I was reading Ars Technica (as is my wont), when this phrase popped out:

Are booth babes really necessary at a trade show like E3 (which is closed to the public)? Your typical E3 attendee is a journalist or industry player, likely male, and probably a big fan video games.

Of course, despite protestations to the contrary E3 is not a trade show, and the typical attendee is not a journalist or industry player. The last E3 I attended, whislt there may have been a lot of ‘journalists’ trying to get press passes, the majority of people attending the show were most definately not journalists or industry players.

They were game fans trying to get their hands on games early.

E3 (and the UK-based shows) stopped being trade shows many years ago, and are now no more than extended marketing excerises on the part of the major game companies.