E3 2017 Pulled In Nearly 70,000 People, Microsoft And Nintendo Generated Most Online Buzz

It's over! E3 2017 wrapped up yesterday, and now it's time for the measuring tapes to come out. The show floor was open to the public for the first time, pulling in attendees from around the world. And online, it should come as no surprise that people had a lot to say about what was shown. Here's a quick look at the show, from a macro perspective.

According to the ESA, 68,400 attendees came to the Los Angeles Convention Center for the show, 15,000 of which were ticket-buying members of the public. "E3 2017 was a huge success," said said Michael Gallagher, president and CEO of ESA, the trade association that operates E3. "The advancements in technology unveiled at E3 will redefine and drive worldwide growth of the most meaningful form of entertainment on the planet. Congratulations to our innovative exhibitors, members, and partners and to the millions of gamers who celebrated a spectacular E3 with us."

Social-networking analysts Synthesio scraped through what some of those millions of gamers had to say online, and the results are pretty interesting. According to their observations, Microsoft created the most online buzz with the announcement of its Xbox One X hardware, and Nintendo was a close second. The company calculated which five companies were mentioned most during the show – including positive and negative reactions – and then broke down that top-five list by their percentile share. Here's how it worked out: 

• Microsoft (25.33 percent of all online mentions)
• Nintendo (24.11 percent )
• EA (20.20 percent )
• Activision (10.83 percent)
• Ubisoft (7.31 percent)

If you're interested in a more granular look at what drove those online conversations about each of those five companies, here you go:

Microsoft

• XBox One X (71.42 percent of all Microsoft mentions)
• Forza (9.61 percent)
• Sea of Thieves (7.94 percent)
• Gears of War (6.18 percent)
• Halo (1.88 percent)

Nintendo

• Switch (33.91 percent of all Nintendo mentions)
• Super Mario Odyssey (32.61 percent)
• Metroid (10.37 percent)
• Splatoon 2 (5.87 percent)
• Rabbids (5.66 percent)

Electronic Arts

• Battlefront 2 (26.62 percent of all EA mentions)
• FIFA 2018 (23.15 percent)
• EA Play (20.07 percent)
• Need For Speed (15.21 percent)
• Anthem (7.78 percent)

Activision

• Call of Duty: WWII (75.48 percent of all Activision mentions)
• Destiny 2 (24.52 percent)

Ubisoft

• Assassins Creed Origins (89.10% of all Ubisoft mentions)
• Far Cry 5 (9.67%)
• Tom Clancy Games (1.23%)

Our Take
Based on what I heard from friends and colleagues who were at the show, E3's organizers aren't quite ready to accommodate that kind of a crowd. Meanwhile, I'm sure Gamescom thinks those numbers are adorable. Fortunately for those of us who aren't too keen on getting crushed or trampled, the show's continually expanded online presence makes it easy to keep track of everything from home.