The latest GameSpot E3 2008 coverage design makes me want to play a game that looks like it! The design kind of reminds me of F-zero so I have this incredible urge to play that game on SNES at the moment. When viewing the design more closely I noticed the tiny OTS in the left corner.
This year's E3 seems to be packed with more games that I really want to see compared to last year. Although the expo carries the label of E3 it has not carried the same vibe as previous E3 events. In fact, I do recall back in 2005 and 2006 that the old E3 vibe wasn't there like it used to be. There were more spectacle activities happening than there were in previous years.
The first year I attended E3 was in 1999; I was working as a freelance reporter for a variety of game fansites such as Jediknight.net, Gamers Extreme (now known as Gamers.com) and Strategyxtreme.com (Mplayer.com's strategy gamer channel). The focus that year was to check out a variety of upcoming LucasArts games and Strategy related games. I also met so many of my Quake friends in person for the first time. My first visit to E3 was packed with amazement. I recall believing that life could actually be one big video game arcade! It was called E3! The only difference was how I didn't need any quarters! I got in free and I had the chance to play games that weren't in arcades or on store shelves.
The second year I attended was in 2000. This was the best year I have attended E3 because it was packed with so many memories all in one week. Mplayer was running a spiffy booth that year and hosted a three combo tournament called Triple threat. The tournament featured three popular shooter games of it's time; Quake 3, Rogue Spear and Aliens versus Predator. Dennis Fong (Thresh) was expected to show but to his fans' dismay he didn't participate in the tournament that year. Instead, a new shooter super star came out of no where, Johnathan Wendel aka Fatal1ty. Wendel was not know in the West coast Quake community at the time but quickly gained ground and continued to do so. I met him and his father that year. He was extremely excited about winning a Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle. This was the same year I met many owners and news reporters from a variety of game websites that distributed news I would send them through email. And don't laugh here but Daikatana was extremely popular at the Mplayer booth that year too. Hey now, be nice! *snicker* The game wasn't even released yet, it was a demo Killcreek and Romero showed that year. Oh, and I do recall Westwood Studios was still around at the time too. How could anyone ever forget this amazing company?
The third year was in 2001 and this was the last year I wrote journeys about experiences at E3. I represented GameSpy Industries as a sidekick reporter for preview content that year. It was still the typical OMG! I AM IN AN ARCADE vibe at E3 though.
Why do I bring this up? Well, E3 isn't completely the same. I can't get blisters on my feet like before but I can save tormenting my feet for Quakecon every year. I can't bump into old Quake friends or game developer buds by accident but I can accidentally find them on linkedin, facebook and myspace. I may not be able to do all of these things anymore but the truth in the matter is that the games are still there. That's one of the main reasons I first attended E3, it was primarily for the games. My memories of E3 haven't changed but being able to still see coverage is one indication that E3 does still exist; it has just evolved.