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[Cardon]

Press get to make appointments right? I've been to pax and I've seen the press cut the line to play games.
I guess the bigger press sites get first dibs?

Basically yeah. Bigger press sites obviously can easily book private demo appointments, while smaller sites/influencers may not get into those showings due to limited space etc.

 

[chubigans]

I always wanted to go to E3 and bought the tickets the day it came out.

I'm currently regretting wasting money on this shit show right now. They should of just kept this press only

Are you in line? On the floor?

 

[Plinko]

99% sure they'll have a press-only day next year.

 

[KHlover]

In 32 degree weather, it should be mandatory to use this.

Otherwise, steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeench.

With that many people this will help for like 5 seconds. Maybe anti-transpirant? A strong one?

 

[Nyoro SF]

Welcome to the LACC everyone. It needed a renovation and expansion 10 years ago.

Also major press appointments happen in the small conference rooms, not the show floors. If you run a small gaming news site you're probably not going to be part of those though.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Fyre Expo

Lord of the Flies by day 3

 

[sinonobu]

Are you in line? On the floor?

Line outside. I don't see myself going in until 2

 

[MilkLizard]

They opened it to the public but kept the same amount of booths?

Fyre whichever genius planned that.

FTFY

 

[Dreamwriter]

You would think that with a $900 ticket it would be less crowded?

Tickets were $250 a piece, $150 for the first 1000 people.

 

[Amirnol]

Glad I skipped this year. It was already terrible in the past 3-4 years. Hoping they learn from this for next year.

 

[xiaxdragon]

holy crap


not even PAX Prime the two years I went were this bad. Hell, it was pretty easy to even grab interviews with Dev's if I wanted to. Every booth was busy but at most was a one hour wait for the highest profile games while smaller titles for the most part you could just walk right up and play.


Seems like public shows are actually better now than the biggest trade show dear heavens,

 

[chubigans]

Line outside. I don't see myself going in until 2

Oh man, that really sucks. Keep us posted.

 

[WaterAstro]

They should put some of the booths in the Kentia hall.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Line outside. I don't see myself going in until 2

I'm surprised your phone works. Usually events like these have the networks overloaded making Internet access pretty shitty.

 

[mishakoz]

Nintys booth is a mess, buts it's not just the amount of people, it's poorly organized as well. Have some tape marks on the floor for lines or something.

 

[ClosingADoor]

Austin @ RIP E3‏ @apadamson
Oh. Turns out west hall line was way smaller. #E3

https://twitter.com/apadamson/status/874706087907213312

Maybe that is the media line or at least a better one?

Tickets were $250 a piece, $150 for the first 1000 people.

Disgraceful. Gamescom ticket is like $25.

 

[Volta Mars]

How do you not allocate a press only day (or two) for this?

My uneducated assumption is the growth and popularity of internet personalities, influencers, celebrities etc. often hired for these events matter more than "old" traditional media for many reasons. Hence why they treated like so.

Why do all that when you can fly in a few popular twitch/youtubers to give slightly more scripted presentation to a larger audience?

I not saying it's right but... we all know where this is going.

 

[Spine_Ripper]

In the South exhibit hall. Showed up at 11:00, got lost and realized everything was one gigantic line. When they started letting people in, the line just disappeared lol. Feel bad for those that waited forever for that to happen.

I'm in line for Call of Duty. Not even one match has happened yet cause staff is lagging it, and they also said Destiny was filled for the day. Glad I got this for free or I'd be pissed.

Edit: wait, they have people playing inside their booth. Guess outside is for esports exhibition

 

[Goose_Se7en]

Doesn't Gamescom do something like they have press only days and then it opens to the public in tiers or something?

Those lines look bananas.

 

[ClosingADoor]

My uneducated assumption is the growth and popularity of internet personalities, influencers, celebrities etc. often hired for these events matter more than "old" traditional media for many reasons. Hence why they treated like so.

Why do all that when you can fly in a few popular twitch/youtubers to give slightly more scripted presentation to a larger audience?

I not saying it's right but... we all know where this is going.

But you'd think those personalities would be the ones bitching the most publicly when going to E3 and having to wait inline and such. Risk having your coverage surrounded with complaints about a bad show.

 

[luffeN]

Gamescom is like this all the time, FYI.

It seems that this year you actually have to prove that you are from the media via the online account AND you can only buy 1 ticket per account. I asked the GC lady on the phone if this was to prevent the fans coming in on the exclusive media day and she said "yes".

 

[Dreamwriter]

holy crap


not even PAX Prime the two years I went were this bad. Hell, it was pretty easy to even grab interviews with Dev's if I wanted to. Every booth was busy but at most was a one hour wait for the highest profile games while smaller titles for the most part you could just walk right up and play.


