E3

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (or Exposition), commonly known as E? or E3 , is the world's largest annual trade show and the third largest gaming convention for the computer and video games industry. The expo is only open to game industry professionals and journalists who are over 18.

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E3 is usually held in the third week of May of each year at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles. The Expo was held in Atlanta for two years during the late 90s, in which attendance plummeted. The ESA said that over 70,000 people attended the show in 2005.

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Many video game developers show off their upcoming games and game-related hardware at the event, over a fifth of which have never been unveiled prior to the expo. The independent "Game Critics Awards" have been given to "Best of E3" games in various categories since 1998.

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The first E3 was put on by the Interactive Digital Software Association (now the Entertainment Software Association) in 1995. Previously, most game developers went to other trade shows to display new products, including the Consumer Electronics Show and the European Computer Trade Show.

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The Game Developers Conference is another yearly milestone for developers held in the spring each year in California, but it focuses on talks and discussions about the development of games. Other shows exist for the gaming industry (not just video games), including Origins and Gen Con.

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