Gamers from around the world descend upon Cologne, Germany this week for the world's largest public celebration of gaming, and Kotaku will be bringing you live coverage starting tomorrow and lasting until the last Euro-cosplayer washes the color from their hair.
Festivities kick off tomorrow with a series of pre-show press events thrown by the likes of EA, Microsoft, and Sony. Then Wednesday is a media-only day, during which our three brave teammates, Brian Crecente, Luke Plunkett, and Michael McWhertor, will tirelessly travel from appointment to appointment, checking out the latest builds of the hottest upcoming titles in-between rounds of meat and beer.
It's the meat and beer I'll miss the most.
Then on Thursday the show opens to the public, meaning Luke, Mike, and Brian will be doing pretty much the same thing, only it'll be much harder to get around, and hey, there ain't no cosplay like a Gamescom cosplay.
Meanwhile, back at Kotaku Tower, the rest of us will be monitoring their progress, fingers poised over the buttons that trigger their explosive collars, should things get out of hand.
It's going to be one hell of a week, ladies and gentlemen, filled with fresh news, hands-on impressions, people in costumes, and German food envy. Strap yourselves in and come along for the ride, but try not to jostle us too much — they are extremely sensitive buttons.
You can contact Michael Fahey, the author of this post, at fahey@kotaku.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.