E3 is open to the public!

DruidsFlame · April 2017

I wonder if people will be buying tickets to go to that and there will be a slightly less of a rush for PAX Prime West tickets this year as a result.

I doubt it will make a dent but one can only hope!

I was contemplating it myself but it would have been about $1000 more for me so it was a no go. Hopefully they let it be open next year.

ctiwolf · April 2017

Ive been to e3 and even if you can go and see everything you werent allowed to demo unless you were in a news group or show. That was awhile ago but id assume it is the same

jamsyarbots · April 2017

It's my opinion (and this is pure speculation) that they're opening E3 to the public because the number of attending companies has started to dwindle. By opening the show floor to the public they hope to entice those companies into returning with the promise of reaching out to their audience directly. Unfortunately, many publishers and developers have discovered that they can reach their audience on their own terms by holding stand alone press conferences, i.e. Nintendo, Ubisoft, Bethesda. Combine that with the fact that E3 has been an industry only show for so long now that events like PAX draw a larger crowd of indie devs and gamers who ordinarily wouldn't have the ability to attend E3.
Part of the appeal of PAX for attendees and various video game companies is that its been available to the public since it's inception, so for the most part it already does what a public E3 would hope to do.

Dreamwriter · April 2017

Naw, I've been to E3 a few times as a game developer, anyone can demo a game, unless it's a special behind-closed-doors kinda thing. Though the press does generally get preferential treatment - like, at the Wii E3 Nintendo let the press into the Wii area without waiting in the multi-hour line everyone else was in.

Marino · May 2017

As someone who's been to E3 ten times, you don't actually want to go to E3. As a non-press person, you're going to have a much better time at PAX.

I fully understand the allure of what (most people think) E3 is, but you have better options now. Most people think of the press conferences as being part of E3, which they technically aren't. An E3 badge doesn't get you into those. You'll mainly just have access to the show floor, which isn't the spectacle it used to be.

ClannMorgan · May 2017

I've never been and got tickets to go this year. Not sure what to expect, and that's okay. I'm use to longs lines at PAX, and I just want to check it out. Its a chance to see E3, and something different. So if it sucks, I'll take a break from the floor and do some side trips around the city. Anyone else going that wants to hang out and enjoy the city a bit, hit me up!

nixter · May 2017

ClannMorgan wrote: »

I've never been and got tickets to go this year. Not sure what to expect, and that's okay. I'm use to longs lines at PAX, and I just want to check it out. Its a chance to see E3, and something different. So if it sucks, I'll take a break from the floor and do some side trips around the city. Anyone else going that wants to hang out and enjoy the city a bit, hit me up!

Interested to see what you think!

krae_man · May 2017

I went to E3 in 2015. It was basically PAX without Panels and some games being hands off(ie you only get to watch a dev play the game).

It's still worth going once to say you did it.

Don't really have any interest in going back unless I hear they nail the user experience for the public. Flight and hotel costs to Seattle are getting insane, I'm close to getting priced out. Need to start looking at other options.

jthom252 · May 2017

Is there much of anything going on alongside E3 in terms of public after parties? I've been kind of interested since I wouldn't need to pay for the travel but my past experience with E3 was pretty dull and underwhelming since so much was limited to the press, but that was 2011.

ClannMorgan · May 2017

nixter wrote: »

Interested to see what you think!

I'll keep you posted.

jthom252 wrote: »

Is there much of anything going on alongside E3 in terms of public after parties?

I haven't heard one peep about public parties, and I can only think there is no community type get together(s) either. That's one part of the E3 experience I think will be much different than PAX.

ClannMorgan · June 2017

Alright...let's get the parties started!!

https://m.facebook.com/events/852940394871079?ref=m_notif&notif_t=photo_reply

Zeushero · June 2017

Hi does anyone have crash space for E3? Just realized that the friend that offered me crash space lives 2 hours north of LA. If anyone has a hotel closer I'll pay for my share for the week thanks!

Xenogears88 · June 2017

Hey Zeushero, I got tickets last minute and the only hotel I could book was a 2 bed at the Dragon Gate Inn. If you're interested, we could probably room together and just Uber to the con. Lemme know!

MarsDragon · June 2017

Well, it seems like E3 did take some pressure off PAX, because badges sold noticeably slower this year and Monday badges are still available nine hours later.

I'm glad. The ticket rush for West was brutal, and it's wonderful that people who might have obligations during the five five minutes when badges go on sale might still have a chance to PAX.

ClannMorgan · June 2017

There are still Monday tickets available...two days later. We will se how the fan E3 experience will be. As far as the after party stuff a lot, and I mean a lot of it is private or industry only events, there is no community as of yet so there are no coordinated events for us regular folks. I will miss that experience as it's such a great part part of attending PAX.

SinoSamba · June 2017

Seeing some pics of E3 crowd on twitter and game forums, holy crap, I'm glad I did not go. Pax is crowded but not scarily so. Is the convention center they use that small? They only had 15k public passes, does not sound like that much.

ClannMorgan · June 2017

I survived the crowds...which were not too bad when compared to PAX. I think the video of the crowds was over done as they were just showing the most congested area(s). I have to say that E3 is a trade show, not a convention. Having been to both types of events in the past I knew what to expect. There will always be crowds and there will always be lines, however I do feel a good amount of the public attendees were expecting PAX or another such type of event when it was not. There were areas that were CLEARLY designated media/industry only, and CLEARLY there were areas open to media/industry/public. While the event looked nice and there was plenty to do, the ESA did not prepare for the eagerness of the public attendees. There was extremely limited signage or direction on where to line up to get in to the halls - I've never missed the Enforcers so much in my life! I think the ESA should do a better job of explaining exactly what public attendees should expect, designate more areas for them to view, or advertise more of the satellite events...we went to an Alienware streaming event and there was just like 15 people, it was intimate and cool in a way but just strange that not many people were there. I don't think the public new it was going on or that they could even go.

There were other issues that came up, incidents of stealing from booths, harassment of booth attendees, requests to be let in to off limit areas, a lot of cutting lines, and just all around dick behavior. I did not witness all of these types of events (stealing), but there were enough of them for there to be a mini revolt against the "Greens" / "Greenies" as we were ALL soon to be called - no matter if you were acting a fool or not. Unfortunately those bad apples did in fact spoil the bunch in a lot of peoples eyes. It got to the point where I would remove by badge when going in to the after events because it wasn't worth being known as such. Not to say that everyone there treated us bad, to the contrary the majority of the industry and vendors were super nice, they wanted to show you their newest stuff, talk with you and we got to try some awesome new games. Oh and if you were looking for parties and not in the know then you were out of luck as the vast majority of them were invite only. There is no community there as of yet, as it being open to the general public is so new. So appreciate the community organized events, because you will find none of that at E3.

With all that said, I had a really good time. Would I return again, maybe if the format of how the show will flow for public attendees is adjusted. Maybe they should have public days be 1-2days only, IDK, but it would have to change. So if the ESA opens it up again next year, which I bet they will, I would say attend if you want to check it out...but it will be far of the PAX experience you are use too.

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