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Today marks the one-year anniversary of the kick off of the final E3 as we used to know it. Part videogame industry expo, part freakshow, we were barraged by the hypnotic lights and the well-tanned thighs of booth babes trying to compensate for shit graphics and me-too gameplay for three solid days.
At the time, we had no idea that we'd be attending the industry's final decadent blowout. We'd have taken a moment to pause, to reflect, to appreciate the sights and the stench of a Los Angeles Convention Center packed with 60,000 attendees.
E3 taught us many things. We were horrified to learn the PLAYSTATION 3 was to be priced at $599, yet pleased that it would ship worldwide by November 17th. How naive we were then.
We had just seen the Halo 3 trailer. Witnessed the Super Smash Bros. Brawl reveal. We'd been subjected to "massive damage", "Riiiiiidge Racer!" and Bill Gates paralyzing keynote and we didn't think we could take it anymore.
We relished in our first hands-on experience with the Nintendo Wii remote. We played Super Mario Galaxy, Guitar Hero II, Metroid Prime 3, Elite Beat Agents and Resistance: Fall of Man all for the first time. I recall the horrible bus ride home from the Sony party, ready to vomit into my free Ogio luggage.
With the new, slimmed down E3 still two months away, there's plenty of time to remember the insanity, the sheer pleasure of dozens of game announcements all occuring over the course of five days. Won't you share them with me in the comments?
