E3 Public Access!! Am I Dreaming!
It has been a long-standing dream of mine to attend the most prestigious gaming convention in the world, E3!! I remember when I was 18 (circa 2003), I made up my mind to save up money to make the journey to Los Angeles for one of the greatest conventions, in my opinion. When I checked to see how much tickets were a year prior, they were around $600. A price I was more than willing to pay and only living a 3-hour drive away, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Having saved up $700 with more for gas and food, I jumped online to purchase the Golden ticket. To my dismay, the very year that I had planned on attending, they closed their doors to the public and would only allow industry professionals the opportunity to attend. I was crushed to say the least.
One of my best friends a couple of years later had received two complimentary tickets via PlayStation Underground, since he was in the Navy at the time we couldn’t attend. Crushed again!! The next year I had applied for a job with my friend who worked as a game tester in Santee, California at hopes of getting in that way, since I would be an “industry professional.” Never got a call back and couldn’t get ahold of anyone to speak to about my application. It almost seemed like I would never be able to attend the event of my dreams. That didn’t diminish my love for gaming and the event that I, like millions of others, loved so much.
Enter later 2016, I was browsing through some gaming forums looking for info on some videogames I was interested in. Then I saw a quick mention of E3 opening their doors to the public again. I brushed it off then, thinking I would have the door shut in my face, like so many times before. Then I was discussing some goals I had for starting a blog about videogames and wanting to stream some of the games that looked interesting to me to share some of the cool people I have met online with a co-worker. I also mentioned that I would like to attend E3 even after all the, futile, attempts. He asked, it’s open to the public now, isn’t it? I quickly thought back to the thread I had seen that mentioned and responded that I wasn’t sure. After leaving work I jumped online to check the legitimacy of this claim and sure enough, E3 would be opening its doors to the general public for the 2017 roster. I also found out that registration was closed and tickets sold out, except for the industry professionals. Of course!!
I know that there are many other gaming conventions across America and the world. Ones like, Penny Arcade Expo (PAX-East/West/South). I even had the chance to attend the GameStop Expo when I lived in Las Vegas, NV. Here is a list of the ones that Wikepedia has compiled. That event was just a little taste of the fun and wonder that are conventions. The only thing this did was make my determination to attend E3 stronger. Not only that, I would like to attend other gaming conventions across America to experience what makes them all different. Due to the time they take place, I can get somewhat of an understanding of what might be covered at each one. What I can ascertain from the time of these events is that they cover not only accessories but previews of games prior to Holiday release, reviews of how they did upon release and reviews of how the games actually turned out after release. Also, covering games that were not released during the Holiday season.
A few pics from GameStop Expo 2015
With the knowledge of E3 being open for the public I am going to try my hardest to make it to the 2018 event. During the time until then I will work hard on my blogging skills and hopefully my journalism skills as well. I wouldn’t mind trying my hand at interviewing some of the people at the event and others since I love other’s perspectives. What games they are excited for? Where do they see the industry going with the greater implementation of VR/AR? Who knows, maybe blogging and streaming will get me the opportunity to attend closed events and beta test products. All of which I will be able to share here, what I will be allowed to of course.
Per usual, I want to hear from you! What conventions, other than E3, have you or would like to attend?