The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced on Wednesday that next year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) will take place on June 2-4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and that it will turn into the biggest event of the year in the entire industry.

Don’t get too enthusiastic about it though, because E3 ’09 is for “qualified computer and video game industry audiences” only, and unless you’re representing the international and US-based media, you’re an analyst, a retailer, a developer or a business partner, you won’t be able to attend.

Leaving that aside, ESA appears to have responded to critics in recent years that the event was in a continuous downfall: “the breadth, scope and quality of the changes made to the show will make E3 the must-attend event of the year,” ESA CEO Michael D. Gallagher pointed out.

The show promises to reflect the growth, the excitement and the innovation in the game industry, and will address industry leaders and serious gamers. Furthermore, ESA explained that the changes are a response to the needs of exhibitors and attendees, and to the growing computer and video game industry.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2009 will be twice the big as the 2006 one, “when we had the last real E3 expo,” ESA said. “The changes made will ensure that the 2009 E3 Expo conveys the best of what makes us proud as entertainment leaders.”

The Expo will open up to more than ESA partners, and follows announcements by leaders in the industry that they will not renew their memberships, such as Activision. The show went from 60,000 attendees in 2006, at the Los Angeles Convention Center, to a mere 5,000 in 2007, in Santa Monica, California. This year, the event moved back to LA, but it was not ample.