It took three months, but all public tickets to E3 are now sold out

By Steven Petite May 15, 2017

how to watch e3 2017 coliseum — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Entertainment Software Association, the company at the helm of E3, has announced on Twitter that all 15,000 public tickets for E3 2017 have sold out a month ahead of the annual games expo.

This year marks the first time the biggest games show of the year will be fully open to the public. Despite the perceived significance of opening E3’s doors to the public, and the relatively small number of tickets available, it took three months for the public tickets to sell out.

Tickets went on sale February 13 at an early-bird price of $150, with the standard price set at $250 after the discount period ended. That means that, on average, approximately 165 tickets were sold each day since they went on sale. It may have taken this long to sell out because much of the interest created at E3 comes from the press conferences of major publishers — Sony, Microsoft, Bethesda, Ubisoft, etc. — and all of those take place in the days leading up to the official start of E3 on June 13.

Still, the 15,000 people who purchased a three-day pass (June 13-15) have plenty to look forward to. Fans will have access to the show floor, where they can learn about and try new and upcoming games. There’s also a brand-new addition to E3, the E3 Coliseum. The Coliseum event, designed specifically for the public, will take place on June 13 and 14. Developers will host panels that will include behind-the-scenes looks at highly anticipated games and Q & A sessions. Some of the panels will be streamed on Twitch for those who cannot be in attendance.

We’ll be streaming every E3 press conference, starting with EA’s off-site EA Play event at 12 p.m. PT on June 10. For those who are anxiously awaiting E3, check out our big E3 games preview.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…

Gaming

With E3 2022 canceled, these are the summer gaming events to watch

We learned this week that 2022 will be the second year since 1995 to not have any kind of E3 expo. While the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) says E3's physical and digital cancelation this year enables it to "devote all our energy and resources to delivering a revitalized physical and digital E3 experience next summer," it also raises questions regarding how game announcements will happen this summer. Companies like Microsoft and Nintendo often tie big reveals to E3, so what is the industry's plan now that E3 2022 is officially canceled?
So far, we only know of a couple of events that will take place, though there's still time for a lot more to be announced. For those wondering how E3 2022's cancelation will impact summer 2022's game reveal landscape, we've broken down everything that is and isn't happening -- and that might happen -- in the coming months.
What's not happening
E3's absence leaves a crater in the usual gaming hype cycle. Typically, the yearly event took place for a week in Los Angeles and served as a spot where game publishers could announce and advertise their upcoming slates of titles and game-related products. In 2020, the ESA canceled the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it returned digitally in 2021 with mixed results.

On March 31, the event organizers at the ESA confirmed that there would be no digital or physical E3 event this year. That was quite surprising as more and more in-person events are returning, and the ESA even demonstrated that it could hold the event digitally before. The event may return in 2023, but this year the E3 event that typically consolidates many gaming announcements to one week in June won't play out like normal.
Outside of E3, we also know that EA won't hold its yearly EA Play Live event this summer. Typically, the publisher has its own events outside of E3, but chose not to this year because "this year things aren't lining up to show you everything on one date." That means that if we get new information on titles like the Dead Space remake or the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect, it won't be at an E3-adjacent event.
What is happening
There are still some major gaming events that will take place this summer. This June, the biggest one is Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest. The creator of The Game Awards plans to hold a Summer Game Fest Kickoff Livestream full of new trailers and announcements. Last year's event featured the release date of Elden Ring, so there are certainly high expectations surrounding the showcase, especially as E3 won't be drawing away any reveals. An indie-focused Day of the Devs presentation and other Summer Game Fest-branded events are also expected to take place this June. Keighley tweeted that Summer Game Fest festivities "will be less than one month this year."
IGN confirmed that its Summer of Gaming event would also take place in June and feature exclusive trailers, gameplay, and interviews. Bethesda has also teased that it will show Starfield this summer, and we're supposed to get another look at Final Fantasy XVI soon.
As for in-person events, a couple of them are happening later in the summer. Gamescom, a European gaming expo equivalent to E3, will happen in person in Cologne, Germany. In Japan, the Tokyo Game Show will be the final big in-person summer event between September 15 and 18. While E3 might not be happening, it's clear that some digital showcases will happen this summer and that events outside of America are still on track to take place in person.

Gaming

The biggest games we didn’t see at E3 2021: Hellblade, Splinter Cell, and more

Sam Fisher's iconic goggles.

With the E3 2021 extravaganza rapidly coming to a close, it's time to reflect on the ways in which our hopes were dashed. There are already a ton of lists out there that recap everything presented at the show, but what about the games we didn't see?

With big players like Sony and EA skipping this year’s show, it was inevitable that there were going to be plenty of MIA games. Outside of the usual suspects, there was a slew of games we desperately wanted to see but that just didn’t make the cut. Regardless of whether these games (and one console) are stuck in development hell, delayed because of COVID-19, don’t actually exist, or are just waiting for a different day in the sun, here is a list of some of the biggest missing names from E3 2021.
Splatoon 3

Gaming

PC Gaming Show: 3 can’t-miss games from the E3 livestream

pc gaming show e3 2021 ixion

The PC Gaming Show at E3 2021 had a ton of games for viewers to take in -- one could even argue that it bordered on too many. There were titles for everyone: Hardcore RPGs, management sims both on Earth and in outer space, and tons of shooters for players to wear down their keyboards and mice.

While the show, presented by PC Gamer, had a ton of great games, there's simply too many to list them all in one place. Instead, here are some of the highlights of 2021's PC Gaming Show.
They Always Run