Update: according to the E3 Live registration page on the E3 Live website, registrations for tickets are now officially closed. This means that the event has sold out completely.
Between the online hullabaloo and the online media circus, you would be forgiven for forgetting that the Electronic Entertainment Expo (or 'E3' to friends) is more a trade show for industry professionals than anything else. It's an expo where developers of both hardware and software present their upcoming products to games journalists from around the world, and most consumers are not allowed to get in within special certifications.
This year will be a little bit different, though. The organization behind E3, the Entertainment Software Association, will this year be providing a show for the general public. This show, titled E3 Live, will take place outside of the Los Angeles Convention Center and invites the public to three days of playing video games, listen to live music and talks with developers and prominent personalities from the games industry. People in attendance will also be able to get their hands on some exclusive merchandise during the event. Which games will be shown during the event is as of yet unknown.
The tickets to get in can be ordered free of charge, but you will have to register in advance if you want a chance to be there. These tickets, as well as more information on the event, can be acquired by going to the official E3 Live website.
If you are in Los Angeles during the time of the convention, you can also go to the EA Play event where the prominent developer and publisher of AAA games will hold a special event where players can play some of their upcoming games. This event will also have a counterpart in the English capital of London. You can read more on this event by going here. Some events being held in a different location than the convention center is a sign that the convention itself is changing, with a few of the big players deciding to forego being a big part of the expo in favor of doing their own thing.
If you're staying at home, however, there are still ample opportunities to check out all the new announcements and shows by major publishers and developers. EA, Ubisoft, Microsoft, Sony, Bethesda and the second edition of the E3 PC Gaming Show will be streamed live on various streaming websites. IGN has a handy list to help you find out who is doing what, when and where. You can find that here.
Update
A partial list of who will be at E3 Live has been supplied with more to come closer to the event itself. Here they are:
- Alienware
- Facebook/Oculus
- Frito-Lay
- HTC Vive
- Loot Crate
- Monster
- Twitch
- Ubisoft
- Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment
In addition to this, all gamers who attend will have the opportunity to go to Pokemon: Symphonic Evolution, the Pokemon video game concert that will be held live.
Are you going to the E3 Live Event? What are you looking forward to the most? Sound off in the comments!
