Welcome back to another week with New Pop!. We're starting this week off in an unusual fashion, by saying goodbye. Goodbye to the office that is. Yes, we'll be on assignment today and tomorrow in Madison, Wisconsin, talking it up and playing Marvel: Ultimate Alliance over at Raven Software. Unfortunately, that means we may not be able to bring you News Pop! tomorrow, but don't worry because we'll still make sure to bring you all the news we missed in Wednesday's edition.

More E3 news

We said we'd bring you the full story on the new E3 this week, and we're not the types that like to disappoint our loyal readers. So we're not going to. This past Friday, October 13^th, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) revealed the details behind its new format for the highly popular Electronic Entertainment Expo, including date, location and attendee criteria. The new E3Expo will be a three-day, invitation-only event which will be used as an “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.” The Expo will be held in Santa Monica, California from July 11-13, 2007. In addition to the press events, the nearby Barker Hangar will be converted into a software showcase for game demonstrations. The Barker Hangar venue, which is a short drive from the hotels, will allow participating companies to showcase their games in standardized, turnkey displays areas ranging from 100 square feet to 400 square feet. The hotels involved will be within easy walking distance of one another, and there will be a shuttle bus system to facilitate easy movement between the hotels and the Barker Hangar venue and other off-site conferences.

Douglas Lowenstein, President of the ESA, made it very clear that how new format will differ from what people have seen in the past twelve years of the Expo, "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. We believe the event we have shaped will fulfill all those needs."

That's the news for today, other than GameStop's announcement that it closed its Wii pre-order campaign the same day it opened it. We're already running out the door so we don't miss our flight. We'll be back with more News Pop! on Wednesday.

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