E3, which actually stands for Electronic Entertainment Expo, is the Superbowl of the video game world. Every year developers celebrate what they love about the business by unveiling new games and hardware. The difference between the Superbowl and E3 though, is fans can go to the Superbowl, until now.
For years E3 was only open to the press, publishers, and developers. In the early 2000s, the event was open to the public but due the increasing popularity and limited space, the higher ups decided to limit who could come. After ten or so years of E3 just being for people in the industry, regular fans will get the chance to go, with a high price of admission.
Some are wondering, is this a good idea? The yearly event is already very crowded with just the press alone. Should they add more people to the mix? Take a look at the two big comic book conventions, San Diego Comic Con and New York City Comic Con. I can speak from personal experience, the NYC Comic Con is extremely crowded. There were points where I couldn’t move forward because the aisles were jam packed.
The price of admission will be $250 and some might not think it will be worth it to pay that amount, then possibly wait in lines all day and not get into any press conferences because the max limit is reached. It’s even more expensive for someone who’s traveling. So, at the end of the day, the fan may not be getting their money’s worth.
There are many other video game conventions, like PAX East and PAX Prime, that let fans come and enjoy new games and tech. But, E3 has the popularity and lineage that makes it the most popular of them all. For some fans, any price of admission would be worth it as long as they go.
