The ESA has just released preliminary details on what the new Electronic Entertainment Expo will look like come next year. First of all, the expo will be a little bit later than the industry is used to with the dates of July 11-13 being a bit later than the typical early to mid May dates of years past. The venue will be in Santa Monica this time since a huge space such as the LA Convention Center will not be needed anymore due to the smaller number of participants. The show will be dubbed the E3 Media and Business Summit.

The centerpiece of the invitation-only, three-day event will be the opportunity for both ESA members and non-members to stage major press events, and to have intimate meetings in premier hotel suites and meeting rooms with media, retailers, developer partners, and other audiences. In addition, the nearby Barker Hangar will be converted into a software showcase where attendees will be able to casually test drive the featured video games planned for the coming holiday season and beyond.

“By combining suite-based meetings with the software showcase in a controlled and business-like environment, we believe we will successfully fulfill our primary objective of giving high-level media the best of all worlds — the chance to engage in highly personal, one-on-one dialogue with leading game company executives, as well as the chance to demo games on their own time and to check out offerings from both the best known and emerging game publishers and developers,” said Douglas Lowenstein, President of the ESA. “It will also provide an excellent opportunity for meetings with retailers, developers and other audiences.”

“The new E3Expo is first and foremost about getting business done. When we asked key audiences what they wanted in the new event, we heard that they wanted opportunities for high-level meetings in a business-like setting, to play games, network, and socialize, to see major company offerings while also preserving the sense of discovery that is so much a part of E3Expo, and to hear substantive presentations on the most important issues and trends facing the industry,” said Lowenstein. “We believe the event we have shaped will fulfill all those needs.”