If there’s a place video game developers show up to show off their wares, it’s the annual “E3” summit.

It runs Monday through Thursday at the Los Angeles Convention Center (it’s not open to the public).

At the head of it all is Mike Gallagher, the new Mr. E3.

He runs the Entertainment Software Association, responsible for ensuring the video game industry’s official media and analyst show projects an image befitting the $50 billion industry. Gallagher started his job a little more than a year ago. Previously, Gallagher was the top telecom and policy advisor for the Bush Administration. He is a gamer and he knows he has to outscore his opponents, some of whom say gaming is too violent and others who say the show is past its prime.

Two years ago, E3 was an 80,000-person extravaganza. But companies decided to scale it down. Last year’s show was a 5,000-person event. Gallagher promises it will be a media and analyst event for the “opinion makers” to see the best games the industry has to offer.

VB: How is this going to be a new kind of E3?

MG: The world’s eyes will be on the E3 Summit next week to see the hottest new trends in entertainment. When you fuse the digital world, and all that is going on in technology, with the content of the video game industry, it’s a really really super mixture. It’s going to be on display next week and it’s the place to be.

VB: It’s a different show from two years ago and even from last year. How’s it going to be perceived?

MG: There is no doubt it’s different from two years ago. When I came aboard last year, the decision had already been made by the board and [former head Doug Lowenstein] to take the show down in size from the very big show to an invitation-only, very personal show that we had last year in Santa Monica. We sent out a survey to people like yourself and heard back overwhelmingly from the media that they liked the new format but there were things we could do better. They thought we could do better getting everything under one roof, moving people around more efficiently, and how the press conferences worked. We came up with a format in the Los Angeles Convention Center that meets all of those concerns. It’s going to be centralized under one roof, very efficient, and very media savvy. Last year was a proof of concept for the invitation-only summit.

VB: What are you going to talk about in your keynote speech on Wednesday?

MG: I’m excited to have my first address at E3. Last year I was aboard for a month. I’m going to lay out why there is a lot of respect for how great an industry this is.

VB: How did you choose the Texas governor, Rick Perry, for the other keynote?

MG: It makes complete sense Gov. Perry would be an invitee. Texas is a leading state when it comes to game development. They have an environment where they welcome the video game publishers and developers. They are reaping the economic benefit because of that. The average wage in the video game industry is over $90,000 a year and Gov. Perry understands that. We’re delighted for the first time to bring such a high level politician to E3. It’s a sign of respect for the industry and maturity.

VB: The industry still has its share of political battles