Day 1 Recap - E3 2010

This year’s E3 proceedings are exciting. Not because this is yet another year of exciting announcements, crazy parties and tons of games. It is because New Game Network is attending the event for the first time. Things got off to an early start with Microsoft’s Project Natal event on Sunday, following into Monday which saw major companies host their press conferences. But on Tuesday, the show finally kicked off, opening the floor to the many thousands of attendees, media and exhibitors.

The show floor is vast, and hosts over 100 companies across two huge halls at the LA Convention Center. However, the organizers did a good job of ensuring that there is plenty of walking space and sufficient information is available to the folks at the event. Of course, the problem areas still exist, such as when EA is hosting a presentation or between the Sony and Nintendo booths, traffic congestion is common. Other than that, I found that the convention was relatively easy to navigate and walk freely.

We have arrived

In between the scheduled meetings, I had a few hours to wander the halls of the event and just observe the various booths and their activities. The big publishers and developers have elaborate and physically menacing booth setups, appropriately so for the many games they are showing. As one might expect, the more popular titles quickly created lineups of visitors wanting to get their hands on the game. Most booths feature a check-in system that allows those with appointments (such as myself) to skip the line and get VIP treatment. However, some publishers lack such a system so I will likely have to wander the booth for a bit before I find the right person in the coming days.

Between the appointments with Harmonix, Microsoft and Atari, I had time to wander the show and check out a few titles. Most of the day was spent in the South Hall, which hosts major players like Ubisoft, Disney, EA, Sega, Konami, THQ and many more. Right across from the entrance, the EA booth is huge and features a sweet Pagani Zonda. Inside, a number of screens is setup featuring playable demos for NCAA 2011, NFL 2011, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, Medal of Honor and many more. After waiting in line a short while, I got my hands on Hot Pursuit. The driving engine felt instantly familiar if you’ve played the last Criterion Games project, Burnout Paradise. The fellow I played against was a cop, so my job was to see how long I could last under the pressure. We were racing on a track located in a forest, a nice throwback to the original game. After putting up a good battle, my opponent eventually wore me down, and destroyed my car (rather than boxing me in as the original game required). This is a welcome addition and will make the job of the police a lot more reasonable. There are a couple of other games EA is showing, such as Crysis 2, which I will try to see in the next few days.

While you're away, Microsoft breaks into your hotel room and glues stuff to the bathroom mirror

Sega and Konami booths are located next to each other, along with THQ and Warner Bros. THQ had a very complex booth, featuring a ton of different styles and visuals, ranging from Warhammer to Homefront to a casual title lineup. There were very few stations setup, so the game opportunities are limited. Similarly, Konami’s and Sega’s booths were focused on showcasing trailers and upcoming titles, with majority of stations offering only handheld titles. Other booths in South Hall are also looking exciting, such as 2K Games, Square Enix and Ubisoft, but I will have an opportunity to check out these booth in detail later on.

The first day of E3 was not overly busy or overwhelming for me. Still, I returned to the hotel to find tons of new announcements and messages waiting, which makes for another evening of work. But, I am not the one to complain. E3 is still a primetime and unique experience that must be seen in person. The show floor was only open from noon today, and with the opening schedule being hours earlier for the next two days, the rest of the show looks to be even more exciting.