If comparing the inaugural E For All expo to E3 seems unfair, consider that its organizers practically invited the comparison. They held the event in E3's old haunt, the Los Angeles Convention Center. They chose a name that echoed the defunct trade show's. Tommy Tallarico even stood up at his Video Games Live show and proclaimed that "E4," as he called the show, was the true successor to E3.

But if IDG had known what E For All would actually become, I imagine they'd have made a lot of decisions differently. They wouldn't have put such a small expo into such a giant, expensive space, for example. Nor would they have been so eager to position themselves as the next great gamer destination. They'd have started smaller. As it happened, though, E For All shot for the moon and fell short.

Certainly if you'd asked Nintendo, they'd have told you that they had a fantastic show. Nintendo's booth was positioned front and center near the main entrance, and they had the hottest products on the show floor. One PR rep said that people were waiting in line an hour and a half to play Mario Galaxy for ten minutes, then getting back in line. And of course, Super Smash Bros. Brawl was easily the most popular thing at the whole show. Nintendo had a giant section of bleachers in the back of the booth, which was filled up with fans waiting their turn to play all day Friday and Saturday.

Indeed, if a casual observer were to simply peek in the door and look at the booths in front of their eyes, they would imagine that E For All's show floor was packed with people. But beyond the confines of the Nintendo, Konami, and Electronic Arts booths (the latter two featuring playable versions of anticipated hits Metal Gear Solid 4 and Rock Band), the floor space was sparsely populated at best. Many smaller companies sat in the back and entertained a few visitors who'd wandered briefly away from the very front of the hall. Mostly it was game wholesalers, makers of niche products, and smaller developers -- and nobody much cared about them.