E3Expo 2001 to
Unveil Never-Before-Seen Interactive Products
E3Expo 2001 to
Unveil Never-Before-Seen Interactive Products
Pre-Show Exhibitor Survey Provides a First-Look
at Computer and Video Games for the Holidays.
More
than 750 never-before-seen computer, online and
video games and related products will debut at
the 2001 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3Expo),
according to an exhibitor survey fielded by the
show's owner, the Interactive Digital Software
Association (IDSA).
Overall,
about 400 companies, including 123 first-time
E3Expo exhibitors, will showcase thousands of
games and products at this year's show, which
will be held May 17th to 19th at the Los Angeles
Convention Center.
"E3Expo
exhibitors tell us that almost 80 percent of the
products that will be displayed at this year's
show are expected to be on store shelves in time
for the 2001 holiday season," said Douglas
Lowenstein, president of the IDSA, the trade
association representing U.S. entertainment
software publishers. "So, if you want to
know what the more than 60 percent of Americans
who play computer and video games will be asking
for this holiday season, you need to be at
E3Expo, the world's most important forum for the
launch of interactive entertainment products and
technologies."
Approximately
one-third of E3Expo exhibitors responded to this
year's annual E3Expo exhibitor survey. Reflecting
the fact that interactive games appeal to a
continually broadening audience, survey
respondents reported that approximately 90
percent of their game titles being shown have
been developed for families and children.
Nineteen percent of respondents' titles have been
published specifically for women and girls, and
about eight percent for seniors.
In
a year of booming consumer excitement about next
generation video game consoles and the most
advanced software for all platforms, survey
respondents reveal that all types of game
platforms continue to draw interest. While more
than 40 percent of never-before-seen game titles
at E3Expo 2001 have been developed for consoles,
more than one-third have been developed for
computer CD ROM, approximately 15 percent for
handheld devices and almost four percent for
online/Internet only games. In addition, these
E3Expo exhibitors report that less than one
percent of the titles set to launch for the first
time at the show have been created for DVD and
set top box respectively, and less than two
percent for personal data assistants and cellular
phones combined.
On
the technology front, survey respondents rank
wireless capability as one of the most important
breakthrough industry developments of the recent
past (38 percent), followed by games that are
accessed via multiple platforms and/or devices
(36 percent), and advanced graphics (32 percent).
Previously
unreleased interactive products highlighted by
the survey will be spotlighted at this year's
show in the E3Expo 2001 "First Looks"
program. Participating First Looks exhibitors
will be designated in the E3Expo exhibit guide,
show daily, www.e3expo.com and on the
exhibit floor beginning May 17th.
Kicking
off the show on May 17th, E3Expo exhibitors and
next generation console developers Microsoft,
Nintendo and Sony Computer Entertainment will
take a first look at the future of the
fast-changing video game business at the E3Expo
2001 keynote panel discussion. Panelists include:
Robert J. Bach, senior vice president, games
division and chief Xbox officer, Microsoft Corp.;
Peter T. Main, executive vice president, sales
and marketing, Nintendo of America Inc.; and
Kazuo Hirai, president and chief operating
officer, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
The keynote begins at 9 a.m. in West Hall, second
floor, room 515 of the LACC.
E3Expo
is wholly owned by the IDSA, the U.S. association
dedicated to serving the business and public
affairs needs of companies publishing interactive
games for video game consoles, handheld devices,
personal computers and the Internet. IDSA members
collectively accounted for more than 90 percent
of the $6 billion in entertainment software sales
in the United States in 2000, and billions more
in export sales of American-made entertainment
software. The IDSA offers services to interactive
entertainment software publishers including a
global anti-piracy program, business and consumer
research, government relations and First
Amendment and intellectual property protection
efforts.
E3Expo is a trade event,
and is not open to the general public. No one
under the age of 18 will be admitted, including
infants. This policy is strictly enforced.
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