E3 made its sheepish return to Los Angeles for 2008 after having a brief fling with Santa Monica last year. The show may have returned to its old digs, but it kept its "Media & Business Summit" exclusivity, which restricted attendee invitations and put limits on exhibition booths to create a more intimate business environment. Nevertheless, for all that has changed, much has stayed the same. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft kicked off the show with their traditional press conferences, and there were plenty of games on display, including Gears of War 2, Prince of Persia, and Resident Evil 5. We asked our editors to share what they thought of E3 2008.
This past weekend, lots of people asked me to pick my favorite of the many E3 stage demos that we hosted during GameSpot's live coverage of E3 2008. I didn't have an answer for them right away. In fact, due to either advancing age or simply being overwhelmed during the three-day show, I could hardly remember some of the demos that I myself hosted. That said, with a little reflection (and some timely re-viewing), here's my list of top-five stage demos. Note that these aren't my five favorite games that were shown, just the most fun I had onstage during E3 2008.
TNA iMPACT!
-- Wherein I did my best to stay professional and look Christy Hemme in the eye--and only in the eye.
Major Minor's Majestic March
-- Here, I got to show off my kickass band-leading skills. I knew being a drum major during senior year would pay off!
WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2009
-- The Miz and John Morrison on stage. The Miz referring to Jody as "Red" (and her adorably flustered responses) never failed to crack me up. Also, Homer's interview segment before the onstage demo was some of his best work ever at GameSpot.
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
-- I didn't host this segment, but the fact that we could provide the viewers with on-demand nuclear blasts was definitely above average.
Far Cry 2
-- Because you guys demanded it, we did not one but two Far Cry 2 onstage demos, each of which showed off distinct levels. Kickass.As for E3 2008 itself, it seemed to be a utilitarian event at best. Yes, the press got to see most, if not all, of the games that we'll be playing in the coming months and, yes, it was easy to get around from one place to the next, get to all the appointments, and basically get the information out there. So thumbs up for efficiency.
Unfortunately, an efficient E3 is not necessarily an alluring E3, as evidenced by the staggering lack of mainstream coverage of this year's event. Whereas the old E3 was full of pomp, circumstance, and gratuitous booth babes, the last two years have given the nonenthusiast press very little to point their cameras at that says "Hey, games are fun!"
The constant buzz from the folks I spoke with at E3 2008 was that next year's show will need to amp things up to stay relevant. Not necessarily taking things back to the mindless bloat of 2006, mind you, but something with a bit more kick. If you ask me, the Tokyo Game Show and Leipzig Games Convention show model--which is designed to include a couple of days for business and media only, followed by open-to-the-public access--seems to be just what the doctor ordered. All the ESA needs to do is get over its innate fear of the general public and we'll have an E3 that everyone--developers, publishers, media, and fans--can enjoy.
America. The only country ostentatious enough to pull off 24-hour weddings, the '63 Corvette Sting Ray, and the 15-pound hamburger. It's also the only place that could ever have coped with the excesses of E3 '06, even if it did leave Los Angeles with the mother of all hangovers. E3's subsequent downsizing has been well documented, but I just want to add one personal anecdote: I spent half an hour of the first day of E3 '08 just trying to find the show floor. I literally couldn't find where they'd hidden the booths.
But you know what? I kind of like it. As a Brit, I feel at home with polite reservation and nervous embarrassment. And to use a tired but still relevant idiom, it's all about the games, and E3 '08 offered both quality and variation. I found my favourite game of the show on the first day, as Flower's striking beauty brought me close to tears. On the second day, I casually wandered into Microsoft to be greeted not only with extended plays of Fable II and Halo Wars, but also with one-to-one time with the developers themselves.
And with everything covered off by Thursday, I managed to clean up and see amazing games like Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter IV, and Animal Crossing: City Folk. Whereas the noise, crowds, and sweat of E3 '06 left me in a head-broken stupor, E3 '08 was (and I'll whisper this in case any of my bosses are listening)...fun.
The only real disappointments were the press conferences from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. None of them really captured the imagination of the attendees, but that's to be expected halfway through console cycles. The good news is that E3 is only the first of the annual trade shows, and there'll be loads more news from Leipzig and Tokyo. Not only that, but unlike E3, these two shows actually give the public a chance to play what we've been writing about. So, to use an American expression--bring it!
Heading down to E3 this year, I was full of anticipation. For the first time, I would actually be walking around the show floor and seeing games in person, rather than following the proceedings from a digital remove. I couldn't wait to see the GameSpot field headquarters and be a part of the massive on-site crew. I was so busy getting excited for the experience of the event that I sort of forgot to get excited about the games. It turned out that this was just as well, given that my days were fully consumed with checking out my assigned games at the convention center, then heading back to the hotel to write them up. I ended up having a great time at E3, despite the fact that the show itself didn't provide many thrills.
E3 was back in the LA Convention Center this year, but it was far from the bombastic spectacle that it was in years past. This easily navigable and fairly peaceful environment made my job easier, but the lack of excitement in the air was a bit disappointing. With many of the publishers squirreled away in conference rooms, the show floor felt more like a high-school art fair than a video game extravaganza. I had a good time playing the Super Mario Bros. theme song with steel drums in Wii Music, and kicked it middle-school style by singing "Come Out and Play" by The Offspring in Rock Band 2, but my assignments were mostly set in subdued conference-room setups that each felt like a less-enthusiastic version of a run-of-the-mill press event.
By contrast, the GameSpot headquarters was bustling and brimming with excitement. People were writing, editing, and programming furiously while guests such as Peter Molyneux, Cliff Bleszinski, and The Miz (I'm a sucker for WWE showmanship) sat on the live stage talking passionately about their games. A handful of GameSpot users were on hand, and it was great to talk with them and see how psyched they were to be on hand. Homer Rabara alone generated more excitement than most of E3, and it was great to feel everyone feeding off of each other's energy. That experience did more than all of the exciting, high-profile sequels to make this E3 a memorable one. That, and seeing The Who live in concert. They rock.
pinkyfoo posted Jul 30, 2008 2:02 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)