E3 attendance tops 50,000 for the first time in a decade

We just got done with E3 2015. That means it's time to announce E3 2016. It'll be June 14 to June 16 of that year, with the usual track meet of showcases and announcements on the two days preceding it.

The Entertainment Software Association, which organizes E3, announced the dates in a statement touting this year's expo as a record-breaker in social media. Twitch, the official live-streaming partner for E3, reported that peak viewership for the show's news conferences hit more than 500,000 concurrent viewers.

This year E3 allowed fans — "prosumers," according to organizers — for the first time in its 20 year history. About 4,000 to 5,000 attendees not affiliated with the industry or media covering it were invited to the show by various exhibitors.

As such, this year's attendance at E3 50,000 for the first time since 2006, when a format change bottomed out attendance to 10,000 in 2007 and even lower for 2008.

This year some 274 exhibitors bought space at E3 — up from 187 last year. That figure was helped by the presence of exhibitors showing mobile and virtual reality games and devices.

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