New video game show off to rocky start

By Kemp Powers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - 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 Center on Sunday. 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. Organizers 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 Corp (6758.T) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) didn't participate. Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS.O), the largest game publisher, was there but many top publishers decided to sit it out.

E3 used to fill almost the entire convention center, 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 Web site 1up.com.

He is the only editor from the site who attended the show, and only stayed for the media day on Thursday.

"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 (9766.T) chose E4 as the only chance for U.S. 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.