EA Play 2018 E3 2018: What to Expect

EA Play 2018 should be very similar to the three day event the group ran last year as they're returning once more to the Hollywood Palladium. This location is quite a bit out of the way if you're doing regular E3 events, though still a neat spot. It'll be rather interesting to see how things go this time around as I recall many fans being disappointed at the line structure. I even had some troubles getting in as press, but they were able to help out so I got to check out mostly everything which is nice.

I still consider the first year EA Play 2016 event to be the best as it was nicely air conditioned and well structured for press. Keep in mind I have a different perspective looking at the show due to being part of the industry component. I'm never too sure about fan thoughts except what I hear while travelling around there. I anticipate the excellent selection of games will return and that we'll mostly just have swap-ins for what's available. The entire event will most likely begin with a special showcase the day prior to when traditional E3 starts. This will bring in preferred influencers to watch a live show of reveals, then play and talk about the games present.
From there it will be regular visits of fans to play the games with small quantities of press sprinkled in. I usually go on the Monday as that's the day I have off from day conferences and other events. I'm not in on the Saturday slot, but it still works out usually which is great. I always appreciate an invite to the events and that they assist with making sure I get time in. With EA Play 2018 I do hope they've come up with a better way to keep things cool. The scorching sun was hostile last year and I was fairly burned just from a couple hours there, it was a hot Los Angeles day since it's the summer and coming from Canada we have limited sun. That rambling aside, there will be a large open area and a smaller indoor section.

The inside section is really awesome, it has set influencers events going on where players can win big prizes. I was able to hop in for some Battlefield 1 gameplay on the new Tsar maps last year and missed a small bit of the Playstation pre-conference event, oops. It wasn't much time, I had assumed the Playstation party was afterwards which wasn't the case and entirely my fault there. The outdoor area will be well split between the games. There will probably be some Star Wars Battlefront II DLC displayed in a trailer section. At the far end we'll see the confirmed Battlefield (V, Bad Company 3 rumored) with multiplayer. You sit prior to these to hear about what's new and then jump in, it's great. Some of the side areas include sports games, I'd bet Fifa and Madden will take center again.

I was disappointed not to see NHL last year, with NBA Live being there tucked away and it'll be interesting if they try that game again. I'm not sure if Anthem will be there, may replace the Need for Speed spot from the last year. Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 3 has been rumored (it lines up well) so that could be there if it's real and in place of the Star Wars Battlefront 2 setup perhaps. I'd also expect the game to be at any Xbox events. Finally, The Sims DLC or new content whether that's mobile will be tucked away in a slightly hidden spot. That's about what I'd expect for EA Play E3 2018. Should be fun and hopefully I'm able to schedule it in again.

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