E3 Sets Social Media And Viewership Records

ESAIn June, the video game industry’s top talent packed the Los Angeles Convention Center for E3 2014, the world’s premiere trade show for computer and video games and related products.

More than 48,000 industry professionals, analysts, journalists, and retailers from more than 100 countries attended, and approximately 200 exhibitors showcased the latest in computer and video game hardware and software. The industry’s biggest companies joined up-and-coming indie studios, colleges, and other exhibitors to unveil the newest titles and products in computer and video games.

This year’s event marked the most engaging E3 in history. E3 2014 shattered previous social media numbers across all channels, recording more than two million posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram combined. Additionally, more than 100 unique E3-related topics appeared on Twitter’s trending list in the U.S. and worldwide.

For the first time, E3 was streamed officially online through Twitch, the video platform and community that enables gamers to broadcast and watch live game play from anywhere in the world. Twitch set site-wide viewership records with nearly six million unique viewers watching Monday’s press conferences and a total of 12 million unique viewers watching throughout the week.

The show also featured the return of the E3 College Game Competition, an annual competition offered by ESA that challenges teams of students enrolled in collegiate video game programs to submit one playable game, along with story details and content assets, to be judged by a panel of game industry veterans and media professionals. For the second year in a row, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) took home the top prize for Prisma, a multi-dimensional, side-scrolling platformer. SCAD’s winning entry and other finalists were prominently displayed at E3 next to the industry’s leading publishers and developers.

Meet the designers behind the E3 College Game Competition’s games, and watch the award ceremony featuring ESA CEO Michael D. Gallagher.

Meet the designers behind the E3 College Game Competition’s games, and watch the award ceremony featuring ESA CEO Michael D. Gallagher.

E3 also featured the fifth annual “Games and Learning Roundtable,” a workshop about how public and private institutions can use games to improve education. Education experts, government officials, teachers, and industry representatives explored effective methods for harnessing video games to transform education.

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