One of these days SOE is going to realize that Star Wars Galaxies:Starter Kit is not the answer. I was surprised to find the game had additional screenshots posted. That, I suppose, is part of the GS job to report on the good as well as the overly tinkered.

The original Star Wars MMO was buggy. NPCs popping into the middle of the air seemed to be a regular occurence for some. Others swore by the dedicated crafting and profession systems.

My secret hope is that the top-secret Bioware/Pandemic MMO project in Austin is a new-and-improved Star Wars MMO to replace the much maligned predecessor. Unfortunately, I don't think that is the case. LucasArts has been bringing more and more projects from third-party development to first-party control. A perfect example of the first-party trend is Lego Star Wars II.

The first was brilliantly developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Eidos Interactive. At the time, I was puzzled why LucasArts was not publishing it, but they soon realized how ingenious the game was (and still is). Just think of all of those distribution dollars LucasArts missed out on . . .

Another example seems to be the undying devotion to publishing (thus endorsing) Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided. All of the development and marketing to this point has become a sunk cost. Either LucasArts is simply trying to get all of the money it can from the game before the online world goes the way of Asheron's Call 2.

Solid Snake conducts his "final" mission in MGS4:GotP. The extended trailer is much, much better than the abreviated version shown in the Sony press conference. While I had some measure of faith in Hideo Kojima being able to redeem Raiden, I was not sold on the goth look Like names, looks aren't everything. Raiden demonstrated he was more than capable of takin care of business.

In what may be the wildest revelation to come out of E3 for me, Snake will be appearing in Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. Yeah, you probably already knew that, but it is crazy. Now that he is retiring himself from the MGS spotlight, he can take time for guest appearances the likes of which Puff Daddy or usher could never have imagined. Next thing you know he'll be releasing his best-of album.

Someday I hope I can be as dogged and relentless as Reggie. I mean, dang. He rocked the Nintendo Press conference.

A very stark contrast to the bland delivery that was the Sony press conference.

Unfortunately Microsoft still can't position themselves well when Gates opens his mouth. They have the network, they have the online community. They may not have MGS 4, but they have me hooked on getting my next points fix.

Many of the games being shown can sell themselves by playing demos. It is something spectacular when Nintendo can sell just by showing.

Hopefully we'll see more of MGS4 and Halo 3, but I doubt it. What I have seen so far has been disappointing. Despite Jeff and Greg's pining for more cases of gun-in-mouth disease, I do not agree.

Quite simply, this year's E3 is amazing.

Sure, we've only just begun. But after an incredible showing from Square Enix and an interactive showcase of amazing titles set to be delivered to the PS3, the bar is already set in the stratosphere. Why, I could go home, shut the doors and never see anything else all week and feel like I've seen it all.

Of course, behind closed doors I'd be playing the current generation on my days off from work.

I was disappointed that the live Sony stream broke down just before the Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer. I did manage to catch a portion of it, and the parts I saw were disturbing. I can understand a real battlefield being disturbing, but the gothic look (particularly for Raiden) was just not right. I was especially disturbed by the grim portrayal of suicide. Regardless of culture, that is not an option for those who can still survive on their own. . . and Snake has been a survivor.

On the positive spin. . . I'm glad Raiden is set as Snake's protector. It is a great showcase for the changing roles of generations. As one generation ages, the younger ones become the stewards for not only caring for the elderly, but also the future generations to follow. Snake looked out for Raiden and now Raiden can look out for Snake.

To be sure, the console looks impressive. $499 and $599 for the PS3? 4 million units by the end of December? An open price to be set by the retailers in Japan? The 6 million units they are looking to deliver in the first 6 months has got to be a move to drive their costs down through mass production. Sony's formula for pricing had to have been a headache for any marketer. Just how many units do you have to produce and ship until it becomes a cost-effective endeavor?

I hope Sony knows. I also hope the biggest bomb to be dropped this year doesn't effect this industry too much.

One night in college oone of my roommates stayed up all night burning cds for work. He ended up going 30-something hours without sleep. For that, he earned the nickname "Nocturno:Master of the Night"

Tonight I feel the same way. I have a financial management midterm in a few hours.

To sleep!

Because I have work to do. . .

and I have school tomorrow

and I have E3 next week

and more help is needed

Had an off-site lunch with a friend who works at Apple. Sure, they aren't a game company, but I might actually be tempted to get an iPod with the slick employee discount.

