Despite lying ahead of us like a maiden tied to an old-west train track, The Entertainment Software Association has already begun detailing their plans for summer 2008 - specifically, the upcoming E3 Media & Business Summit.

We're told the summit will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center - home to the show for the best part of a decade, until the event headed to the coast in 2007.

The Santa Monica event was a smaller, more business focussed affair, and was criticised and praised in equal measure, for being a calmer, but altogether less thrilling expo. Despite the return to the Convention Center, assure that the show "will not feature the large trade show environment of previous years."

A strict invitation-only approach remains in force. "The U.S. is the world's number one video game market and the E3 Media & Business Summit is its premier video game conference. The 2008 Summit will provide a professional and efficient environment for suite-based meetings with media, and other leaders," beamed ESA CEO Michael D. Gallagher.

"We look forward to welcoming the media and top industry executives to a centralized, business focused and personalized experience. Our program of high-level meetings, networking and personal dialogue, and industry-shaping panel discussions will capture the explosive growth we have seen in 2007 and lay the foundation for the 2008 video game marketplace."

The show will take place from July 15th to the 17th, 2008.

By Luke Guttridge