Dubbed as the successor to E3, IDG World Expo has replaced the placeholder title of ‘GamePro Expo‘ with ‘E for All‘, their annual gaming convention. There was a recent content where gamers were invited to submit their name proposals; over 3000 entries were received and this was the winning entry by California resident Dante Padre.

When asked what inspired his name submission, Padre said: “This show seems to be about inviting everyone to participate; they even asked gamers to create the name. Unlike other industry-only events, this show is for everyone. Now everyone will have the opportunity to experience the excitement, the entertainment, and the early look at the industry that’s only been available to insiders before.”

As he said, the show will be open to consumers, but will also include high-profile videogame tournaments, job fair/networking opportunities, the highly acclaimed Video Games Live concert and more.

The expo is scheduled for October 18-20, 2007 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Regarded as both a shock and a blessing, The Entertainment Software Association has announced that E3 Expo is “evolving” into a more intimate event rather than the circus it was before.

“The world of interactive entertainment has changed since E3Expo was created 12 years ago. At that time we were focused on establishing the industry and securing orders for the holiday season,” said Douglas Lowenstein, President of the ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers and the owner of E3Expo. “Over the years, it has become clear that we need a more intimate program, including higher quality, more personal dialogue with the worldwide media, developers, retailers and other key industry audiences.”

And that’s not all. ESA plans on cutting down all the excitement that marked the previous E3s and replaces them with “small meetings with media, retail, development and other key sectors.” Basically, it will not feature the large trade show environment it had in its previous years. Additionally, the show has been moved to July from its May timeslot and its name has been changed to “E3 Media Festival”.

Following the above news, Gamespot, Game Informer and Rocky Mountain News carried out Q&As with Doug Lowenstein, the president of ESA, on the changes and why they were made. Tons of editorial were written as well, here are some: CNN Money, EuroGamer, FiringSquad, GameZone, MMORPG.COM, IGN and Next Generation.

Adding to the above, Gamespot carries an article offering their staff’s view and the industry’s reaction to the change.

To help interested visitors get to the convention faster and in a hassle-free manner, the Deutsche Bahn - German Rail - will, like last year, run special trains from Cologne and Munich to help long-distance visitors make their way to Leipzig.

Departure times for the trains are 2.00 a.m. from Munich and 3.00 a.m. from Cologne, arriving at 10.00 in the morning on 27 August at the Leipzig Fair station, Messe-Bahnhof. The return journey from Leipzig is scheduled for 7.00 p.m. on 27 August. Visitors will be back in Cologne and Munich between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Monday morning.

The tickets have been on sale from June 12, and are available from all DB travel centers and agency offices. These tickets cost between 56-64 and 52-61 Euros on the Munich-Leipzig and Cologne-Leipzig routes, respectively.

GC 2006 runs from 24-27 August in Leipzig, Germany.

In the first of many announcements, the organizers of GC 2006 (Games Convention) have sent word that the German gaming convention will be host to art exhibitions this year. The exhibitions “pong.mythos”, “Machinima” and “Digital Beauties/Character Design”, together with the presentation from the Burg Giebichenstein Art and Design College, will be available to show goers this year.

Further information can be found after the jump. Games Convention 2006 will be held at Leipzig, Germany from 24-27 August.
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This year’s E3 was all-out crazy, thanks to Sony and Nintendo fully unveiling their consoles, and Microsoft announcing their second wave of games for Xbox 360, as well as Halo 3. Now that the event is over, ESA, the organizer, sent word that the expo had had more than 60,000 attendees, which is surprising since last year’s E3 saw more than 70,000 visitors.

Even though there were lesser people this time, E3Insider.com, the expo’s official consumer site, had attracted double the number of visitors since last year. The site received nearly 1.5 million visits during the three days of the show. It was offering DVD-quality video broadcasts, photos from the show, as well as behind-the-scenes action at the LA Convention Center where the event was held.

E3 2007 has been scheduled for May 16-18, 2007, in Los Angeles.