Theoretically this year E3 will be a secure location for the non-industry would-be attendees.

Jeff's past comment, if someone really want to go, you could get in, may not be true. The price alone may stagger some. The venue may thwart others--really, who would want to be in L.A.? The age restriction should keep many attendees out. If somehow you are not dissuaded, the industry identification will stop you. Fortunately for professionals and aspiring forgery experts, the requirements are listed:

• Resale Tax Certificate
• Company Credit Card (WITH APPLICANT'S NAME)
• Insurance Card
• Business Ad (WITH BUSINESS CARD)
• Business License
• Commercial Lease (WITH COMPANY NAME)
• Paycheck Stub
• W-2 Form

Forgery is against the law and wrong, don't do it kids!

To secure any of the above wouldn't be too hard for entrepreneuring individuals with a taste for interactive entertainment.

Juxtaposing previous, industry-specific trade show appearances with archived E3 footage, I would say E3 seems to have similar security flaws. But if you are, principled in alignment, getting in would not be through any of the holes. 

If you aren't 18, don't go.

If the cost of entry is above your reservation price, don't go.

If you can't draw a direct link to the industry, don't go.

If the thought of looking at fake people milling about a city built upon a fractured foundation does not appeal to you, don't go.

However, if you are over 18, willing to pay the price, work in the industry (or support it in some way other than merely buying the games), and can tolerate perpetual sunlight and moderately warm temperatures . . . pack your bags, hit the road, and bring some friends along to subsidize the gas!

If Britney Spears can do it, so can you.

This is the part of my Tuesday where I check iTunes one more time for the latest GameSpot Podcast before going home.

It is also the time where everyone else gets one last call for alcohol.

My boss was amused by my request for time off next week for E3. Unfortunately he isn't the one sending me, and GameSpot will probably end up being the one to take me there (virtually) since my other ways in failed to provide a usable ticket.

If anybody has an extra one, otherwise, it is going to be an on-site purchase!

Last week I posted a topic on the GameSpot Live Union Board.

The allocation of media has always been a topic of interest for me over the years. Ever since discovering the hidden world of media buying and payola (one being acceptable, the other not), I began wondering how the resource of air time was allocated within various media companies.

For me, GameSpot has the distinction of being a reputable outlet. The staff and presentation tend to be top-notch. Other game-specific sites and publications can only dream of falling in a similar category.

Nevertheless, when I was watching one of the old episodes of On the Spot, I was baffled as to why Area-51 had been granted such an enormous amount of time. Live demonstrations are great and all, but the game ended up being a passable 7.2. Was this GameSpot's first look at the game? Was this part of the process of working the bugs out of a developing show? Was this really worth the bandwidth fees CNET was paying?

The editors seemed generally interested, but Tim Schafer was far and away the best part of that episode.

I am not intending to complain, just to understand. The obvious answer is to feature the games with the most people tracking. Other responses could even be that was all the games ready to be shown at the time. Heck, I'd be pretty content with a response from one of the editors that they thought [insert game] was the bomb at the time so it was thusly featured. That's cool.

Ultimately, my post is an excellent example of questions or comments made in a venue not noticed because nobody traffics it. Probably one of the reasons nobody sees any great billboards on Interstate 80 between Lovelock and Winnemucca.

One of my other favorite interests is politics and policies within the United States. A recently recommended author has delivered thoughtful, direct, and very insightful columns. The only thing we know about him (or her) is the pseudonym Spengler.

His latest column (released today) juxtaposes the Chinese migration--from agrarian empire to urban industry--and the dispersion of Katrina refugees to more prosperous areas. A highly recommended read for any scholar of economics or public policy. My wife and I enjoyed it immensely. We also learned a new word: immiserate.

The highlight:

". . . Many of Katrina's refugees are ascending out of the humiliating poverty that blighted their lives back home. Now they will have the means to watch sex and violence on plasma-screen televisions, spend their free time in the esthetic dystopia of shopping malls, and worship in mega-churches."

The next step "up" [I suppose] will be the means to have interactive sex and violence on plasma-screen televisions using next-gen gaming consoles.

Was it not J.R.R. Tolkien who wrote about civilizations falling into disrepair and collapse because the citizens were too busy amusing themselves? Maybe I am thinking of Gibbon or Mueller.