Mike Gallagher: "E3 has never been a consumer show"

The ESA's Michael Gallagher has said that E3 has "never been a consumer show" and that to offer public days during the event would be a "pretty significant change".

"E3 has never been a consumer show, so that would be a pretty significant change," Gallagher told IGN. "Obviously, from this year's format we look at a lot of different things, right now we're focused on executing this year's show very well and making sure it's a success.

"We'll start planning next year's show on June 5th."

As far as bringing back the "old E3," Gallagher is content that this year, the hardcore crowd be pleased just as well as the ever-expanding demographic.

"Clearly this industry's demographics have dramatically changed over the last 2 to 3 years. Now you have one quarter of all gamers are over 50, and 38 percent of gamers are women. You just have a terrific growth dynamic because of the breadth of entertainment and the excitement level of the entertainment we're offering.

"The more we can bring in mainstream media to carry that, it becomes a self-fulfilling, self reinforcing marketplace for us. And we're already seeing some very positive signs on the media interest."

Still, it's going to be business as usual so that the show remains "efficient and manageable" for the press and industry attendees.

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