• Los Angeles Times, Thursday, October 23, 2008 11 AM

As corporations around the world scale back their annual gatherings and conventions in the interest of saving cash, The Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, is going in the opposite direction. Yesterday the organizers announced they would be throwing the doors open to a much wider swath of participants after narrowing the invite list in recent years.

The Entertainment Software Association, the industry group that organizes E3 (which is traditionally the gaming industry's most important annual event), said the new approach is a recognition of how al-encompassing the gaming industry has become in recent years. "It's going to be a much larger tent that will be more indicative of the large ecosystem of the industry today," said Michael Gallagher, chief executive of the ESA.

The event will be held June 2-4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Gallagher estimates that next year's E3 will draw 40,000 people -- more than eight times this year's attendance.

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