E3 is one of the hottest events in the gaming industry, and inevitably draws a lot of attention every time the big date gets close during the year. And yet, as much as many gamers love to follow the events and announcements made by their various favorite developers, the event was mostly limited to the press and other exclusive members of the industry since its beginning… until now.
A recent announcement about the upcoming 2017 E3 has made many gamers excited, as it was revealed that this time, all members of the general public will be allowed to attend. Not many people really expected the organizers to move in this direction, given the huge popularity of the event and all the hype generated from following the announcements online as they unfolded, but who knows, perhaps this is the next major step in evolving E3.
This notion was also reflected in statements made by people involved in the event, who claimed that the constantly changing nature of the industry requires them to be on the lookout for ways they can improve their relations with the public, and make their events even more accessible to everyone.
Some have also pointed out that the timing of the announcement was actually a very good one, as E3 has been suffering in the popularity department to some extent lately. While it’s true that many people still actively follow the expo and the numbers are respectable compared to other events in the industry, it’s also noticeable that the attentivity of the audience as a whole has gone down a bit over the years.
With that in mind, this could be the perfect move to shoot E3 back to the top of the charts and make the event a highly discussed one among gaming crowds. This also depends on the kinds of announcements planned for this year’s E3 of course, as we still don’t know what kinds of games we’re going to see presented by the various companies attending.
It’s also worth pointing out that the openness of this year’s E3 isn’t unlimited. After all, it’s a physical event with space constraints and the organizers are obviously not going to be able to let everyone in. So far, 15,000 spots have been announced, and the tickets cost $150 for those who want to reserve their place early.
After that, they will sell at a regular price of $250 a piece, so those who want to attend should definitely make sure they have their finances in check. The event is currently scheduled for June 13-15 so that gives interested gamers plenty of time to prepare appropriately. Gamers excited to go should also make sure to sort out their transportation issues early on as well, as it’s possible that there might be some problems with that due to the popular nature of E3.
It will be interesting to see how this change affects the event as a whole, and whether it will result in a more active flow of information from the audience members as the various announcements start rolling out.
So far, gamers have traditionally relied on members of the press to keep them up to date about what’s going on at E3 and what they should be excited about, but giving the proverbial microphone to gamers themselves can potentially result in a huge boost to the popularity of E3 as a whole.