In a turn of events that is so unexpected it reminds us of an April Fools joke out of season, Next-gen.biz is reporting insider information that E3 2007 is canceled.

From Next-Gen.biz:

\"Well placed sources say the news that larger exhibitors were pulling out had prompted urgent meetings among publishing executives. They decided that, without the support of the larger software publishers and hardware manufacturers, there would be no point in continuing.\"

The magazine reports that a number of large companies (we can only assume companies like Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, EA, or Ubisoft) have decided to withdraw from the exposition. Without the support of the yet unnamed companies, the ESA is considering closing E3 in its present form.

Originally our take on this story was skeptical. Like most people reading this, our reaction was to assume that E3 couldn\'t die. After nearly 12 years, the cornerstone exposition was simply too large to be that fragile, we figured. The only reason we covered it at all was because it came from a source that we respect.

Even then we made comments like, \"We don\'t really believe this...\"

After additional communications with Next-Gen.biz, it\'s sad to say that we\'re feeling more convinced. E3 as we know it might be gone, probably replaced with a smaller event that will be missing the major names that made it so substantial.

Colin Campbell, editor-in-chief at Next-Gen, was adamant that his sources were accurate and reliable. \"I\'m sure the story is right,\" he said. \"E3 is done.\"

While relatively new to the scene, Next-Gen.biz have proven themselves to be a reliable source of industry news; besides the enormity of the disclosure, there\'s no reason to start questioning them now.

We can\'t say for sure without an official confirmation from the ESA of some sort, probably in the form of a press release addressing the issue, but it\'s something to say that an experienced magazine is firmly and absolutely convinced that the era of E3 is over.

We now expect to hear some form of official announcement from the ESA, as Next-Gen speculates. We\'ve still received no official confirmation from the ESA itself on the issue, but now it won\'t be nearly as substantial a surprise if it comes through.

The Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3) has been a major player in the game industry since it started in 1995. It has since grown to be the largest industry event of the year, and draws thousands of people, regularly over 70,000.

Cancelling E3 would be somewhat similar to Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft declaring they\'re withdrawing from manufacturing game consoles, spontaneously. We\'re that surprised.