It seems that the outcries from the gaming publishers have been heard and Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center in June 2009 in a new expanded format.

According to sources, the format will be return to the old E3 of several years ago, but not the out-of-control E3 that we saw at the very end. While the official announcement is still a little while away, what we have been able to uncover is that we can expect a much larger show floor and better publisher support and presence at the event.

As for who will be able to get in, that is still a bit up in the air; but it is suspected that the show will have a more lax attitude in allowing more media, retail associates, and industry bloggers to attend the event.

As for the general public, it seems that our sources can’t get their act together on telling us whether or not they will be allowed in. What we are hearing is that while the attendance policies will be a bit more lax, you will have to still be connected to the industry in some way or be a part of the media (including bloggers and such) to get your foot in the door. Some are suggesting that the show may set aside one or two days at the end for the general public, with some sort of an attendance cap.

The big question is whether the publishers will support the new format and whether there will be some sort of control in place to prevent things from getting out of hand like the E3 of old did. For the show to be effective it has to be a spectacle, and the publishers have to get value out of the show; and the value comes in the form of coverage of the event. Still, it will be nice to see the event come back to life again, but without good publisher support it could be too little, too late.