Do games journalists get invited to exclusive reveals and events? Yes. Do they attend said eventsflight, hotel and allon the host's dime? Yes. Do they go to E3, PAX, gamescom, the Tokyo Games Show and the like free of charge? Ha! There is a thick, four-digit line between press pass and press trip. The former shows that you, a member of the press, may access information and areas not open to the general public while attending an event; the latter refers to studio- and often game-exclusive gatherings that exist solely for members of the press. E3, PAX Prime, gamescom and so on are large, multi-faceted, and public events. Journalists in attendance are not invited by the committees backing them; they're there of their own volitionor at the behest of their editors, but really, who doesn't want to goon a hunt for scoops. Bigger publications have the budget for such things, but most ask writers to foot the bill themselves. You can bet every games site will haveor at least try to havewriters working the crowd at E3, as you can bet that most games journalists only go behind closed doors because they have the financial wiggle room to reach for them.