contracts underway with a number of Entertainment Software Association members, but doesn't want to name names until details are finalized.

IDG isn't looking to re-create E3 with the event, however. While there may be some news coming from the event, Dolaher said the press conferences, keynote addresses, and big announcements that have marked previous E3s won't be present at E For All. The show floor will also be more interactive, with less of a focus on elaborate, attention-getting booths.

"When you look at a trade-only event like E3, you might have a booth that was constructed for $10 million because it was primarily focused on investors, retailers, and media," said Dolaher. "One of my first years at E3, we had consumers that were trying to tear the signs off an exhibit booth because they wanted the logo so badly. You really need to control what you design and it has to be about the product. It's not about whether you have laser light shows going on."

One thing that looks to recall previous E3 shows is the amount of local promotion surrounding the event. Dolaher said that the group is "overtaking" the city with subway ads, bus ads, and more.

"Anyone and everyone in Los Angeles will know that this show is occurring the week that we are there," Dolaher said.

Finally, Dolaher said the reaction to E For All has already been so positive that she is limiting the amount of space exhibitors can purchase in order to squeeze more of them into the convention center. That has Dolaher thinking about plans for E For All 2008, and she also said a number of companies have expressed an interest in bringing the show to Asia and Europe.

General admission tickets for the inaugural E For All are expected to go on sale in June, with an announcement on advance ticket sales arriving in the coming months. For more information, check out the event's official Web site.

88 Comments

  • simon16_1990

    Posted Jul 25, 2007 7:16 am PT

    why r all the god damn game events so bloody far a god damn way!!!! why cant there be 1 in the UK

  • mega324386

    Posted Jul 22, 2007 11:42 am PT

    Could in a few years turn into the rebirth of E3 when more gaming companies become more involved.

  • Razzi65

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 4:50 pm PT

    we want a seperate gaming event...only for games..we want E3 back..

  • Lumenadducere

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 12:52 am PT

    There's a chance I might go to this, but I don't know yet - I really want to see what else there'll be. I mean, yeah, it'd be nice to get to play the games early, but if that's the focus of the show then I may not go. Now, if the retailers are selling some of the games early or something similar, that'd get me interested...

  • rmlduelest

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 1:00 am PT

    honestly it would be better(not to mention cheaper) to buy a 4 day pass honestly because if you add up the 4 one day passes then that's $200+room and flight the 2 day passes are $150+room and flight so i would pay the $110+room and flight and get in on all 4 days(if i can scrounge up enough money lol)

  • minos30

    Posted Apr 9, 2007 5:22 pm PT

    N for Noobs... Nothing like e3. Still gonna be more interested in E3... And gamespot will be able to cover much better the new E3 format even though it isn't as flashy.

  • MK24ever

    Posted Apr 9, 2007 7:02 am PT

    I want the old E3 back, this one has no karma, we want huge announcements from game developers and Consoles makers, I'm from Europe, why sould I care this e for all thing... bahh they messed all up.

  • downPlayDemon

    Posted Apr 6, 2007 4:32 pm PT

    i think there should be one of these in a bunch of major cities all over the world on a quarterly basis. This brings back the Arcade era

  • xtremeg4m3r

    Posted Apr 5, 2007 5:26 pm PT

    The show must only be in America.

  • swhite77

    Posted Apr 4, 2007 5:41 pm PT

    A tour is a good idea. And they can give the frightened FL retirees Cooking Mama and DSs.

  • flashtek

    Posted Apr 4, 2007 12:19 pm PT

    Its nice to have an expo for gamers and not just the "select few". But they really should tour the expo to different cities. I know that Detroit would fill the venue.

  • AgileNate

    Posted Apr 3, 2007 10:36 pm PT

    The old E3 is forgetting the gamers make video gaming possible and by not letting them view the games themselves will hurt some good opinions towards a game as they cant be experienced by the people wanting to know about the new games. I hope the E for all thing goes good while the old E3 fails in their new attempt.

