Some wags will tell you that the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the big game trade show in Los Angeles in mid-June, is on its way down. They will make you worry about big companies pulling out of the show, mobile companies failing to show up, and fans making it too crowded for the 50,000 or so professionals who will descend on the Los Angeles Convention Center in a couple of weeks.
They’ll say that E3 is dead.Don’t believe them. I’ve been going to E3 shows for a couple of decades, and there’s always a lot fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) preceding each show. I have spread some of that FUD myself, as I’ve been worried that big companies pulling out would cave in the show and make it collapse. Electronic Arts is the biggest sinner here, holding a fan event on June 10 but skipping out on a booth on the show floor. And, horror of horrors, Rockstar Games pushed back the release of Red Dead Redemption from this fall to 2018.
But I’m happy to say that the game industry is broader and deeper than one company or one game. I predict that E3 2017 will be full of fun, with lots of new games, surprises, and evidence of growth.
First, consider gaming at the high level. Thanks to mobile games, there are now 2.6 billion gamers on the planet, up from 100 million in 1995, a fact that is so momentous that Internet seer Mary Meeker included dozens of slides on games in her recent talk at the Code conference. The industry generated more than $100 billion in revenue last year, and, as noted in a report by Atomico, the top 50 public game companies have a market valuation of $500 billion.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which puts on E3, notes that 63 percent of American homes have at least one gamer. The average player is 35 years old, and 31 percent of players are women. In mobile games, the percentage flips so that 62 percent of players are women, according to Chartboost.
Image Credit: VB
Mike Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, is the top cheerleader for games. He is paid to be happy about games and to be cheerful about E3. But I have to say I agree with him this year, based on what I’ve seen behind the scenes at game companies and from what Gallagher has told me.
Last year, there were 50,300 professionals at the show. A similar amount should show this year. Tickets are sold out. Press events start on June 10, but the expo floor is open from June 13 to June 15.
A year ago, about 20,000 fans went to nearby events. This year, 15,000 fans have tickets to get inside for the first time. It’s going to feel a lot more crowded in the halls. And those fans should count, as they’re going to tweet…
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