The E3 Attendee Q&A/Discussion Thread
 

Hey all, I figured I'd start a thread where people planning to attend this year's E3 could talk to each other, and previous attendees could answer questions from newbies. If you want to know more about E3, go here.

Anyway, I'll start things off. I'm planning to attend, and I'm hoping to get a press pass, since I write entertainment reviews for the university newpaper. Anyway, it seems that another person at the paper is already working on getting a press pass. Does anyone know if E3 will let multiple people from the same newspaper get press passes?

Also, does anyone have any ideas on fun, cheap stuff to do in the Los Angeles area? I had to do a Saturday night stay-over to use my frequent flier miles, so I'll have a free day to check out the sights.

E3 Presspasses
 

The short answer is YES.

The more involved answer is it depends.

Yes more than one person at a given publication can get a full Press Pass. But you have to jump through a rather large series of hoops to get them and it will require a fair amount of paperwork faxed to the E3 organizers including a letter from your editor stating that you have been assigned to cover E3.

Hmm, well, thanks for the info. Hopefully it won't be all that hard. The editor has said that it should be okay for two people to cover the event, since it's a pretty large event, so hopefully he won't mind writing a letter.

Any other people here planning to go to E3?

Looks likes I'll be there working the showfloor for our title.

I won't know for sure for a couple of days.

-Naan

Heh, sweet. I hope I can manage to get a press pass...

Have you (or anyone else here) been before? The few photos on the official site make it look like people are packed shoulder to shoulder. I've been to SIGGRAPH and the Game Developer's Conference, and I don't remember them being as crowded as those pictures make it look.

How much of your time at E3 can you spend actually playing the games? Do the lines move quickly? What sort of time limits do they impose?

I'm really looking forward to this - 3 days of playing unreleased video games and getting free stuff. How can it get any better than that?

it'll be more empty this year. I think i heard they're tightening up the invites and, i think for the first time, e3 will only take place on weekdays, no weekend. but yeah, previously, it has always been a crowded mess.

somebody check out fzero for me pleeeeaseeee

LOL - tightening up the invites my ass. Every year "E3 is a trade show only event. No one under 18, including infants." And EVERY year I see KIDS playing Pokemon at Nintendos booth. Friggin' ridiculous.

And if Nintendo puts up WALLS and holds contests every 5 minutes at their booth this year, I'm boycotting it. God that was the worth decision in the history of the world.

yeah whassup with the kids??? there were kids everywhere not just on the last day (which is known to be open to all) but all three days. yeah ill be there, flyin out on that tuesday stayin at the hojo grand hotel we should have a e3 meet...

I've gone every year since '97 and there's ALWAYS kids. I don't get it, either, but they usually don't get in the way too much. Not really a big deal, but they make such an issue of it on the registration, it's pretty ridiculous.
I'm curious who will be the biggest exhibitor this year. Nintendo clearly stole last year's show. They had a frenzy all day, every day, and my buddy and I got lots of nice giveaways from them. The XBox exhibit was pretty sorry. The small number of interactive games, coupled with LAME freebies (fabric Microsoft frisbees and light-up balls with the logo halfway scraped off sucked big time), really killed my interest and I didn't spend a lot of time there. Sony was okay, but certainly didn't measure up to years past. I still remember the great FREE food and drinks they had in '97. Too bad they don't still do that. The PS2 wallet they gave out last year was very cheap and nothing to get excited about. Sega's closed booth, while not unexpected, was nothing like the previous year's Space Channel Five/UFC extravaganza. Now that they're on the mend, will they once again impress? Finally, the big question: How many times will we run into Gary Coleman this year? It seems to increase every year for us. :D
And did anybody else who's attended previous years notice the general dearth of free stuff the first two days? Normally, my friends and I make a killing on the first two days, with not much on the last day. Last year, we didn't get much UNTIL the third day.

I'm also flying out Tuesday night. I'm doing this trip on a low budget (the flight is free with my frequent flier miles), so it's the Econo Lodge for me. $50 a night, baby! :D

But, anyway, the E3 meet sounds like a good idea. Maybe when it gets a little closer to the event, we can start an "official" DVD Talk E3 Meet thread.

In other news, I faxed over my credentials this morning. Within 2 weeks, I should know exactly what sort of hoops I'll need to jump through to get this press pass. I guess in the worst case scenario, I can just pay my own way, but I hope I can avoid that.

BTW, is E3 anywhere near SIGGRAPH in terms of number of parties?

I noticed that as well, even though I usually skip the last day.

I do have to say the Xbox party last year was a blast. I'll have to try and score a ticket this year as well.

-Naan

share and share al-- but i've nothing to share :( anyway u should still share with me :D
yeah the freebies last year were pretty slim i got the most stuff from the international booths and whatnot. I just recently went thru a bag of leftover e3 crap and handed it out to my office.
a e3 meet needs to be in the works once we get closer to the event. I remember last year someone tried to convince me to go to drive to vegas on the last day, maybe ill go for it this year around

I have a request to make...If someone can pick up any literature and ESPECIALLY some demo CD's from eSofnet's booth in the reject hall, I would be most appreciative. They'll be the Korean company with the obvious knock-offs of American games. I will of course compensate you for your trouble.

If any of you privaledged people can snagged some stuff for me, especially anything concerning the cube I'll gladly compensate you. But its no biggie....

np, I got the most stuff from them anyways. try to walk thru and throw the stuff at you.

Groovy, thanks a lot.

Long shot, but does anyone happen to have the demo CD from eSofnet from 2000? I think the game Dragon Raja was featured, but it's mainly a dozen or so of the funniest video clips I have ever seen....I lost the damn thing in my last move.

Official E3 get together thread :)

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=181199


I will be going and would be willing to pick up stuff for some people. I can spend a few hours getting stuff for people out of the three days of E3. I am going to be in LA from tuesday till sunday. I am hoping to have a ton of fun :)

Oh hell yeah I'm goin again
 

I am a 2 year veteran of going to E3 and this will be my 3rd year. I can't wait to get into E3 and give these new video babies a run for their money...or my money. In my opinion last year's E3 wasn't as great as the E3 of 2 years ago because they had Playstation 2 on the horizon for release....I'm not so sure about this year because nobody really has any systems that are gonna come out at all...unless we're looking for a Nuon 2...::snickers::. I saw the Nuon in the beta stages and it didn't impress me...it was and is a DVD player with controller ports. This year though I hope they wow me....like Grand Theft Auto 3 and Final Fantasy X did last year...oh yeah not to mention Metal Gear Solid 2. I hope to do all that I can and post on my own website info the same night.

Re: Oh hell yeah I'm goin again
 

Last year's E3 wasnt that great? Yeah right Psyko thats why after Digital and I left you went back to go play more Rouge Leader :p

Re: Re: Oh hell yeah I'm goin again
 

I said there were a few that stood out fool ::kicks:: Last year's E3 did have it's crowd drawers but not as much as E3 2000. That's what I meant :oP

Re: Re: Re: Oh hell yeah I'm goin again
 

Hey Psyko remember the cop girl? When I snapped your photo?

"Everyone say FRISK ME!!"

oooooh yeah....I have that pic here somewhere...just gotta find it...lol...I'll post em up when I find em for all to see and grope....hopefully groping the women and not me...unless you're a hot chick then bring it on...shwing!

I guess my question is... where are people staying and what rates did they get.

I tried tonight to book a room but everyone is sold out and must go through the E3 Housing to get one of their reserved lots.

I will be trying that tomorrow when the open, but I was just wondering what 'non-E3' housing people were using and where they were located.

Any and all info (including numbers) would be appreciated.