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So I got lucky on getting a badge to E3 this year and was looking for possible advice on how to get the bast swag out of it. This might not be the right place my bad if it is just looking for advice on the best way to get it.

Also for your help here is how to get a badge if you are a student.

E3 allows students in multimedia entertainment related
programs to attend E3 at no charge as long as they are
at least 17 years old and can submit the required documents.

To apply you should apply for an industry professional pass online at
http://e3expo.com and note your confirmation number.

Put the name of the school as the company and student as the job title.

Follow the directions for submitting credentials, but submit the following:
1) Copy of your current valid student ID
2) Copy of your current course schedule
3) Letter on school letterhead from the department or A&R
that names the student, tells the program they are attending under,
and requests that the student be allowed to attend E3.

Multiple students can be on the same letter as long as all the other
credentials are submitted at the same time.

Each document submitted should have the students name, email address,
and confirmation number clearly printed on them.

All decisions on students are made by the show management office,
and they only contact you by email so be sure to use an email address
that can cleanly receive all email from the domain rcsreg.com

I think the best way is look for spotlights and keynotes given by different companies. Also, companies with $$$$$ will probably have more stuff to give out.

I think the best way to "Get the most swag" is to just be everywhere at once at E3, and not miss out on any of the booths/events.

I remember back in 2002, Nintendo had thos eReader card and each pak had three cards, which you could scan and possibly win a new Gameboy Color.

Logitech was always passing out controllers and what not. So many goodies, hard to list them all...

My experience was the companies with less $$ offer more swag. Don't skip Kentia hall if it's like it used to be. As far as shirts and the like, just ask ppl where they got them, most ppl are cool and will tell you how they got it. I think the first year I went I came back with a good 15 or so T-shirts.

Get a booth appointment with each publisher. This is a 15-30 minute VIP treatment session where you'll be able to cut in line for any demo kiosk. The PR rep might even politely kick off the attendee playing so you have a shot at looking that the game.

Anyway, if you think the swag at the front desk is great, you should see what you end up getting if you have a closed-door booth appointment.

At E3 2002 I left my Namco booth appointment with two Japanese imported Shion statues from Xenosaga (each one averaged $150 on Ebay), as well as a Japanese imported Momo t-shirt (this was high quality stuff since the image seemed like it was dyed on, as opposed to typical silk screening).

It's not what it used to be (from 1999 to 2005, I can always count on getting a couple free games from Atlus and Agetec without having to enter booth contests) not to mention all the press kits have gone digital to USB sticks, but there is definitely stuff to find, especially if you have a booth appt.

Thanks for the post OP ! I am a game programming student so go for free is going to be awesome. Oh and all the info needs to be faxed to them right? Oh and for anyone looking at this post, the deadline is april 25th for free industry pass.

you just fax them to the E3 customer support people.

Just walk around the convention floor and check each booth carefully. Sometimes they have people handing out swag, others just have them on a table for you to walk up and grab. Be there when doors open, or else they wont have any in the afternoon.


Be warned do: You will end up with 25% swag and 75% fliers/papers.

Lucky! I really want to go this year, but soonest I might be able to go is next year :(

I haven't been in a couple years, but the swag wasn't what it was the years prior. I'm hoping to go again this year. The big companies give stuff to people either at more private events or booth appointments, but don't count on much unless you want to get hooked up with stuff from those fremium MMO's.

So my next question is how do you get a booth appointment?

When you sign up for E3, typically you are put on a mailing list where companies send out these flash email asking that whomever wants to set up a booth appointment to send them an email. Might not get as much luck though because you are not a part of the press. I am already booked for all the big press conferences and about a dozen closed meetings.

All else fails, contact your favorite exhibitors that will be on the show floor according to e3expo.com and ask them yourself. The worst that could happen is that they would say "No". =)

Oh man, I'm not a multimedia student any more :(. I was an animation student, but now I'm a business student. Think there's any shot of me getting in? And on that note, I want to at least try, but I'm apparently too stupid to figure out how. I see a form for normal attendees, exhibitors, and the media.

But the Media form doesn't look right to me.

Thanks for the info guys depending on how much swag I get I might do a mini contest on here. Final question is there anyway to sneak into one of the big press conferences?

No. Microsoft and Sony are holding theirs the day before E3 and they check your ID at the door to ensure you're on the list. You can always send an email to those holding the big press conferences and find out for yourself, though. Not to mention, they are being a little more strict this time around. There may be a chance that you can schedule meetings with devs and publishers while at the even, though. You just have to ask them. I got into a play test for FFXIV last year despite not scheduled something with them beforehand.