  • N15PCA

    Posted Apr 3, 2007 10:20 pm PT

    So I though the reason why E3 is no more was the fact that they only wanted people in the video game world has far has company execs and relaters of major store like wall-mart to be their and now you can buy tickets for this E for all. Why didn't they say the reason why they killed E3 and put E for all in it's place was for the money and had nothing to do what the fans being their. If it was only about the money, why didn't their just keep E3 the way it was and charge tickets for it. What a much of bull.

  • stefan42

    Posted Apr 3, 2007 8:57 pm PT

    'e for all'? of all the name suggestions im sure they came up with, they went with the most lame...

  • MadGamer132

    Posted Apr 3, 2007 2:32 pm PT

    hey, at least the "new" e3 will be good, the e for all expo will be much better.

  • theflyinfur

    Posted Apr 3, 2007 11:42 am PT

    It's on the west coast because thats where people are willing to spend ungodly amounts of money without flinching. And it doesn't happen down here in FL cause the influx of awesome would disturb all of the retirees. And no one likes cranky old people.

  • swhite77

    Posted Apr 2, 2007 2:58 pm PT

    So, why must these types of events always happen on the West Coast? We game out here on the East Coast, too! Plane tix from FL to LA + admission = not going for me. There are other parts of the US besides CA, you know. I'm good enough to run into the burning buildings to save their a$$es, but firefighter's salary isn't good enough to get me to the party. Oh well, hope those who can attend have fun!

  • Vistaer

    Posted Apr 2, 2007 12:25 pm PT

    Sorry. Thats 2 days after GTA:IV's release. My life will be focused on that

  • Rumstocker

    Posted Apr 2, 2007 11:38 am PT

    i want press conferences

  • Miracle_Air

    Posted Apr 2, 2007 10:42 am PT

    Don't care, don't wanna go, bring back E3.

    It's as simple as that. Give us back E3. E for All sucked as soon as the name was made, EFA has made a bad decision and this entire thing is going to bomb.

    Give us back E3. I like the fact that I can't go to it because that makes my dedication to the gaming industry even greater. And then when the journalists from G4, Gamespot, IGN and the like provide me with the content, I feel like I'm almost there. That's good enough for me.

  • stfolife

    Posted Apr 2, 2007 9:22 am PT

    yay glad i live in LA

  • Dryker

    Posted Apr 1, 2007 2:04 pm PT

    Early consumer adopters of this show must be expecting an E3, because I can't yet see any reason to get excited about this. Besides Nintendo being their "Flagship Exhibitor", they haven't confirmed on any other companies being involved. Selling games? Sounds more like a Huge retail convention to me. I'm not convinced. I need way more info before I even consider attending this. E3 was always a dream and now it's gone... this sounds like anything but E3.

  • neo16161616

    Posted Apr 1, 2007 6:55 am PT

    I want to go but I dont have the money to fly to L.A. Anyone wanna sponsor me?

  • edgarchong

    Posted Mar 31, 2007 5:56 pm PT

    I'm ready to go!!!

  • andrewglesener

    Posted Mar 31, 2007 12:31 pm PT

    Does E for all mean there are going to be screaming little kids running around?
    To Raz: Its in CA cause' thats where I live.

  • southy787

    Posted Mar 31, 2007 3:24 am PT

    Looks interesting.

  • RazMasters

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 9:27 pm PT

    "WHY are they always in california?"

    That's where the vast majority of the gaming companies are located. If they're not here, they're in Washington, which is nearby.

  • Korubi

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 5:22 pm PT

    I'll be there. Just wish E3 was still going on. I know this show won't be nearly as cool. Ah well, at least I got to go to E3 the last three years it was open to the sort-of public.

  • godoftheds

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 5:06 pm PT

    WHY are they always in california?

  • gameoholic77

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 4:18 pm PT

    I plan on checking it out.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 3:04 pm PT

    It doesn't sound as nearly as exciting as E3..

  • mpeg3s

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 2:22 pm PT

    Yeah, no food, drinks, or parking.

