The ESA (Entertainment Software Association) just made the announcement via GameSpot that this year’s E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) will be open to the public. In recent years, the gaming expo has always been limited to big shot industry and media professionals. On February 13, the ESA will start by selling 15,000 general access tickets for the gaming-based trade show.
Tickets will be going on sale for 150 bucks a pop on the 13th, but the price is reported to rise to $250 soon after that. These passes will get attendees access to the show floor—which consists of all the booths and game demos—along with panel discussions, and something or the other involving Geoff Keighley referred to vaguely as “special benefits associated with Keighley’s own E3 programming, such as developer interviews and more.”
ESA senior Vice President of communications, Rich Taylor, told GameSpot that this change was “a strategic decision” which has been made based on the feedback received from last year’s public E3 Live event. According to Taylor, the public wanted to be given access to the show floor and game publishers also wanted them there.
It’s also worth mentioning that EA had pulled out of E3 last year, which, easy to assume was also based on some strategic decision. Further, Activision also chose not to own a booth at E3 2016, although it did partner with PlayStation to announce and promote Call of Duty details and had meeting spaces at the show.
E3 2017 will be taking place at the Los Angeles Convention Center beginning June 13-15, and you can find more information on the official site. So if you’re one like us who has always been interested in visiting E3, then we hope you have saved up a good sum of money cause you might just be heading there this year. So, see you there!
