Facebook is expanding its presence at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). It will have an E3 “activation” that encourages fans to share their game enthusiasm on Facebook from a booth in the prominent lobby of the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center at the gaming industry’s biggest trade show starting June 13.
The goal of the Raise Your Game booth is to help “build a global community for gamers to discover, watch, play, and share the games they love with the people they care about,” said Franco De Cesare, global head of console and online gaming at Facebook, in an interview with GamesBeat.
“We want to help them create shareable moments,” De Cesare said.
Facebook said that more than 800 million people play at least one Facebook-connected game every month. Facebook will make it easier for those people to see game videos by launching a games tab within its Facebook video app for TV, where viewers can like or follow their favorite games and publishers on Facebook to check out the latest E3 content or search for specific games or creators of gaming related videos, said Leo Olebe, director of global game partnerships at Facebook, in an interview.
“It’s all about meeting gamers where they are,” Olebe said.
Facebook has had meeting space at E3 for a while, but this is the first time it will have a public presence at E3. It is inviting attendees to immerse themselves in a series of engaging experiences at its Raise Your Game activation, with some of the games that are being announced at the show.
Above: Facebook’s augmented reality platform at F8.
Upon entrance, people will be welcomed to visit a series of stations meant to surprise, delight, and celebrate Facebook’s core mission for games. Fans will be able to share whimsical moments using augmented reality frames built specially for E3.
“It felt natural for us to have a presence and to have a digital footprint at E3,” said Olebe. “We want to give people an opportunity to celebrate what they are most passionate about.”
On its stage, the company will have a Facebook Live Studio, with a rotating set hosted by gaming personality Andrea Rene. She will create original programming with a series of guest interviews during the three expo days of the show, June 13 to June 15. Rene will interview developers, marketers, and other special guests.
The show will be streamed to several Facebook pages, including Facebook Gameroom and participating publisher’s official Facebook pages.
Facebook will also be the sole sponsor of the E3 Coliseum, which will take place in the nearby Microsoft Theater with host Geoff Keighley. The event will feature interviews on stage with high-profile developers, and fans will be able to ask questions through Facebook Live.
Facebook said that in the month of April, 36 million people around the world posted, liked, commented, or shared something related to the gaming industry’s most popular titles and brands for PC and console in the lead up to E3 – 100 million times.
More than 30 million people have connected their Facebook account on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. On average, games represent more than 15 percent of total time spent on Facebook.com. More than 450 million people on Facebook have followed or liked an official gaming or games page in the last month.
