Wednesday 10 May 2006
With just hours to go until this year's E3 games show officially opens for business in Los Angeles, GamesRadar has managed to obtain an exclusive sneak preview of the show floor. As you can see from these photos, many of the stands are still under construction - including those for PlayStation 3 and Wii, both of which will be playable on the show floor.
The Sony and Nintendo areas sit side-by-side in the LA Convention Centre's massive West Hall and are the focal points of the show. Both companies are naturally placing most of their stands' emphasis on their next-gen machines, although Sony also has a sizeable number of new games set up for PS2. On the peripheries of each stand are large zones given over to their respective handhelds.
Of the two debuting next-gen consoles, we're expecting Wii to generate the most interest at the event - partly because of the unique interface but also due to a far sturdier line-up of games. After all, you can't really argue with next-gen Mario and Zelda.
But even with our VIP credentials, security is still extremely tight. Indeed, we inadvertently strayed too close to the PS3 section of the Sony stand (well, OK, we walked right into the middle of it, picked up a PS3 controller and attempted to start playing Virtua Tennis 3). The result? A member of the LAPD physically removed us from the PlayStation area. Yikes.
Undeterred as ever, we'll be bringing you complete E3 coverage live from the City of Angels throughout the rest of the week. Run-ins with the local constabulary permitting, of course.
