E3 2017 Event Dates, Tickets News: ESA Opens E3 Expo 2017 to the Public; Ticket Sales Start on Feb. 13

By Gracezyl Blanco, Friday, February 10, 2017

The 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo is going to be held on June 13 to 15 in Los Angeles. And for the first time, the event will be opened to the public with 15,000 available tickets to be sold starting Monday, Feb. 13.

The tickets are normally priced at $250, but an early bird discount will be offered on Feb. 13, making the ticket price lower at $150.

Each ticket will provide entry to the show floor and to the numerous panel discussions that are lined up for the whole event starting Tuesday, June 13, up to Thursday, June 15.

The organizers of the event, the Entertainment Software Association, is also partnering with video game journalist and presenter Geoff Keighley to give attendees special access to exclusive interviews and such.

In the previous years, access to the E3 had only been limited to media professionals and video game industry leaders. Last year, however, the organizers tested the affair's commercial viability with the public and conducted a free and open live event outside the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The response was overwhelming. ESA's Senior Vice President of Communications, Rich Taylor, shared in an interview with GameSpot that "the feedback we heard was clear--they wanted to play the games inside the convention center."

Adding to that, video game exhibitors who joined the event also wanted their fans to have access to what they are presenting. "So this year we're bringing the two together," Taylor explained.

The SVP of Communications also said that the decision to make E3 public to at least 15,000 fans was a "strategic decision." "It is thanks to our members and their vision and leadership that made this possible," he said.

Although this year's E3 is officially open to the public, it is not however a guarantee that the event will still be a public one in the upcoming years.

ESA cannot commit if the E3 2018 will also be accessible to the public, but Taylor assures fans that this year's decision is a "commitment of where [the ESA is] heading and [its] desire to respond to exhibitors and consumers."

The E3 2017 has listed over 200 exhibitors for the event, but the official lineup is still to be announced in the coming weeks.