When it comes to large scale shows or conferences, there will be one for just about any interest under the sun that you can think of. Consumer electronics has CES in Las Vegas, having celebrated its 50th anniversary recently, while you can be sure that there will also be the likes of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 as it is known in short, which will concentrate a whole lot on the world of video games. Do expect plenty of fanfare and new releases as well as announcements to be made which concerns the video game world (and movies too, let us not forget -- video game-based movies is one particular aspect that has proven to be lucrative as it is disastrous in the past) with each edition of E3. In the past, E3 has always been a closed door event, but for the very first time in the showcase event’s history, it will open up its doors to the masses. It has been reported that approximately 15,000 tickets are tipped to go on sale in less than a week’s time, so if you would like to be part of this particular historical event, you might want to make a beeline for it.
From February 13 onward, the event organizer, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), will ensure that open sales to the event will kick off on the official E3 website. If your other half is a huge video game fan and you would very much like to give him or her a surprise, then how about getting a pair of E3 tickets? It would be the perfect Valentine’s Day gift, which would be a whole lot more unique compared to purchasing yet another video game title, never mind that E3 2017 will be held in the middle of June this year.
Gamespot reported that there will be an initial batch of 1,000 tickets that will be sold first. This will arrive with an early bird price of $149 a pop, and if you miss the boat, then the remaining 14,000 tickets will be far more expensive with a $249 sticker price attached to it. It certainly pays dividends to be an early bird for this particular edition of E3, don’t you think so? .
The opening up of the show to the public through the sale of 15,000 tickets is another step in the right direction, following from where the ESA left off last year. In the previous year, the ESA opened up the show to the masses through a spin-off consumer event that they called E3 Live. At E3 Live, there were game demos which were featured, in addition to live entertainment as well as exclusive merchandise which went on sale. Heck, there were even meet-and-greets sessions with industry personalities for the fans, but it still lacked the glamor and historicity of a full scale E3 event.
E3 2017 will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and ESA's senior VP of communications, Rich Taylor, shared, "It's a changing industry, and E3 has always evolved to meet industry needs and anticipate where we’re heading together - as an event, as an industry, and as fans. The decision to open our doors to 15,000 fans was a strategic decision. [E3 Live showed that fans] wanted to play the games inside the convention center. In addition, exhibitors inside the convention center wanted to have access to the fans. So this year we're bringing the two together."
