chase3001

I will be going to the E3 Expo for the first time this year, and I am wondering if anyone here has been there before.

Any tips for a first timer?

Zwerchfell

if you are going on the first day be there very early or in the afternoon. They always have very very long lines on the first day.

Derrich

I've been to 3. Get a bag and fill it the first day with free stuff. The rest of the time you can spend having fun. And don't eat at E3. Jump on the subway and eat downtown. Better food and a lot cheaper. Plus, you're in LA.

D

xmiyux

From everyone i have talked to who has went the advice given above was the main thing they mentioned. That and bring a camera and a good deal of patience.

I assume closer to the date we will once again have a thread where people going will volunteer to be some schwag mommies/daddies for those of us not cool enough to go?

CreatureX

Be sure to wear some very comfortable walking shoes.

squidget

I've been there 4 times (2000 - 2004) Some things I learned:
#1 The big 3 players (Sony, Nintendo & MS) always have long lines to get the premium swag. Usually its a presentation, contest or quiz and after sitting thru it you will get the swag. Its best to wait for these guys early in the morning and only do 1 per day. This way you can see other stuff and you won't get lined out. My schedule: Day 1- MS, Day 2 - Sony, Day 3 - Nintendo.

#2 Pack a bag within a bag. If you are flying to E3 you only have a limited amount of space for your luggage and your swag. My solution: pack an army duffle bag (those huge ones from a surplus store) inside your luggage. Sometime during your stay in LA hit up a staples and get some FedEx boxes. Cram the FedEx boxes with the magazines, papers, cds and other fragile trinkets. Stuff FedEx boxes in army duffle bag surrounded by all the tees you get. My last year there my swag bag was 75lbs.

#3 Comfortable footwear is a must. You will be walking and walking miles all through the convention center. Its huge! Make sure your feet are comfy.

#4 Plan your route. On the first day, get there early and snag one of the e3 books and the e3 daily. It will outlay the schedule of events. (signings, videos, exclusive game plays, concerts, presentations, etc.) Try to concentrate all the stuff you want to see in a certain section per day. A lot of things repeat so you can spread out events over the 3 days. This way your not running all over the convention center.

#5 Bring a camera. There's a lot of things to see and play and it will be easier to remember what you did if you have visual aid. Also, booth babes, need I say more? Remember, e3 is dark and neon everywhere just like Vegas so pictures will come out badly unless you a)have a big ass flash b)are within 3 feet of subject.

#6 Never eat in the convention center. It was mentioned earlier its all overpriced and there are tons of places to eat within walking distance. Also, bring a backpack with some bottled water in it. You will be thirsty and just like the food, the water is overpriced too. 2 16 oz bottles did it for me.

#7 This is one if you can afford to; rent a car and park at the convention center. Yes all the hotels have shuttles but this is a bad idea if you have the funds. I will tell you why: Swag, is well, heavy. You get big swag carrying bags at the door but still, they get heavy. The bus drops you off in the AM (say 8 or 9) and pick up starts in the after noon between 3pm and 6pm. That means you'll be lugging around swag for 6+ hours. Which means you'll be turning away swaggy goodness because you don't feel like carrying it anymore. If you have a car you can dump all your wondrous stuff whenever you feel and now your arms ready to, guess what, carry more stuff. Its 10 bucks or so a day to park but its way way worth it. Trust me.

#8 The concourse hall has the most swag. The best is arguable but it is a plenty. The concourse hall is the international section. All the Korean and Chinese, European and small game developers looking to get some customers. Because of this they are the most generous when it comes to giving away free shit. Make sure to go here.

The first time at e3 is overwhelming to say the least. Its loud, its fast and its shiny. Just remember you have 3 days so pace yourself and have a good time. If I think of any other tips, I'll post them. Enjoy!


PS-If you can, stay till the very end of the last day. You will make out like a king. All the booths allocate a certain amount of stuff to give away per day because they don't want to run out. On the last day its free for all. They don't want to carry all the shit back; I always make out like gangbusters on the last day.


