The Gamer's Quarter - Issue #6 - TextFiles.com

Article How to or Get
Section Back Into Title E3
E3 Survival Guide
By Mathew Kumar
The ESA made a number of changes to
E3 this year, the most covered and
celebrated/reviled was the new rule
against too much exposed flesh (the
“No Booth Babe” rule). This was probably
their best idea, even if it didn’t
stop women dressing in incredibly tight
latex (they’re fully covered, you see).
For media specifically, however, the ESA
had a slew of new rules, mostly related
to accreditation, thanks to their (quite
good idea) of setting aside a morning
of the show for pre-registered media. In
particular, for online media they required
a business license. For any blaggers 1
particularly intent on going, it’s a trivial
thing to get, but it’d be easier to just fake
up a bunch of credentials from any local
print media (not that I condone such a
thing; the less people hogging machines
with badges that say “Managing Director,
Financial Times” the better).
The one rule that is genuinely a
problem, however, is that if your badge
is lost or stolen, they will not, under any
circumstances, issue you a new one.
I learned this the hard way.
Now, as soon as you lose your badge,
consider yourself back at square one. To
the ESA you are, no matter what or who
you actually are, a blagger, and the first
rule of being a blagger at E3 is to never
talk to anyone at the media help desk.
Especially if they’re from the ESA. They
will not, under any circumstances, help
you. Indeed, what they will do is hinder
you. I found myself, for a period of hours,
debating with a woman who claimed
to be “second in command to Doug
Lowenstien himself” that, despite
being a fairly well-known journalist
(hey! I’ve been slagged off on an industry
insider’s blog!) writing for a show
sponsor, I hadn’t gone outside and
sold my badge for $1500.
One major flaw in her argument is that
practically anyone at all can buy a badge
for $300 as a general attendee, and the
first thing they’ll tell you to do is to go
and do that. So, if you were a crummy
badge salesman spoiling it for the rest
of us, by their statement, you’d stand to
make a profit of $1200 and still be able
to attend E3. In which case, why would
you bother talking to the ESA in the first
place? And why do they accept this? The
easiest way to avoid this reasoning:
Just Re-Register with a
Different Publication
It’s entirely possible that in the future
they’ll close this loophole, but if you
write for more than one publication just
re-register with your second credentials,
ensuring you’re dealing with someone
you haven’t already dealt with/been
seen by.
This is, without a doubt, the easiest
option, one which at least one person
I know proved to work. And if you feel
any pangs of guilt about deceiving them,
well, it’s their rules forcing you to do this,
as you’re trying to write coverage of the
show, right? Coverage they wouldn’t get
unless you blagged. Everybody wins. If
this option doesn’t work:
Wear a Suit
The number one rule of any blagger
is look professional. If you already are
a professional (as I’d hope), you should
have brought one suit to E3 with you
anyway.
The more expensive and professional
the suit, the better, because a dude in an
expensive suit, he must have a reason
to be where he is and be doing what he’s
doing, right? So make sure you’re walking
with purpose, acting like you know
where you’re going or what you’re doing.
Using your nice suit, there are several
techniques available to attempt to get
into the show.
Timeshare a Pass
Have two other friends or co-workers
at E3? The door staff don’t pay any real
attention, so simply allow your two
friends to enter the show, and wait for
one to leave the show with both passes
and hand off one to you, so you can go
back inside (with a badge) and return it
to the original badge owner. Do all of this
out of sight, natch.
Use Last Year’s Pass
If you have it, this is worth a shot. The
door staff doesn’t pay attention, and
if you still have your badge holder
(possible!), it’s unlikely they’ll notice
the difference. This is only problematic if
they’re scanning badges, which is rare as
it slows down the crowds.
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