Game companies controlling E3 invites

The plot thickened today in the continuing saga of the E3 Media and Business Summit, aka the new Electronic Entertainment Expo (not to be confused with the other "new E3").

ESA president Doug Lowenstein, speaking to GameSpot today, said unlike previous E3's where the E3 Expo division of the ESA managed attendance, this coming year the ESA will have a mostly hands-off policy.

"[The] ESA does not control invites," Lowenstein said. According to Lowenstein, his organization will be provided names from ESA members and use that as the basis for generating a list of invitees.

"[T]he point is for attendees to be the people participants want to see in one-on-one meetings...[but] that is not for me to say or influence."

Emphasizing the role ESA will play in the invitation process, he said it would be limited. "Again, we are not making any independent decisions, nor will we have our own private list other than names I feel important to see for ESA purposes," he said.

So exactly how does one get on the E3 list? Lowenstein had this bit of advice: "I'd go to ESA members and make your case." ESA members include most major game publishers, such as Electronic Arts and Activision, as well as the big three console makers--Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony. When the shrunken E3 Media and Business summit was announced earlier this year, many suspected pressure from cost-conscious ESA members as being the primary impetus for the downsizing.