E3 2017 Has Officially Sold Out Of Public Passes

The ESA is taking quite a risk this year with making the Electronic Entertainment Expo public for the first time, instead of just sticking to its more traditional trade show roots. 15,000 tickets for the event have opened up since earlier this year, and now the company has reported that it's officially sold out.

The official E3 Twitter account noted the feat this morning, indicating, "We're excited, too. E3 fan passes now sold out. Start your countdowns!" It also noted that business passes are still available for purchase, but at a much higher price than the $250 that the original tickets sold for.

This means that the show will have an extra 15,000 attendees this year, on top of those that were pre-approved for the event through the media. No doubt this could make things a little tight when it comes to the more popular booths on the show floor, such as Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

The controversial decision to make the show public was decided on earlier this year, following the somewhat average reception of the E3 Live event that took place outside of the convention center. Granted, it probably didn't help that EA's newly annual gaming show, EA Play, took place within the same vicinity. (For this year's event, EA will have something that's a bit closer to downtown, taking place before E3 even happens.)

Some critics have sounded off on the move, looking at it more as a "cash grab" to try and make the show worthwhile, even though the addition of public fans atop of media attending the show are likely to make it more difficult to get around. That said, it's a move that's provided a bit of revenue, so don't be surprised if it becomes a business model for years to come. Unless, that is, things get too crowded, which is always a possibility.

For now, it's going to be interesting to see how the show fares, especially with hundreds of gaming companies set to show off its new developments. We'll keep tabs on everything for you here, so you won't miss out.

E3 2017 takes place in Los Angeles from June 13-15th.