Electronic Entertainment Expo
The Electronic Entertainment Expo, commonly known as E3, is an annual trade fair for the video game industry presented by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). It is used by many video game publishers and accessory manufacturers to introduce and advertise upcoming games and game-related merchandise. Unlike Gamescom and other video-game trade fairs open to the public, E3 is an industry-only event; individuals who wish to attend are required by the ESA to verify a professional connection to the video-game industry.
E3 is usually held in late May or early June at the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) in Los Angeles. Their recent event was held from June 16-18, 2015.
History
Before E3, game publishers went to other trade shows to display new or upcoming products; these include the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the European Computer Trade Show. As the game industry grew rapidly during the early 1990s, industry professionals felt that it had outgrown the older trade shows. According to Tom Kalinske, CEO of Sega America, "The CES organizers used to put the video games industry way, way in the back. In 1991 they put us in a tent, and you had to walk past all the porn vendors to find us. That particular year it was pouring rain, and the rain leaked right over our new Genesis system. I was just furious with the way CES treated the video games industry, and I felt we were a more important industry than they were giving us credit for." Sega did not return to the CES the following year, and with the founding of the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) in 1994 most other game companies followed suit.