EDIT: #10 get your badge holder the day before if you can. The badge is mailed to you but the holder you have to pick up there. Go that Tuesday (they are open till 6pm I think) and get your badge holder. No lines and no wait. Going the day of will be forever long.

#11 bring business cards. Not sure if you are going for work or pleasure but just a reminder to bring business cards. There are many door prizes and contests at various booths that you can enter. It's a lot easier to drop a business card then fill out the form with your info every time.

Zwerchfell

Swag is overrated just enjoy the show. But the advice from the poster above is very good stay until the very end on the last day they give away almost everything.

Btw in case you are using a hearing aid leave it in the hotel otherwise it will kill you. ;P the show is very loud!

fumanstan

I went last year for work and agree that most of the swag there are overrated. Picked up a few cool knick knacks, but nothing in particular that i actually kept/use except for maybe a t-shirt or two. It's definitely packed and busy, with some showings having extraordinairly long lines. Figure out the main things you want to check out and plan from there.

Brooklyn

I've been to about 5, and will be going again this year. Here's my advice.

On your 1st day get there early if you haven't already picked up your badge holder.
Try looking for a badge holder rep/booth outside, as the line for that will be much
shorter than those inside the halls.

Don't fall for the schwag, it gets heavy and there's nothing you'll ever look at again.

Take the shuttle bus if you're staying at a hotel by way of the expo. They're much
more conveinient than driving yourself (I disagree with Squidget in that I feel
the schwag in no way overrides the hassle and extra expense of driving and
parking. The buses are all lined up and ready to go every 1/2 hour towards
the end of each day. Hop on and you're on your way. The last thing I want
to do after a long day of constant walking is drive in LA's rush hour traffic,
the buses make it so I don't have to)

Don't eat at the snack bar in the conference hall, ridiculously overpriced crap.

Square, Nintendo and Sony usually have long lines to see their newest wares, so get
to one 1st thing each morning to avoid wasting an entire day standing in line. Square
usually gives out tickets to their showings, and they're usually gone pretty quick, so
if you have any interest in them make that your 1st stop each morning until you get
one. Any of these lines can get upwards of 4 or more hours long.

Also, be sure to give the Squaresoft hirlings guff when they tell you that you can't
take any photos of their games (even though most everything they're
showing is already on the market in Japan).

devilshalo

Schwag has gotten lamer and lamer every year. Use your first day to get a feel and layout of the conference floor. Use the following days to go back to booths you really want to see.

I've gone every year of E³ except for that times it went to Atlanta.

squidget

The best year was 2002 I think. It was the year Nvidia had the t-shirt gathering. 16 booths would stamp a you and you would get a t-shirt per stamp for it. It was awesome.
I never had a problem driving and parking at the convention center - I can come and go as I please (shuttles didn't run all day) and have a place for my stuff. It's a personal tip though.

Tip #damn tasty. If you have never been to the West Coast - do yourself a favor and get some In-N-Out burger. There are a few about 10 minutes out(drive) from the Convention Center and its the best burger(shakes and fries) ever. I'm from the east so whenever I make it out to Cali I gotta get me some burgers.

Derrich

I disagree. The Atlanta E3's were the best because back then, it was more about the games and parties than business. I remember Rendition renting a house instead of a booth and had BBQ while playing lan games on high end PC in a comfortable southern home. Dave Perry watched as my brother rolled down the hill in front of the E3 building. On the other hand, most of my memories of the LA E3's are of suits tossing buzzwords around and not getting into any of the 'good' parties.

A rental is definately worth it. If only to use as storage space during the show. And being in California without a car is unthinkable.

Talking to people in the International Hall is the most satisfying because they actually know their product. Trying to get info from anyone on the main hall is like pulling teeth. If anyone asks, make up an important title for yourself. People will ignore the head cashier at gamestop, but they'll talk for days to the Associate Manager of Sales.

If anyone gives you grief about taking pictures, ignore them. Take a break mid day and go outside . It's easy to forget about stuff like eating, drinking and rest. You could end up back at the hotel wiped out. Dont wait in a 2 hour line to see the new hot trailer for a game 3 years away. It'll be online when you get back home, and you'll miss out on other stuff.
The last day is a free for all. Have fun.

