E3 experienced some growing pains this year, offering public access to over 15,000 video game fans and filling the Los Angeles Convention Center until it was bursting at the seams. For those in attendance, the general consensus seems to be that E3 “worked,” but not without significant room for improvement.

For members of the press, getting to back-to-back appointments can already be a challenge, running from one end of LA Convention Center to the other. This year, extra attendees meant longer lines for demos and human obstacles at every turn. “Off-the-record conversations also had to be relocated due to the abundance of freestyle vloggers documenting the show floor with their mobile phones,” reported game developer, Rami Ismail.

While many booths had guests standing in line for a good hour to test out the latest games, Bethesda’s booth had a staggering five-hour wait.

Crowds aside, recent attacks around the globe had other guests concerned about safety.

On the other hand, several attendees reported having a great show and enjoyed interacting directly with the fans, especially publishers and online creators.

“We had an exceptionally productive [E3],” Mario Kroll, founder of Uberstrategist (Atari’s agency of record) told AListDaily. “[It was] probably the most successful in 20 years of attending despite no booth. Heard similarly from others.”

Twitch, the streaming giant that brought its own esports arena to nearby L.A. LIVE, told AListDaily via email that each night, its activation was “filled to capacity.”

“It definitely was a good move for us to open the doors and bring the consumers in. The response has been very positive,” Dan Hewitt, vice president of media relations and event management for ESA told AListDaily. “Every single E3 is different than the previous one. And it’s because we literally start from zero and look at every aspect of the event to ensure that we’re still hitting our marks for our attendees and our exhibitors. If you’re wondering ‘what is E3 going to look like in 2018,’ I can tell you that it’s going to be a remarkable event full of high energy and high investment.”