Reactions are in from the general public who attended E3, and while many would claim the experience was a dream come true, there were issues to be had. A recent Polygon article spoke to some individuals about their issues with the expo, and their consensus was about the same:
"The lines are too long, and there's not enough to play."
That statement was true last year and years prior for E3, but this year it was exacerbated by the fact that there were 15,000 more people than last year and little to nothing done by most exhibitors to accommodate for that. I ranted upon my return how the addition of the general public forced most small media to compete with the general population in queues for bigger titles we couldn't get appointments for, but even the appointments we had were difficult to reach at times due to the massive lines and crowding on the floor.
Those who have never been to E3 expect that all in attendance play the hottest games a year before they come out, when that is not the reality. The reality is you play SOME of the hottest games years before they come out (provided you wait in line), and any smaller line you jump into is reserved for smaller indie titles, games that are already out, or presentation videos about games that have no demo. Put simply, E3 does have gameplay, but not nearly as much as you imagine.
When you add the general public back into the equation and expect them to pay to attend, I think you need to change up some things with your presentation. Last year Microsoft had dozens of televisions that one could just walk up to and play without much hassle...this year was not the case. In fact, if you wanted to play any Microsoft game on the floor you had to have an appointment or wait in a massive queue to even enter the area where the games were being played.
With 20-30 minute demos the norm and the hall only open for 8 hours a day...you're estimating about 16 to 20 people played a game on a single television in a day. So if Sea Of Thieves had about 12 televisions for its demo that means around 720 people (who waited in line) got to play the game out of 68,400 in attendance. Would you role the dice on a plane ticket, AirBNB and three day pass for those odds of playing a video game?
Not many would, which is why I've been advocating that E3 change before more of the public shell out cash for an event that looks one way on television, but is, in reality, much different than we've imagined. I'm curious to hear what those of you who may have attended E3 thought in addition to those who didn't get the oppurtunity. Let me know what you think below.
