“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” That quote from Sun Tzu may have referred to conducting warfare, but it’s also equally appropriate for E3. Because honestly, going to gaming’s biggest convention can feel like a battle sometimes. You push through throngs of people to reach your objective, food rations are limited, and there’s even a tank there.
After being an industry-focused event for so long, E3 began selling large amounts of tickets to the public last year. Suddenly, there were tons of people in the Los Angeles Convention Center that had never been there before. Lines for game demos were ridiculously long. Which isn’t unusual for E3, but was exacerbated by the large amount of eager newcomers. Which is why only the greatest tactical minds (or those with special badges) will get to see everything they desire.
Fortunately, the tools to develop a battle plan have been made available:
The floor plans for E3 2018 have been posted here. Obtained completely legally from forum user Rosti, the plans are used by an event planning company E3’s organizer’s use. While the original maps did not have the listing of which company is using which booth, Rosti went through the trouble of cross-referencing a separate list and labeling the booths for us.
There’s not particularly any mind-blowing information on display. In fact, Rosti even comments that the layout is much the same as it was last year. Still, this information will be invaluable to those who want to make an attack plan. Do you rush to Nintendo first to try the new Smash Bros? Or is Fortnite more your thing? In which case you might want to head for Epic Games’ booth. The indie booth, although smaller, are not to be ignored either. After all, there might just be that surprising reveal during a conference that changes your plans last minute.
One thing to note, because many on Rosti’s post asked, its that Xbox is not on the show floor this year. It has its own thing going on at the Microsoft Theatre across the street.
So ready your strategies, don’t forget to bring water and snacks, and please shower. Biological warfare is not a viable tactic at E3.