E3

On 31 July 2006, the ESA announced sweeping changes would take place prior to the 2007 E³. No longer a massive gaming expo, the event is to be downsized at the behest of industry giants such as Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Activision, and THQ. Among the changes is a modification of the name from "E³" to "E³ Expo," which is redundant because E³ stands for "Electronic Entertainment Expo."

Although E³ was originally envisioned as an expo open only to game industry professionals, it has grown in recent years to include greater numbers of bloggers and attendees who were not industry professionals. Most of these bloggers will be completely excluded from the revised event, as the ESA has announced that the new E³ will be invitation only.

This is seen as a severe blow to smaller gaming publishers and developers, as they relied on E³'s mass-market buzz and may have to leave the event and advertise independently if the new format becomes too exclusive, although Jerry Holkins of Penny Arcade argues this is beneficial. Also harmed is the city of Los Angeles, which experienced a huge economic boom from the influx of gamers and industry employees during the event.

Although the future support of E³ is unclear at this point, Nintendo has stated that they will still be present at future E³ expos. Microsoft and Sony have not yet stated their stance on the issue.