Next year I need to get a cell from a US provider so I do not get royally screwed on service and data. The hotel’s consistent internet fail only further complicated matters. Even sucking it up at the end and blowing a large chunk of my budget on getting Rogers to give me more texts and talking time and data in the US was extremely unreliable. Thanks for nothing, guys. I cannot explain how frustrating it was to not be able to contact anyone or receive important messages days after the fact, if at all. Enough bitching, on with the show!
With the exception of the 3DS, I was more interested in the smaller titles and looking at Kentia Hall obscure-type stuff and accessories. I don’t know why I love accessories so much but that section of the industry just keeps growing and it’s fascinating to see how people try and make a buck from tertiary products that range from cool and useful to the utterly ridiculous. Sitting on a tiny inflatable go kart on a main pathway playing Mario Kart with Darren was certainly a moment to remember. And I kicked his ass. 1st place, yo! This was set in stone even before his wheel snapped off thanks to over-exuberant racing. Judging by how we overwhelmed the kart, it was not intended for people over the age of 12 but, I have to confess, it was the most fun I’ve had playing Mario Kart since the SNES days. It does limit your options since you cannot tilt the controller at all but I can see how little kids would have a blast with it. Until they sit down too hard and it pops or something.
The upcoming Hak5 will have lots of coverage of gaming and some awesome tech that I am very excited about. I’m generally nervous covering video games for that audience since they are more into the wonderful hardcore tech goodies and hacks and console stuff can seem boring in comparison, but this episode will definitely have something for everyone. Everyone includes people that followed all the E3 news as it happens! I know that’s a bold claim but D and I found some cool things that we can’t wait to get our hands on, for real, later this summer.
I also filmed some shorter and more game-focused pieces for OpenAlpha. I’ve been sorting through the footage to plot out a release schedule and it’s terrifying to see the avalanche of games coming out Q3 and Q4 this year that will bankrupt me. And I’ll enjoy every second of it. Then there’s stuff like InFamous 2 and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 that are a long ways off and I want them right freakin’ now. Like I don’t have enough of a backlog already… Oh, and I would happily sell my car for a 3DS if it comes to that. That’s how good it looks and feels. I wear glasses and everything worked with and without them. I do wonder what 3D homebrew will be like!
In lieu of full pieces from me today — this time zone switch has messed with me far more than it has in the past — I’m going to link some pieces that you should check out, if you haven’t already.
Jeremy Parish’s excellent piece about his feelings on the violence in games, as brought out by E3, really struck a chord with me. On Day One I was grumbling to anyone that would listen about how tasteless it felt to see North Korean flags everywhere in the parking lots surrounding the convention centre and the soldier marching to and fro in the hall lobby. Stormtroopers don’t bother me, these guys (and gals) did. It was all a promo for Homefront and their tagline, ‘Home is where the war is’, was everywhere you looked. Tacky and tasteless seem like a poor marketing combination. Kane & Lynch 2offering free getaway rickshaws outside was at least a little clever. Even The Force Unleashed 2 playing the world’s loudest trailer over and over and over again was less annoying!
Every single E3, whether from the larger ones of years past or the more recent smaller ones, someone writes this article. There are different comments over at the Bitmob crosspost. This is always a tricky thing to comment on. E3 is fun, yes, but work matters. When work gets interrupted by people going all fanboy/girl during your arranged time, it messes with the quality and quantity of your coverage and can also affect your bottom line. I’m still impressed I haven’t heard about any fistfights breaking out. Mr. Sonic Plushie defended himself but the account I feel to be the most accurate comes from the man who experienced the whole thing first-hand, Andrew Hayward. Even ignoring the fact that is was inappropriate to ask for an autograph or photo at all during schedule meetings, here’s the key point:
All told, it delayed the start of the meeting (conducted by Naka’s associate) by 2-3 minutes; a significant amount of time for those of us with packed E3 schedules. I was set to see two games at that XSEED meeting, but was unable to see the other one due to a lack of time. Maybe this wasn’t the sole reason they couldn’t fit both in, but things certainly could’ve gone differently if the demos had proceeded as scheduled. Now my outlet lacks the coverage of that game, and I lost a confirmed assignment.
