E3, everyone who is a art of the gaming world knows about it as the single largest annual reveal for all things gaming. However, for 20 whole years, this convention was one that wasn’t open to just anyone. E3 was specifically an industry only event and the convention was limited to producers, publishers, creators, press, etc. all within the video game industry. This year will be the first time in E3 history that a large numbers of consumers, beyond the very limited contests or special exceptions made in the past. Although E3 isn’t completely open to the public, it is expecting 4,000- 5,000 consumers to add to the event’s attendance. These consumers will all be directly invited by each of the companies participating in the event.
Many people will believe this is due to a decline in an interest in E3 and the video game reveals when, in fact, the opposite is true. E3 has constantly been on an upward trend as have video games over the past few years. The point of this public out reach is to expand horizons and obtain input from consumers while creating and furthering producer-consumer relationships. Millions are still interested in attending E3 and would if given the chance, myself included, but the 4,000- 5,000 invited consumers will already be an approximately 10% increase to the about 50,000 in industry that already attend.
It’s unlikely for many reasons, space being one of them, that E3 will be completely open to the public even in the years to come, but it’s exciting to think that it’s more accessible to the average consumer. Who knows you may just have to meet the right person in industry in order to be one of those 5000!