E3 R.I.P. ??

From GP's new obituary section:

Electronic Entertainment Expo, suddenly, July 31st; survived by father, Doug Lowenstein; beloved brother of Mario, Sonic and Master Chief; private burial; in lieu of flowers, send suggestions for best ways game journalists can survive May, 2007...

Hard to believe, but Next Generation, is reporting that E3 is dead:

"...all major exhibitors have effectively pulled their support from the show, prompting the majority of game publishers to also cancel plans for high-cost booths..."

"The decision by big manufacturers and publishers to walk away has left ESA in damage-control mode... E3, in its present form, is dead... The ESA will make an announcement later today that will attempt to add some gloss to this catastrophe... Whatever is announced today will be no more than a fig-leaf. The days of an industry event attended by all the major publishers, spending big money, are gone."

GameSpot is reporting in a similar vein, although with somewhat less of a doomsday flavor than Next Generation's coverage:

"GameSpot... learned that the show would radically shrink in size and... will take place at a location that would support exhibitors in meeting room space only, with... attendees numbering in the hundreds rather than thousands."

It's a shock to the system to imagine the month of May without an E3. In the next few days we'll be trying to assess the implications for the ESA as an entity.