The Game Trust at E3

I hope your favorite console isn’t the PSP, because if E3 and the post-E3 barrage of press releases is any indication, your beloved handheld has become a persona non grata in the world of videogames. I saw exactly the same number of marching band sims as I did PSP titles on the floor at E3. That’s not a good thing for fans of either of marching band sims or of Sony’s handheld. I’m amazed at the lack of props given to what I consider one of the greatest achievements of the still-young 21st century.

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So the Rock Band/Harmonix suite that Alex Rigopulos invited colleague Scott Alexander and me up to? (I’d mentioned it last week in a previous post.)

Last Tuesday night Evan Narcisse, Gus “Wonder Beard” Mastrapa,” along with Libe Goad and Robin Yang from AOL/Game Daily and Dan “Dr. Sideburns” Ackerman from CNET all reported to the Wilshire Grand and took the elevator up to the top floor. We listened for the muted sounds of someone warbling his way through “Black Hole Sun,” and knew the suite had to be close by.

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As E3 fades in the CG staff’s rearview mirror, a few stories, anecdotes, and moments continue to haunt my waking thoughts. “Haunt” is a particularly appropriate word when talking about Epic’s VP Mark Rein and his pink shirt. (more…)

So E3 2008 is finished. Some booths, sadly, began inexplicably shutting down early on Thursday afternoon, hours before the show was even officially over. It was as if some developers and publishers couldn’t flee the L.A. Convention Center fast enough. De-bug units were boxed up. Plugs were pulled on the plasmas. The coolers filled with Diet Pepsi were carted off.

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In the old days, if you played a sports game and checked out the crowd, it was a guy in a red shirt and then a guy in a blue shirt and then a guy in a green shirt — over and over again. One of the coolest things about EA’s upcoming NBA Live 09 is the crowd. Everyone looks different and no one is doing the same thing. Eerily, when I looked up from the game and focused on the crowd at E3, something dawned on me. It looks like a sports game circa 2003. There’s only about a half-dozen different types of people here that you keep seeing over and over again. (more…)

The life of a game journalist isn’t always the luxurious perk-fest you may imagine it to be. Remember that beautiful March day that you spent wandering around enjoying the first hints of spring? Me, too — I was stuck at my desk reviewing the lame PSP version of MLB 2K8. That said, there are some cool things that I get to do that you, unfortunately, don’t get to do. I’ve already played the first next-gen Silent Hill, for example. Another was to experience the things that D-Box Technologies is doing. Lots of stuff got bumped down a notch on the list of “Coolest Things Ever” after I spent some time in its gaming and movie chairs.

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So I’ve been hitting the hay pretty early this week, keeping my old-man hours, and trying to stay off the E3 party circuit (and stay off the sauce; seems Uncle Crispy has a bit of a tippling problem).

But last night, I simply could not say no to the Harmonix/MTV Rock Band soiree at the Orpheum.

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Yesterday I wandered bleary-eyed from appointment to appointment, my energy reserves failing. I quaffed lukewarm Pepsis in an effort to keep going. Konami. Ubisoft. Valve.

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Dear Sony,

Hello!

Thank you for inviting us to your press conference at the famous Shrine Auditorium yesterday on the USC campus.

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In making my rounds yesterday and today, the general concensus from PR folks is that the first day of the show was amazingly sedate. Everything is more confined, no loud music, no flashing lights that induce seizures … in general a much more professional presentation. Crispy writer Kyle Orland had the same reaction I did when we first arrived at the show: “Where are all the banners?” “Where’s the Humvee?” “Where are the people passing out flyers?” There was no outward appearance at the convention center that anything was going on inside.

Other observations and tidbits from Day 1: 

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Dear Nintendo,

Thank you for inviting us to your press conference yesterday morning.

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Yesterday while trying not to throw up my breakfast during the Nintendo press conference, I peered over a nearby journalist’s shoulder as he frantically tapped away on his laptop, apparently attempting to live-blog each and every moment of the presser for his faithful readers.

During the demo for Animal Crossing: City Folk, the journo typed out these words:

“City seem to have scrolling feel.”

Let me repeat that one more time: City seem to have scrolling feel.

Shakespeare: Look out!

One of my favorite things about E3, in addition to the Breakfast Burgers at Carl’s Jr., is the license I’m giving to “woo” as loud as I possibly can during the press conferences.

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It’s one of the sad facts of E3. Eventually you’re gonna wind up flaking on an appointment. No matter how hard you plan there’s always an event that goes on longer than you thought it would. Or a journey more grueling than you expected. This morning’s two press conferences were held on opposite sides of Los Angeles. Nintendo was at the Kodak Theater smack in the middle of Hollywood and Sony, only an hour later, was in the Shrine Auditorium by USC — South of downtown. Logistically attending both was doable. But making it to my Rock Band 2 appointment just after Sony didn’t happen.

And I’m bummed.

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For a company that made it known they were NOT having a presence at E3 this year, Activision Blizzard has an interesting way of showing it. True, they do not have a booth and are not showing any games at the LA Convention Center, but Activision does have a press conference scheduled tonight not far from the show. They are keeping it pretty close to the vest about what will be talked about, but we’ll be there to fill you in.

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