I don't like it. They'll still show all the big games and everything will be on the show floor...so why not have a big press conference as usual? I don't buy that they're scared of new hardware, or at least they shouldn't be. They have a ton of games to show, it's their first post-launch E3 for their new console and they can focus purely on games. Not rushed first-wave games that need to meet launch window (lol..so much for that) but the second wave of big hitters for the holidays that have had more time in dev.
Seperate NDirects will have less viewers and less outreach than a big conference. I don't see any appreciable benefit to not having that huge conference. And of course the media (and us) will have a field day with them 'backing out' from going up against the other two on the big stage, in what is essentially the superbowl of the gaming calendar. I think they'll be back to the traditional conference next year; I think this will be a failed experiment.
