The ESA announced yesterday E3 2017 broke expo attendance records with 68,400 people. The latest figure includes more than 15,000 attendees who purchased tickets to attend the expo, a first for the ESA and E3. In previous years, 52,000 people showed up for E3 2015 and 50,300 for E3 2016. This year’s attendance is the biggest one since E3 in 2005 with 70,000. E3 has been an expo only for people in the game industry and the media to attend.
However, the inclusion of 15,000 additional people has caused too much overcrowding, making large crowds wait way longer than usual to try out the latest games inside the LA Convention Center.
Still, the future of E3 remains unclear for ESA CEO Mike Gallagher who said in a round-table interview that the the association may look for other options if LACC does not get an upgrade. According to GameSpot, Gallagher “hopes the convention center will undergo renovations to increase the floor space and make the hall more contiguous.” There is a very long hallway between the South and West halls.
Though E3 will remain in Los Angeles until the end of its expo in 2019, it is still unknown if LACC will continue to be the place for gamers to go in 2020 and beyond.
[Sources]: ESA (via PR Newswire): E3 2017 Closes After Welcoming 68,400 Attendees; GameSpot: E3 2017 Attendance Revealed, Future In LA Uncertain; Polygon: E3 attendance up 30 percent over 2016.
