The first ever E for All is a wrap-up and I do believe it was a success, even with several companies missing from the roster. I really wish more companies would have supported this event. I feel the first year is the most important and I know a lot of consumers were really disappointed in the absence of some games. I know so many kids who made their parents fly out to the new “E3,” and they were very disappointed so many games were missing, or that they couldn’t play the Halo pros due to their age (even with their parents!). I understand the business sense of stepping out of something new, but I just think a lot of people were let down and hopefully each year will get bigger and bigger as these things typically do.

At this event, I got to do something I rarely have a chance to do—I donned my PMS shirt to assist in the Entertainment Consumer Association booth at the event. We had about 15 girls all running around working two different booths and causing the typical stir.

The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) is something my clan supports as it is a non-profit membership-driven organization established to serve the needs of those who play computer and video games by combating anti-gaming and anti-gamer legislation. Their mission is to give game consumers a voice and to ensure that elected officials hear their concerns and appreciate the growing influence of the gamer demographic.

For those of you that care about these issues, you should definitely check out their website and sign up. If the cause alone doesn’t get you, you also get discounts on subscriptions and game rentals, and purchases to education, employment assistance, and insider access to industry news and events. Two of my clan mates already won the PS3 they give away monthly! Membership is $20 annually, but you get that back if you us all the discounts. Hopefully, being part of a group that advocates that games don’t make us killers is enough - even though I am most certainly a slayer online!

Back to E for All! An estimated 18,000 visitors attended over the show’s four days, and these numbers included the consumers, developers, retailers and media. Unfortunately, Nintendo (GO NINTENDO, THANKS FOR CARING FOR THE GAMERS!) was the only console manufacturer to attend with by far the best looking booth there. E for All says that more than 70 leading interactive entertainment companies were there, along with about 1,100 members of the media. There was also the Video Games Live concert, the “Into the Pixel” art exhibit and the Game Developers Conference with its Game Careers Seminar series.

Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing the evolution of E for All into what the old E3 actually looked like. I know the consumers will appreciate the noise, lights, smoke and swag much more than the industry did. I hope this venue will continue its growth and will be here in the following years to come - for all of us.