Will E3's consumer-friendly stand-in be a worthy show? We dole out the details on the fall expo.

By the end of last year's E3, we industry folk were ready to lay down a diagnosis: in its 11 years, the Electronic Entertainment Expo had developed an identity crisis. For game publishers and companies, it became the be-all end-all of video game events as the big names (and many of the smaller ones) spent millions to trump one another for attendees' attention on the convention center floor. Ever picky, we journalists were increasingly unimpressed -- for many, the event had become a bloated, three-day sensory overload where weeding through crowded kiosks to listen to a PR representative's two-minute pitch about a title seemed unreasonable, and even more so when the speech was drowned out by the sound and scene around us. It made the E3 a lot less fun and a lot more, well, actual work.

This year's E3, not unlike a weight loss supplement, touted itself as leaner, sexier get-together - one that lowered costs on the publishers' side and granted journalists the intimate, low-stress appointments they were looking for without having to wade through a sea of retail employees. Mini-E3 was mostly successful in this regard, but where did the changes leave the above-average gamer seeking to check out upcoming titles in advance? Shutting the door completely on non-media meant the options available to the hardcore demographic had shrunk a little more. Events like Penny Arcade Expo and Quakecon remain reliable destinations for the hardcore group, but the newcomer to the festival fray, the E for All Expo, looks to replace many of the good things E3 originally brought to non-industry attendees.

Still held within the 140,000 sq. foot super-deluxe-arena-with-fries (seriously, there are food vendors) known as the Los Angeles Convention Center, E for All is the gaming man's doppelganger for E3, and one that looks to be more accessible and friendly for the average fan. Conceived by the folks at the International Data Group (owners of magazines including GamePro, Macworld and PC World), E for All is a four-day fest that's open to anyone, but as it awaits its debut, few specifics have been circulated about the event...until now. With concerts, exclusive hands-on gaming, tournaments, and even an rt exhibit to look forward to, continue as we break down the details of the upcoming expo.