D

squidget

I agree about the international comment. Most of the folks in there are the actual dev team and not the marketing folks. They are very nice and the last couple years have been about the MMORPG - I got into a lot of beta's talking to these guys.

discostu1337

I'm going yet again since I won a trip...but this year will suck. No booth babes dressed in revealing clothes, and no passes given out to the gaming industry. Gamestop/EB as a whole got like 400 passes total, and you cannot register online for anything unless you are paying....gonna be an empty convention this year.

Brooklyn

Huh? They stopped the alumni program (you were auto-renewed for the show
instead of having to register every year), but the free expo package is still
there. Also,there are passes being given out to the industry, maybe not as
many as in previous years but they're still being given.

discostu1337

In the past, working at a game store meant you could just fax in 2 forms of proof that you did (w2 form etc) and you got a pass. You can no longer do that. I guess its cool since there will be hardly anyone there, but it sucks that none of my co-workers or friends can go. I think there were a total of 330 passes handed down to all Gamestop/EB managers....no part timers or anything. I think this is to keep people from like bestbuy and walmart out....who knows. I just personally think its a lame idea, and hope they go back to normal next year. Making us pay $500 for something that was free sucks.

matrixrok9

They're not allowing booth babes anymore?

fumanstan

That stinks for those who have gotten to go in the past under those circumstances, but if that's true, i'd have to say i'm pleased. I'm certainly not going to mind the smaller crowds, and i've always thought it was silly for E3 to be so accessible.

Zwerchfell

It's still free and you still can sign up online. I did it myself and it worked without a problem. I had to fax 2 forms of proof.

bub2000

Let's say I work for a small newspaper in Toronto, what's the process for signing up for E3?

squidget

Zwerchfell, it depends on which retailer you work. Certain stores were only allocated a certain # of passes. You may have gotten in but the person behind you working for the same company may not. (IE, 500 peeps from BB, 300 from CC, 400 from EB, etc)

bub2000,
You can register for a press pass if you are going on behalf of the paper. You will need an article with your byline on it published within the last 6 months, a buisness card and state/country issued identification. More info here: http://www.e3expo.com/media/registration.aspx

The costs of travel and the lack of vacation time is stopping me from going. By August I will have some time saved up so I think I'm going to try to hit up PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) this year.

BeanDip0001

if you can PLEASE GET ME SOME HIRES picts of the ATI Ruby girls. and any other hot booth girls ohhhhhhh ahhhhhhhhhhh morgan web from G4. hell i'll even upload em and post em here if you don't have the web space. need hot booth girl pictures

gongon78

I live in Los Angeles, just minutes away from the convention center, and have not been able to go since I turned 18. Anyone have any suggestions on how I'm able to go, just once?

This guy I work (non-industry) with is hush-hush about how he's able to go. I've heard people giving away their tags after the first day. Is that true?

As for get around in LA, just make sure you have some quarters for the local DASH that can take you to all kinds of places. 7th Street has a mall with a lot of eateries. That's the nearest to the convention center.

squidget

Giving away badges does happen. I did it my first year there. I wasn't able to stay the entire 3 days (boo) so I gave my badge and holder to a friend to go on the last day. Unless you know some local mates to help you out it won't work. The badge is mailed but you need the holder too, to get the holder you need to show id and the badge @ the convention center You need both badge and holder to get to the floor.

The other option is to pay the big bucks; they'll let anyone as long as they pay. If you ever worked in a retail enviroment that sales games you can try to register for package 5. As mentioned earlier, they are only allocating a certain number of tickets per store for package 5 this year.

You can always try to register for package 5 anyway even if you are not in the industry. In the pass they don't get check the company history well. As long as you have a w2 and 2 paystubs you can give it a shot. Worst thing that can happen is you won't get in.

Wazootyman

A way to go is if you are in college, there's most likely a college paper. Get one article published that relates to video games and then register as a member of the press. I'm contemplating doing this, but my final final is on the last day of the expo