E3 2016 saw a lot of changes. With EA and Activision foregoing their usual booth presence in favor of other events (EAPlay for example), other companies like Bethesda and 2K got to expand their presence on the show floor. We had the opportunity to tour the 2K booth and it was hands down the best booth at E3.
The 2K booth was located right at the entrance of South Hall and was a powerhouse of Mafia III and Civilization VI goodness all week long. Mafia III had a huge influence over their booth this year, with the entire front half of their booth devoted to the title.
We were lucky enough to be able to go "behind the scenes" and ended up on this balcony they had overlooking the entire show floor. It was an amazing experience and an even better view. Adding to the overall cool factor, these balconies were hidden behind a bookcase that slid to one side. Because, y'know, the place wasn't neat enough already. Check out these photos we were able to grab:
They really did an amazing job immersing you into this world of New Bordeaux, with period dressed "store front" Windows displaying the latest TV news in black and white, a photo booth where you could dress up in period 60's clothing and have your photos taken (free of charge), a tarot card reader and fortune teller, a LIVE BAND between 4-6 PM daily that played amazing jazz music, and last but not least, a funeral procession for one of the in game characters that started at their booth and worked its way through the convention center and out to one of the plazas where they held a performance daily. We were lucky enough to be present for one of those performances and you can see the video below.
While other booths stuck with the more traditional "show off our game, giant video screens everywhere, loud announcers all day long" format that you'd expect at E3, 2K really impressed us by doing something different, out of the box, and just overall unique. We really hope this trend continues and we see more booths adopting this "Experience" style of a booth.