    E for All will cost of the Wii. Sad that it will NOT be an E3 event. I'll pass this year and see what the comments look like.

  • Paulioiscool1

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 12:08 pm PT

    SaitouZero you make some good points, and this E For All thing is starting to look a little lame. There's really not anything special about it, unlike E3. I do hope they bring back the old E3 some day.

  • undox

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 12:02 pm PT

    110 dollars? Man, that is a lot of money. I can attend six other conventions for the same money.

  • Stick32

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 11:59 am PT

    Blackace people like you are the exact reason they had to change E3...

  • blackace

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 11:32 am PT

    $110?!? I used to get into E3 for FREE. lol!! I don't think this will be anything like the E3. There won't be any booth babes. They won't have huge elaborate booths. There will be kids everywhere running around looking for mommy and daddy. I don't think it'll be 18yr and older. Maybe 18yr and older without a parent, but Dad & Mom will be bringing their kids to this show. There won't be as much free stuff and waiting in line to try a certain game will be worse then the E3. I doubt all the big name Japanese developers will be there. Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, Activsion & EA are a given. Companies like Ubi, Capcom, Konami, SquareEnix, Namco, etc.. may end up being a no show. We'll wait and see. I have no plans on going to this. The E3 was a crazy event and this "E for All" will be even worse with no limit on who can get in. I'll just read about it here on Gamespot.

  • ufopuller

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 9:25 am PT

    Quite a way to go for many. Hefty 4-day price tag too. Still lots will flood to the event

  • Kravyn81

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 8:18 am PT

    They should really think about hosting these types of events in different cities every year. I'm sick of every thing always happening in L.A. Not everyone lives there or has the luxury of just taking off for four days to visit. Not all gamers live in L.A. but would like to attend these events at least ONCE in their lifetime. They need to spread the love. It should be feasible since they're not trying to replicate E3 at all, so therefore the venue is quite small compared to what E3 was.

  • motang

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 7:51 am PT

    Hmm...interesting I am going to try to attend this one.

  • OhhSnap50893

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 7:33 am PT

    $110? That's not bad. Too bad I live on the other side of America.

  • JLCrogue

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 7:08 am PT

    I'm going to this event every year!

  • zsc4

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 6:47 am PT

    Nice, when more detail is announced were this tour will be heading then I might consider it.

  • GKBeetle

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 5:56 am PT

    Pepperpop10 It sounds like fun, but why is it the week that GTA IV comes out? Seriously. I'm pretty sure lots of people will be playing that.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    GTA IV will still be around after the show. You can get it afterwards. It's not like people will not be able to leave their house to go to this show because they are playing GTA IV. And if there are people like that, they seriously have a problem. I won't be going because I live nowhere near California, and this will be in the middle of classes, but if I lived in Los Angeles, I would already have this weekend booked.

  • Rect_Pola

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 5:48 am PT

    An E For All Tour... I like the sound of that.

  • GBur70

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 5:40 am PT

    Glad to see a show for gamers.

  • xatman911

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 5:12 am PT

    They better bring to UK... please.

  • RetroGameFanCom

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 4:59 am PT

    I'm There.

  • cypher50

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 4:40 am PT

    "E For All"? Alright, glow sticks and girls dancing to rave music, this show will kick a-- !

    *reads article*

    Oh, nevermind.

  • lumpydonut

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 4:39 am PT

    $110 is a pretty big sum of money just to go to a show for a few days but then look at your local State Fair. Rides cost bookoos and the stuff you buy there will usually and fairly easily add up to more than $110. And it might just be me but I would much rather stay inside a nice big room filled with video games instead of watching a bunch of little kids run around like the fair is the best place in the world.

  • Quadster

    Posted Mar 30, 2007 4:32 am PT

    Expensive?? you gotta be kidding me, for UK Gamers, that works out, after you convert USD to GBP, at about £14 a day, 4 days is £56, and if you're badly wanting to see events over 4 days, then £14 a day is actually a great price for an event held once a year or so

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