This year for the first time ever E3 was open to the public. 15,000 tickets were available for fans which sold out in a heartbeat. Since these passes were given to the public the Entertainment Software Association stated that they would limit the amount of passes granted to media personnel and others of the sort. However, 1,200 more qualified passes than last year were issued this year.
This new development meant that there was bound to be a substantial increase in attendance this year, but just how much was just revealed now that E3 has ended. The ESA reported that 68,400 people were at attendance at E3 2017. The event was so packed that they decided to open it’s doors up early to the public on day one to prevent safety hazards. This was a 30% increase of attendees from E3 2016 and just short of E3 2005’s attendance record which was 70,000.
Mike Gallagher CEO of The Entertainment Software Association stated during an interview that they may choose another venue to hold the event in the future if the current facility they’ve been using in Los Angeles does not get any further improvements to occupy the growing event such as increased floor space.
The ESA didn’t reveal if it will continue to sell tickets to the public in future events, but instead stated that they will gather further information about this year’s event before making any formal announcements for the future. E3 2018 will be held June 12-14, 2018 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It will continue to take place in Los Angeles in 2019 but there is no confirmation to anytime after that.