E3 Day 1 Coverage: Sony & Nintendo

"You'd do better in a volcano with a nitroglycerine towel." That's a quote from our E3 shuttle bus driver sans non-family friendly commentary.

Welcome To E3

Here I am back for my 10th E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) - unfortunately, I missed out on the very first one in 1995. Hopefully, never again. E3 is many things to many people, but at the end of the day, it's about the games that are coming to market in the upcoming year(s). Some folks think E3 is just one monstrous arcade and to some degree it is. After all, attendees can see and usually play the majority of games launching across PC, console and handheld platforms in the coming year (and often beyond).  But it's far more than that - it's about deals being made, marketing spin, press announcements, and getting a pulse on an incredibly fast-paced industry. According to an ESA study, the video game industry hit $8.2 billion in 2004 and expects it to grow to $15 billion in 2010. The study also notes that by 2009 we can expect 106,000 new jobs in the games industry, so there's ample room for you to get your game on should you have dreams of being a part of the industry. You can read up on the study at www.theesa.com.

Pulling Up to the LACC	Welcome to E3	No Kids Allowed!	QMotion's Biking Controller
QMotion's Bat Controller	Waiting in line for Conan...	To Take a pic with the lady with the big sword	Just Taking a Break

Day 1 of E3 is always laced with anticipation and this year was no different. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo spent the prior couple of days presenting the latest and greatest they have to offer to the global market for the coming year. You can find plenty of event coverage on the Internet.

Microsoft announced a slew of second-gen games for Xbox 360 (hellooo, Halo 3), HD-DVD, Xbox Live updates, Vista gaming, and its upcoming Live Anywhere initiative, which was introduced by Bill Gates on his first visit to E3. Sony showed off the PlayStation 3 and gave the world some price points: $499 for a unit without HDMI-out and $599 for the premium version. Nintendo brought out its Wii (the new name for what was previously codenamed Revolution) and talked about why they named it that way - plus game god Shigeru Miyamoto came out to demonstrate the new controller in action.

Into The Show

The show was closed to everyone but the press from 9 to 11am. I utilized that time to take a look at the Sony and Nintendo booths in the West Hall, with a plan to spend my remaining two days in the South Hall where companies, such as Electronic Arts, Nvidia, Activision, Microsoft and many other have their booths.