Four intrepid young GamesRadar editors are in LA all week for E3 2008, writing and posting about everything they see and hear. Some of it's relevant, some not so much, but it all relates back to the dizzying clustershart that is E3.
Monday| Tuesday |Wednesday/Thursday
“Misquotimated”
Tuesday July 15th, 6:00pm
Chris Antista
Now for the handful of you actually reading this blog (Hi Mom!) you may remember my post about being interviewed by the BBC. I was punching myself in the face for yammering outdated information about FFXIII, but it turns my humiliation would take a different, more emasculatingform. Now, there’s no point bitching about grammatical errors when everybody is tripping over themselves to post the latest scoop on Raving Rabbids or the latest DBZ character roster, but...
“Chris Antista from the website Gamesradar was unimpressed.
She said: "I don't think they innovated at all. I think they...”
Hey! I’m a boy! And I may have a tinge of a southern drawl, but there’s no way I compared Microsoft’s new character avatars to “Nintendo Mes.” If I would’ve known I’d have my prick editorially removed, I may have reconsidered appearing on camera. Oh, and sorry about my appearance. I forget I look like that sometimes.
The sound of one hand waving for help
Tuesday, July 14th 5:02pm
Stephen Pierce
We saw a guy today. At the Sony press conference. He was talking to himself. Kind of like a bum with a mind full of error. But not. For he was a media man and he was talking to his own camera. Filming himself, by himself, with his camera on a tripod. He was acting like he was in a TV studio, delivering his lines with excitable intonation and a passably professional delivery. But, and I’m sorry if I’ve made this point sufficiently already, he was ALONE. Of course the world is full of people seemingly talking to themselves with those gloriously horrible cell phone earpieces, but to use them you’re not required to emote and enthuse and generally act all TVish. This guy was. A lot. On his own. I watched him for a while. People passed him by and hardly took any notice. I don’t know who he was, or who he works for, but I kind of felt sorry for him. Hell of a lonely profession that, talking to a camera that never answers back. New media, great eh?
"That's IT??"
Tuesday, 7/15 4:50pm
Brett Elston
I love Capcom. I love Lost Planet. Both of those facts are evident elsewhere on the site (such asTalkRadar). But this press conference, for which many people stood in line for 45 minutes to see, was a huge letdown. They announced a Lost Planet movie, then pulled out a panel of usually interesting people (David Hayer, Avi Arad, Keiji Inafune) to talk about how great it is to be working on another Capcom movie. Now add an hour. Then a "bye!" No games, no Lost Planet 2, nothing. Oh and the movie's coming in 2011, four years after the game and three years after this overly long press conference.
People I keep seeing at E3
Tuesday, July 15 4:45pm
George Walter
I keep managing to see the same industry luminaries in various different locations across LA. Not sure if this is because there's so few people here or it's strange coincidence.
Here's the top four:
1. Phil Harrison
Seems to be omnipresent. I've seen him at the Xbox 360 Conference, at the PlayStation conference, walking around outside the LA convention center and loitering near the Atari room by the media center.
2. Mark Rein.
Looks like he's on vacation, in shorts and polo shirt followed around by attractive blonde sort.
Seen him outside the EA conference, and in the PlayStation event.
3. Ngai Croal.
That guy who writes for Newsweek. Seen him at least three times - managed to lead us the wrong way into the Kodak Theater for the Nintendo press event. We just followed him because we thought a man of his stature would know where he's going.
4. The dude from Kotaku.
Think he's called Brian. [Ed. - It's Brian Crescente] He gets about.
"Show us your Showroom"
Tuesday, July 15th, 4:30pm
Chris Antista
Wow, have we really posted all these entries without a pic of the E3 Showfloor? Well, forgive us, as we’re a small bunch with lot of appointments and press conferences to attend. Most long term E3’ers are disappointed, as it is smaller and every kiosk is small, uniform and understated.
I can’t attest to that, but it can’t be denied that we’ve seen almost all of these games before and written about them extensively. This is something that would really benefit the public more than anything, because there was a lot to be excited about. Write your congressmen.
Press Tomb
Tuesday, July 15 2:22pm
Stephen Pierce
You would go some way to find a more miserable environment than the E3 pressroom. Infused with an unspoken, solemn despair this carpeted cave of beards, half-eaten sandwiches and ineffective internet connectability is a sorry place to be sure. Your GR ambassadors are currently squatting in this very digital abattoir, desperately attempting to upload pictures and type words as the wi-fi undulates in strength like a torrid sea. Readers, it is shit.
Make no mistake. If you are operating under some delusional misunderstanding that E3 is a big party of games, girls and gin then wake up and smell the body odor of the fat bastard in the Diablo t-shirt next to you. Or rather next to me. Right now. I’d like to take a photo of this odious wretch to present to you dear reader but I fear the flash might alert his stinking frame to my presence and I might raise the ire of the beast. Christ I’m rambling.
Either way the press room is under resourced, there are not anywhere near enough chairs and the very mighty George Walter, Editor of the UK wing of the GamesRadar machine has resorted to sitting on the floor, simultaneously typing and sobbing, next to a bin. A more sorry example of human kind I have yet to see.
Right… off to see some games.
Above: You can almost taste the dismal.
“Fisher Price Baby Nonsense”
Tuesday, July 15 10:50am
Brett Elston
Chris just touched on this a bit, but I have to reiterate just how absurd everyone looked playing WiiMusic. I just don’t see any redeeming gameplay in there at all. Do they really think gamers want this? I don’t care what people write and publish, I know I didn’t hear one positive “off the record” statement from the audience. Man, what a letdown of a conference, Animal Crossing notwithstanding.
“Emulators”
Tuesday, July 15, 10:45am
Chris Antista
Just as we got done being underwhelmed by Nintendo’s continuing line-up of non-games, Sony lined us up like pale cattle to whisk us away on a bus to endure something that had 100% chance of being better by comparison. Just when I’d finished watching adults play Hit Stix 2008, I got a much needed laugh from these atrocious celebrity impersonators. Hilariously pathetic.
Above: Oh looky! It’s Marilyn Mon-Old and Slush!
“Unannouncements”
Tuesday July 15th, 10:30am
Chris Antista
I felt like Nintendo just broke up with me. If you haven’t read about the tragedy that was the Nintendo E3 Press Conference, I think Brett’s got an article going up about it. Oh they announced plenty of non-games and tech demos, but those articles Shane and I wrote about Nintendo’sbig announcementand what we wanted to see were an abysmal 1 for 23. Or something like that. Nintendo acknowledged a legacy of games we all love with every breath, but keeps on announcing games gamers don’t want to play. Congrats, Nintnedo. Another year I don’t have to dust off my Wii.
Above: Here’s to 2009!
"Gone Hordin’"
Tuesday, July 15th, 1:35am
Chris Antista
Brett and I held hands and scampered off the Gears of War 2 party, and goodness, was it a hoot. Well that’s probably an understatement, as is saying it was as posh as all get out. Seriously all the pretty people were a massive distraction.
We got sucked into the unveiled Horde, which is a multiplayer mode where you annihilate unending waves of Locust scum, and it’s way more fun than it should be. So in the midst of that addiction, and being a tad “drinkle” we tried to hammer out a quickpreview. You’re welcome