Seems like public shows are actually better now than the biggest trade show dear heavens,

PAX Prime was this bad once, in 2006 the last year they were in Meydenbaur Center in Bellevue. Once they moved to the convention center in Seattle, things calmed down a lot, especially once they started really controlling ticket sales and spread out among the various hotels and theaters.

 

[HarryDemeanor]

Better hope they all showered.

 

[hitgirl]

Wouldn't catch me dead there. Glad I don't have to work at a place like this. That's absolute madness and unsafe.

 

[CamHostage]

This is why they need press-only days.

Yeah, I assumed this was what they were doing when they first announced public E3. Splitting press and public days worked okay for TGS and gave fans the access they needed (if they were willing to wait in line) while still letting all of us who can't go or just want to see footage get it from the press. This seems like it'll be a mess forever.

Granted, all the press (at least the majors, as well as the game makers themselves) seem to be oriented towards streaming shows and private sessions, so for the most part, we at home won't see a difference with the big games. (Also, as has been the case for years now, the show is essentially over after the conferences and everything else is fine detailing.) Who's going to be hurt by this is the small companies, who are already struggling to be noticed and now will have lines blocking their doors or people not making time for them because they'll be lucky to playtest anything this year.

 

[Doug Heffernan]

Oh god, the smells... the smells!

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Sounds like there are going to be a lot of press people missing meetings. What a fucking mess.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Just imagine all the HW being stolen right now.

eBay will be interesting to watch over the next week or two.

 

[Trace]

Did anyone think this was a good idea not to have press only days? Ofc it was going to be a shitshow, PAX is already like this but at least they let media people in aside from the rest of the common folk.

 

[ForboJack]

No press only days and no separate entry for press and normal visitors? Good Job E3...

 

[Kinyou]

So if they were selling tickets does this mean they just blatantly oversold?
Those halls look completely overcrowded

 

[Harmen]

This is awful and it boggles my mind that there is no media day or even a media line. And the price of those tickets? I would feel ripped off.

 

[FlexMentallo]

Doesn't Gamescom do something like they have press only days and then it opens to the public in tiers or something?

Gamescom has a whole separate press & dev area away from the public halls, TGS has the biz day before it opens to the public.

 

[McDougles]

People with "Expo Pro" badges getting in earlier than industry or media badges. Lol

Still huge line out here. I got here at 11, so whoever said the line disappeared at the front skipped heavily in line.

 

[ClosingADoor]

So if they were selling tickets does this mean they just blatantly oversold?
Those halls look completely overcrowded

Yes. Sounds like the organisation went: we can fit this many people in there.

But did not think: these people need to actually be able to play something also.

It's not a concert where you can just jam a ton of people in stadium. People need to walk around from booth to booth, check different games, buy some merchandise, etc.

 

[Ladekabel]

Doesn't Gamescom do something like they have press only days and then it opens to the public in tiers or something?

Those lines look bananas.

Technically yes, they do a press only day. However, I heard it is pretty easy to get tickets for the press only day making the day crowded, too. Never tried it myself though.

 

[Lunar15]

So fucking glad I got to go to E3 before this happened, lol.

 

[psynergylover]

It's like neogaf in human form!

 

[hidys]

People with "Expo Pro" badges getting in earlier than industry or media badges. Lol

Still huge line out here. I got here at 11, so whoever said the line disappeared at the front skipped heavily in line.

Who are expo pro people?

 

[jstripes]

I went to E3 years ago, and it was super-crowded then.

Who thought this was a good idea?

 

[FyreWulff]

yep, what a stupid idea

if they're going to continue to entertain it, it needs a press only day now.

 

[hobozero]

Who are expo pro people?

Edit: Also, almost forgot:

 

[DashReindeer]

Nintendo's​ booth is an absolute nightmare. No semblance of order. No lines. No structure. Just a giant mass of people all trying to get at Mario. This is the worst I have ever seen at E3 by far.

 

[LumpOfCole]

They're going to need at least 4 ball pits to accommodate that many frustrated people.

 

[DrForester]

This is why they need press-only days.

Even with the Press getting access to the conference area's at teh back of the booths, it is absolutely insane to have the show like this.

 

[Bsigg12]

On a side note Destiny 2 at 60 FPS at the Nvidia booth is unreal.

 

[uncredited male]

You should be able to see the rolling stench clouds in a few hours.

 

[jstripes]

Also, pickpockets are going to have a field day with crowds of this density. Extremely high levels of distraction and a crowd that tends to carry high tech devices on their person.

I had a camera stolen there once because I put it on a counter for two seconds to sign a form.

 

[Mushroomer25]

Fyre Expo

Depending on how it all shakes out, this might end in just as many lawsuits.

 

[Trace]

On a side note Destiny 2 at 60 FPS at the Nvidia booth is unreal.

If I don't get some footage from that I'm going to need to beat some people.