2.6 billion gamers await E3, which starts with ESA chief Mike Gallagher

The theme of this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is, “It all starts here.” Roughly 50,000 industry professionals will converge on the Los Angeles Convention Center during the week of June 10. Tens of millions will watch the event on livestreams. Last year, 50,300 professionals attended and another 20,000 fans visited nearby events. This year, 15,000 fans will get inside the expo for the first time.

And it all starts with one guy. Making sure that it all goes smoothly is the job of Mike Gallagher, CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, the game industry’s trade group and the creator of E3. Gallagher has run the event for a decade, and I talked with him for another pre-E3 interview. (Here’s last year’s interview).