Board 8 > Is it worth it to go to E3?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Looks like I can buy a pass for $249. I live in the LA area and for once I can actually afford it and I don't work those days. The job I have now has me not working during the summer, with summer ending the Friday before E3. I don't need a hotel and parking is not a concern since the LA Convention Center is one of the few places in LA that is pretty easy to get to by train.

I only started going to cons of any kind regularly this year, the largest being Wondercon. I know E3 is more of a trade show or conference type of deal than a fan conventions like I've been doing (not to say I haven't been to them - I have been to Wired NextFest 2007 and Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2009). That said, I think NextFest was cheap and Microsoft sent me to PDC for free.

Think E3 is worth it, or is it too expensive for what it is these days?
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Zachnorn posted...

for $249

No.
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I was considering it but i have work on e3 days this year.

I've not been myself but I've always heard (including from a friend that is a minor games journalist that has gone) that its not worth as a consumer. Like, one of the worst big convention experience you could go to not worth it.

You will be waiting in line for 8 hours for the chance to play games that will be out in a few months
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Sounds like E3 has declined. I know my cousin was very excited when he went like 15 years ago, but now it really doesn't sound that exciting. And this is a good point as well:

DeepsPraw posted...

You will be waiting in line for 8 hours for the chance to play games that will be out in a few months

Because I remember being at Wondercon and seeing an episode of Timeless early (because the actors wanted to spend less time in the panel) a day early. That didn't seem worth it. Spending hours to wait to play a game for a few minutes that will come out in a few months doesn't seem like it's worth it.

I'll probably just watch the press conferences then.

Thanks.
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Zachnorn posted...

Sounds like E3 is overrated

ftfy
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No. Especially since they cut the hours for gamer passes this year.

That said, I'm still going.
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The E3 spectacle has diminished since I was a kid. I suppose part of it is that the Internet relays the show in a more realistic light than the wide-eyed stories in magazines about drinking, partying, and booth babes.

It used to mean something to see those games hands on but these days you can see HD video of e3 demos on the internet.

I would not pay that much for it unless I got an exhibitor badge
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I got to a lot of conventions (as a dev usually) and E3 is by far the weirdest one. I only went in... 2015 I think? So I'm not sure how different it is now, or how different the general public pass is vs a dev pass.

But it's all absolutely insane consumerism to such a higher extent than I've seen anywhere else. People will wait in lines for 3+ hours just to see a TRAILER. For a game that comes out in like 3 months. If you get in early on a day you can get by waiting only like 30 mins (I did that for Sony's which had UC4 and TLG and such), but that's still just for a canned presentation. I waited a couple hours in line for some playable demos like Mirror's Edge Catalyst and For Honor. Which was cool I guess, but only because there was literally nothing else to do there. Sony had a section with some game kiosks, and there was a tiiiiiny Indiecade section with actual devs you could talk to, but that's it. Not like PAX or anything. I'm not really sure what you could do if you weren't press or a dev doing an actual demo.

That being said, the parties afterwards were great and some of the best post-con parties I've been to. But again, not sure if a general pass will provide much opportunity there.
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pay the price of a console to wait in line to try a game you will regret buying in 5 months

great use of money
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Oh yeah I've never been so out of touch with E3 than the year I went

There's no service in the expo and you have to pay for wifi so you're pretty damn
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Honestly, the main reason I go is for the stuff they give you. A lot of it is exclusive and I'd kill for the Nintendo swag. I'm so happy I manged to get that gold Super Mario 30th Anniversary pin.
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FWIW I've always heard that if you want to go to a 'big' gaming convention in the states you should go to a PAX instead.

foolm0r0n posted...

People will wait in lines for 3+ hours just to see a TRAILER.

Stopped reading here. Holy shit what.

Come to magfest if you want to go to a convention that's about having FUN with games (and music)

The rest are about spending money and shit
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Do they still have E3 Booth Babes?
Because it might be a reason to go...!
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Yup and you can totally take a picture with them!!! Can't get that kind of service from a woman for $250 anywhere
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I'm pretty sure the booth babes aren't a thing anymore. There was concern that the whole thing was off-putting to the women who were working there, so they stopped doing the whole scantily clad thing. They might still hire models, but they're far more modestly dressed.

Yeah, there aren't as many "babes" as there used to be, although most of the women who run the demo stations are still ridiculously attractive.

But who cares about sexy girls when you can have your picture taken with the voice of Mario:
https://imgur.com/Mk6cxnJ
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I wanted to go when I was younger but the mystique has really worn off. I still watch the big conferences, but those have almost never been open to the general public, right?

I actually remember one year when Sony's was and fans waited in line like 24 hours.
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