This exchange really highlights the different perspectives of journalist v. fanboy. At a glance on the floor you could tell who was in it for the swag or were just new to shows like this. Valve gave out stylish Portal 2 t-shirts that said [Test Candidate] on the back but, seriously guys, do not wear them the rest of the conference. You wear them at home to make your friends jealous ;)
Yikes, this was supposed to be a short post so I could get back to work! The Parappa OpenAlpha is now up on the iTunes feed and I’m rendering the other versions to upload overnight. Tomorrow there will also be a post about what irks me about Crackdown 2 (demo now on Live).
Oh! And I was also a guest on Day Three of the Gameshark podcast (libsyn). Lots of fun. Excellent people over there and well worth checking out their coverage. Man, you can tell how completely loopy we all were at that point :)
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Tracfone all the way.
According to the Weekend Confirmed podcast the writer/director of RED DAWN is a consultant on Homefront. That would explain a bit if not excuse it.
Are you saying Crackdown 2 isn’t shaping up? Crap I pre-ordered it.
I know Mr. Sonic Plushie, we run our sites on the same server. His name is Quint from The Netherlands and the head of http://www.wiids.nl
As it seems the whole ‘incident’ is beeing blowing out of proportians, but on http://www.wiids.nl/article.php?id=33899 you can see the Sonic doll with autograph and his story (in dutch).
Ontopic: the 3ds is a instant buy for me, this got my interested for finaly getting a DS, well and Kid Icarus :P Also grabbin a Wii as soon as Donkey Kong Retuns comes out. The Sony and Microsoft presentations irritated me big time, thats why i am glad to see that Nintendo is getting back to his roots and start making games like in the SNES era.
He could be the nicest guy in the world and I’m sure he’ll never regret what he got out of it. That said, his timing was completely unprofessional, had a real cost to others, and I’ll never condone it.
The DS has a wonderful backlog of games to check out once you pick it up and the first party Wii Nintendo games are definitely worth a look, too. One of the great bonuses to the Mario games are that they rarely go out of style. The Galaxy games are a must-play. I can only imagine how they would be in true 3D now!
“This exchange really highlights the different perspectives of journalist v. fanboy.”
I’m not a fanboy and that’s the wrong way to categorize it. I’m also a journalist, doing the same thing all of you people do. I just happen to be more ‘enthusiastic’ about the people I meet, as I flew over half of the world and paid a bazillion just to get to E3. Like I said, I’m not alone on this; several other people are in this same ‘category’.
I think it’s a cultural difference. You guys went to E3 over ten times, you make money out of it and you look at it as your full-time job. There’s also a group that goes to E3, is also a (succesvul & professional) journalist, but also drools on everything they see. This is NOT fanboyism. Fanboyism just means shouting kids, screaming for goodies and crying for an autograph. I just happened to be at the right time at the right place, so I grabbed my chance as a Dutch guy who was amazed by the fact that he was in the same roon with Yuji Naka. If I was a Naka-fanboy, I wouldn’t have rated Let’s Tap 4.5/10 a few years ago.
I wasn’t defending the fact that I got my plush signed. I was trying to make you American journalists understand that E3 is a place with a great diversity of people and you should respect that. I’m not alone in this ‘category’: there are hundreds. It’s a shame you don’t recognize that and you want to get rid of that. That’s not what E3 is about. What you guys want is a private meeting in a hotel in the middle of nowhere. Again: that’s not what E3 is about. They did this a few years ago and people complained. You know why? Because most of the people who go there aren’t like you guys.
You might not want to jump in about poor categorizations here without some cursory research. I am not American. I’m Canadian :)
We’re never going to see eye-to-eye here, apparently, and I do question why you are seeking out every mention of your name to try and ‘set the story straight’. You got your toy signed, Mr. Hayward lost out on an assignment. He’s not going to lose his house as a result, but this is what happened. I love that press are enthusiastic — when I meet devs at parties it’s wonderful to shake hands and chat in a less formal setting — and that’s the last thing I want to get rid of.
Busting out the Sonic at a party? No harm, no foul! Good time had by all. During someone’s scheduled time? Poor call. It was not your fault that he chose to turn around and sign it, but it was not polite of you to create that scenario.
If people manage to come to E3 and have no fun, I feel sorry for them, but you can have fun and be professional and respectful of others at the same time. That’s the main point. Had you said “oops! That wasn’t what I intended to happen!” I think people would have let it go very quickly. This is not the diversity issue you are painting it as here :)
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