lying into L.A. for E3, I didn’t really know what to expect. This being my first time at the conference, all of my preconceived notions about the show came from watching E3 coverage on the television, and from stories told by my coworkers. In high school, I vowed to make it out to E3 someday; to collect duffle bags full of swag, take pictures with booth babes in awesome costumes, and get hands on time with the coolest games not yet on the market. Even though I had no delusions of grandeur when it came to new E3, a little piece of me was still sadden by how low key the Electronic Entertainment Expo was this year. While I understand the change from what was becoming almost a consumer show to a more exclusive industry-only event, a little glitz and glam never hurt anyone. Still, I had a fantastic time, made some great connections, and got barely enough sleep to make it through the week.
I hope next year we get to fly to the convention Sunday night, because going directly from the airport to the Microsoft Conference was kind of a drag. Still – outside of GDC – the Microsoft conference was my first real press event, and it was a thrill to be at. The sheer size of the stage and presentation of the conference was impressive, and their announcements were not bad either. I am particularly excited about the Netflix deal – as instant gratification in a service is never a bad thing. I also am pumped about the Xbox Live redesign, which in my opinion was badly needed. I feel like the actual execution of the redesign feels a bit sterile, but if it is that or no changes, I will take the clean and simple approach over nothing. Also, Final Fantasy XIII for the Xbox 360 was big news to me. It seems that I have less and less reasons to buy a PS3, but I know I will end up with one at some point.
On Tuesday the whole GI crew had a particularly busy day. It was my duty to cover the Nintendo Press Conference, and it was a bit of a treat to see the Kodak Theater.
The Kodak Theater
When it came to the overall Nintendo presentation, I was left wanting at the end. I am really excited about Animal Crossing: City Folk, because Animal Crossing for the DS got me through many boring lectures in college, but other than that, I felt there was not much announced that interested me. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown was a bit of a surprise, but I felt like it was thrown into the presentation to placate hardcore gamers. Almost as if to compensate for the casual nature of the rest of their conference. Don’t get me wrong, Call of Duty looks great, and Shaun White Snowboarding looks like it will be good for a laugh. Guitar Hero on Tour: Decades, Spore Creatures and Pokemon Rangers: Shadows of Alma are sure to be well received, and Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party, Wii Sports Resort and Wii Music all have their place. Overall, I just felt that the conference did not help reassure hardcore gamers that they are in the forefront of Nintendo’s mind.
The Sony press conference was a bit of a scramble, as I was still finishing my Nintendo post till halfway through the event. Even though I only had one eye on the screen at a time, I got a decent enough impression of the event. The Little Big Planet presentation was adorable as always, and I am excited for Loco Roco 2 and the other exclusive titles they showed off. Sadly, the most memorable moment of the event was after the show, when my cell phone fell out of my pocket and down an uncovered vent beneath my chair. Surprisingly, after a 10 foot drop it was still in one piece, but had to be retrieved by a maintenance worker who then covered the vent back up. I guess I was the only seat in the entire building missing a vent cover. Go figure.
After getting back from the Sony event I headed over to Eidos to check out Monster Lab and Battlestations: Pacific. Monster Lab looks great, even if it is not a game that appeals directly to me. Same was true of Battlestations: Pacific. I then headed over to Konami, where I got a chance to play a quick song with the new Rock Revolution drum set. I was actually impressed, despite being hesitant about another peripheral clogging up my game room. The set felt a bit more natural, and I picked up on it quicker than I did with Rock Band. I also got some hands on with Silent Hill: Homecoming, which I can already tell is going to give my girlfriend and I (she is my gaming partner when it comes to survival horror games) a few sleepless nights.
Ending the day at Disney, I checked out Pure – which I had a fantastic time playing, and got a little more time in with Ultimate Band. Both titles are worth checking out.
Wednesday was more of the same, short meetings with companies in their suites. I started the day with a Roundtable discussion about Final Fantasy XIII. Being a Final Fantasy fanatic, it was great to sit in and discuss the game with the gentlemen working behind the scenes.
Joe and I at the Final Fantasy XIII Roundtable
After that, I sat in on a breakout session for Sucker Punch’s Infamous, saw the first footage of Resistance: Redemption for the PSP, and checked out Little Big Planet up close and personal. Two more Square Enix roundtable discussions rounded out the day, and I ended with a tour of Sony Online Entertainment’s products, which I will be discussing further next week. I also had a quick chance to hit up the show floor, which I will be honest, was the most disappointing thing of the whole show. I don’t fault anyone because the show floor was exactly what it needed to be. It was small, but every company had a booth and enough systems to demo their games. I guess it did not need to be any more extravagant than it was, but again, I was holding on to a shred of hope that something would remind me of the E3 of days past.
A view of the show floor
I had to work my butt off Wednesday in order to get everything done so we could attend the Rock Band Bash that night. To no surprise, the event starred The Who. I will be honest; I am an uber nerd when it comes to music. I usually only listen to OST’s from video games, books on tape, or more recently, tracks from the GDC conference this year. Even though I know who The Who is, I did not know much of their music. Or so I thought. Did you know that all three of the CSI shows use Who tracks for their themes songs? I think I lost some credibility with The GI team when I brought that one up.
The Who Concert
Thursday was short and sweet, but I still had time to fit quite a bit of stops into the day. I started out at Eidos to see my favorite lady – Lara Croft – and was pretty excited about what I saw. I then moved to the Nintendo booth to check out Wii Music and Wii Sports Resort up-close-and-personal, before trying my hands at Lego Batman and Project Origin. I will have those write-ups to you next week. Sega was by far one of the highlights of my trip. Bayonetta blew my mind, and Madworld is in a league of its own. To be honest, Sonic Unleashed didn’t even look that bad. I ended the day at Midway, in order to get my hands on Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. You can read my thoughts on that early next week. I was a bit bummed that Midway was showing off the same This is Vegas build that I saw a few months back, but overall their show was good.
Lego Batman and Robin at the Warner Booth
After hours and hours of walking, talking and posting, I am glad to be home. I am looking forward to a mellow weekend with some good food, good company and good video games before I hit the road for San Diego Comic Con next week. In the end, I had a great time at E3, even if the general consensus across the interwebs is that this years conference lacked the polish it held in years past. Look forward to a more formal E3 recap on Monday, were all of us will highlight the best news of the conference, and tie up any loose ends.