E3 2017: Video games are turning into multi-year quests

Lydia Ainouz draws a small crowd to watch her playing the Yakuza video game during the opening day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center in June 2016. This year's E3 will be open to the public for the first time. Video games are evolving into never-ending epics that can deliver their makers years of sales after the initial purchase -- and players multiple ways to keep spending. At this week's Electronic Entertainment Expo, the annual video game industry event in Los Angeles, publishers are expected to introduce a slew of blockbuster PC and console games that will include upgrades and expansions designed to extend their life well after a player normally would have moved on to another title. "If you rewind 10 years ago, when you shipped a game -- if it doesn't make it into the base game, you've got to wait for the sequel," said Pete Hines, vice president of marketing at Bethesda.