With E3 gaining a larger presence next year, plans to host a third E for All gathering might have been scrapped in the process. Even though it was open to the public, the show never garnered much attention — at least not to the scale of E3 events prior to the downsizing effort in 2007. In fact, E for All saw only 15,000 visitors this year, compared to Penny Arcade’s PAX exhibition, which reached an upwards of 58,500 in attendance. According to IDG CEO Mary Dolaher:

We want to thank all of our E for All partners for their support, and we encourage E for All exhibitors to participate in the E3 new event, which we believe will meet their needs as well as those of the industry at large. IDG World Expo is very pleased to be partnering with the ESA on E3 and continuing to play a central role in that important industry event. We look forward to furthering our contribution to the success of the video game community.

It’s far from direct confirmation that the show is being canceled for 2009, but encouraging all exhibitors to participate in E3 2009 while not mentioning the next E for All, certainly doesn’t bode well for the future of the event.

Report: IDG Scraps E For All Expo [Gamasutra]

Read more: ESA: E3 2009 Officially Kicks Off June 2, E3 Exhibitor List More Than Doubles, No Ubidays for 2009, PAX2009 Pre-Registration Opens, Nintendo, Sony to make an appearance at EFA