Games Industry Set For LA Extravaganza

Reuters ^

[Hal1950]

Games industry set for LA extravaganza

12 May 2003 - Reuters

LOS ANGELES: Cram 65,000 people into a convention centre, add the sounds of aliens being shot and race cars being crashed at rock-and-roll volumes, then sprinkle in a few women dressed in costumes just an inch or two this side of indecency.

What you get is E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the video game industry's annual convention that starts this week in Los Angeles and represents the favoured forum for deal-making and promotion in a business expected to generate US$30 billion in sales in 2003.

"I think it's going to be a good shot in the arm for the business," Jeff Lapin, the chief executive of games publisher Take-Two Interactive Software said.

The show floor opens Thursday (NZ time), but the festivities kick off tomorrow when Microsoft holds a press conference at which it is expected to announce upgrades to its Xbox Live online gaming service.

The next day, Sony and Nintendo will have back-to-back events to showcase the latest games for their consoles, the PlayStation 2 and GameCube. The afternoon will feature new games from Konami and the latest on Nokia's N-Gage phone/game device.

The crush will start in earnest on Thursday, as the show floor opens and attendees rush in to get hands-on time with the latest games, some of which are on the verge of release and some of which will not see the light of retail shelves for months.

Special pavilions and rooms dedicated to the British, Korean, Australian, Canadian and Hong Kong games industries have been set up so companies there can try to take a piece of a global market dominated by the United States and Japan.

[Guenevere]

My son has been to E-3.
He's a 'computer animator' and has created games for X-Box.

[green team 1999]

half life bump

[Daniel Ramsey]

I sure wish there was more games like HALO and Ty, Tasmanian Devil, my son loves that game.

[Terpfen]

Can't wait for the Metal Gear Solid 3 trailer... hopefully the new Dead or Alive game won't be so bad either.

[Jalapeno]

Kind of burned out on new games, they all seem, well, not new...fortunately some old classic ones are making a come back, like Empire Deluxe.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

These are like the "Game Cons" of past years. I used to work for a game design company.

[BrooklynGOP]

Vice City just came out for PC.

[Terpfen]

You sure? I don't think it comes out until the 15th...

[Hacksaw]

My all time favorite game from my old Nintendo was "Castlevania".

[Regener8]

MGS 3 trailer is here:

http://mediaviewer.ign.com/ignMediaPage.jsp?channel_id=70&object_id=536086&adtag=network%3Dign%26site%3Dps2%26genre%3Daction%26object1%3D536086%26object2%3D25039viewer%26pagetype%3Darticle&page_title=E3+2003%3A+Metal+Gear+Solid+3%3A+Snake+Eater

[Future Snake Eater]

GTA: Vice City comes out tomorrow. One of the biggest things to come out of the pre-E3 info was screenshots of Half-Life 2. Looks very cool...

[gcruse]

GTA Vice City for PC is due to hit the stores Tuesday, the 13th

[Jalapeno]

What I always find funny about E3 is whatever game makes "Best Of Show" usually ends up getting delayed by over a year...

[wireplay]

Been to 3 E3s. Too bad I can't go this year. It is by far the best trade show there is. With kids now I can't play nearly as much as I used to.

[Terpfen]

HL2, Doom 3... I'll get whichever comes out first. HL2 doesn't terribly impress me; great modeling system, but damn if the graphics and plot don't seem old and contrived. Doom 3 will probably take me back to the time I first played the original Doom... meaning, time to get a new pair of pants.

[Terpfen]

Thanks for the link. Actually, I haven't even played MGS2 yet (don't have a PS2; my newest console is a GBA, and I don't mean the SP); thankfully, I just got a summer job. I can't wait for that first paycheck...

[green team 1999]

the graphics are great on most of the games,

[Russell Scott]

All you video junkies need to know: Doom 3, Half Life 2, and Deus Ex 2 due out in September. I say this because Bill Bennett could save a lot of money, and embarrassment, playing video games instead of video poker.

I went to E-3 once, not for the games, but to get Jeremy McGrath's autograph for my son. Mission accomplished.

[eno_]

Hehe, yeah, nobody would complain if he was addicted to "Evercrack."