Wow. Holy sh*t. Look, I love E3 and it’s one of the highlights of my year to attend every year. I know how very lucky I am to get a free pass and a hotel room and behind-closed-doors looks at all the hottest games. It’s f*cking awesome, and you’ll never hear me say any less. But $795 for an expo pass?! No.
Registration for E3 2012 started this week for attendees. Those that are not industry professionals will be paying $795 for a three-day pass, and that goes up to $995 after April 23. Compare that to last year’s $400 and $500. Maybe they’re doubling the price to keep the swag hogs and robot head weirdos out.
As much as I love E3, it’s not worth $795 to see games that you’ll have for yourself months later. Some of the system-launch E3 years have been pretty exciting, but I don’t know if they were worth that kind of cash. Keep in mind that general attendees do not have access to the press conferences, off-site meetings, or private showings. It’s $800 to wait in lines in the Los Angeles Convention Center.
E3 Doubles Expo Pass Prices [Gamasutra]