E3 boss tells why gaming’s biggest U.S. show is going to be as noisy as ever

Mike Gallagher is the cheerleader of gaming, and it’s time for him to cheer again. On Sunday, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the big game industry extravaganza, gets started. E3 should draw around 50,000 people from the game industry again to the cavernous Los Angeles Convention Center (where the show floor opens Tuesday). This year, all indications are the show will be stronger than ever, even though a few high-profile companies have pulled their booths off the show floor (Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, and Wargaming).

In spite of those departures, Gallagher, the chief executive officer of the Entertainment Software Association, expects about 94 percent of the available space to be occupied (compared to 95 percent last year). The show will draw more than 3,500 press, up 10 percent from a year ago. And the new E3 Live event in the nearby L.A. Live entertainment complex will draw another 20,000 fans for the first time this year. All told, Gallagher expects about 2,000 game announcements this year, including 130 that will be made for the first time. A year ago, the number was 1,600, with 110 brand new announcements. The 500,000-square-feet of show space will include 53 virtual reality companies, compared to just 27 the year before and 6 the year before that. About 90 mobile game companies will be there, compared to just 70 last year.