E3 2006: Shifting in Transition

Editorial: Have Games, Will Travel: My E3 2006 (Lee Cieniawa)

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E3 2006: Shifting in Transition

E3 2006 started for me when I took my seat among the lights in the Kodak Theater. The air was noticeably thinner that high in the theater and apparently in my section – codename: Wario Land – was the home of vocal Nintendo fanboys.

Not pictured: Me

As Reggie Fils-Aime took the stage after an intro by nunchuck-waving maestro Miyamoto, someone in our section yelled out, “You preach it Reg!” in response to his opening remarks about the Wii (formerly known as the Revolution). For a press conference it was a good one, with some new information and in-game footage displayed on the giant screens. Revelations of a new Mario game – Super Mario Galaxy – got a round of applause as did Metroid Prime 3. (Personally, my interest was piqued with a game called Project H.A.M.M.E.R., which reminded me a lot of Hunter The Reckoning.) When it came to demonstrating some of the basic functionality of the Wii, the assembled audience was treated to a demonstration of Red Steel in action. Unfortunately, about half the demo was interrupted by a lack of video feed so the audience couldn’t see anything though the Ubi Soft representatives plunged through – at least the game didn’t crash. There were some words spoken by Nintendo of Japan President Satoru Iwata before some clips of upcoming DS games were played, including a new Starfox and Yoshi’s Island 2. The press conference culminated in a doubles tennis match courtesy of Wii between Reg and Iwata, and Miyamoto and a sweepstakes winner on stage. Miyamoto and company handily defeated Reg and Iwata.

Overall, it was a “good news” press conference, highlighting the positives and side-stepping the whole issue of what constitutes next-gen. It was also noted that the upcoming Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess would be launched alongside the Wii in Q4 2006 (GameCube and enhanced Wii versions).

Super Mario Galaxy (left); Red Steel (right)

I hardly had a chance to let it all sink in when I set off for Microsoft’s press conference practically next door at Mann’s Chinese Theater, which, if you have never visited, is a very atmospheric theater with great décor. As I twiddled my thumbs and pondered the fate of the galaxy, wondering if the guy sitting in front of me really was Shane Bettenhausen of EGM and 1UP fame and what kind of trouble I could start by “accidentally” dribbling water on him, I couldn’t help but notice a lot less people in attendance as compared to Nintendo’s, which reported about 3,000 people in attendance. It was cozier though.

In retrospect, Peter Moore (Corporate Vice President, Interactive Entertainment Business, Entertainment and Devices Division) should have mounted the stage to the tune of Joe Loss & His Orchestra’s “The Stripper”, a piece of music most associated with old-time strippers. As he proceeded through the good news from Microsoft, he continued peeling off layers and I could feel the anticipation of the crowd around me – it was almost pulsing – waiting for the big reveal, the last layer to hit the stage, which would bring the audience to its feet with a cacophony of catcalls, hoots, and good-natured whistling. Unfortunately, Peter was still wearing a bathing suit at the end of the conference and the audience shuffled out with heads bowed (at least until they hit the Roosevelt Hotel for free food and drinks).

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Peter wisely began the press conference by introducing Cliffy B of Epic Games to demonstrate the great-looking Gears of Wars for the 360 – to be released “Emergence Day 2006”, which is ambiguous at best – and take the audience through the opening stage of the game. On the massive theatre screen and accompanied by truly thundering sound, it was hard not to be impressed. Then the announcements and revelations went up and

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down in excitement. A brief clip of Alan Wake was shown; the kid-friendly Viva Pinata elicited cricket-chirping levels of excitement; it was a “What?” from the audience when a prerendered clip of Mistwalker’s Blue Dragon was shown; Forza Motorsport 2 appeared with a video clip; the announcement of Fable 2 made the journalist next to me say, “Yeah, baby!”; and the additions to Xbox Live Arcade were greeted with mix response.

Just as in 2004, Peter made a show of rolling up his sleeve for one announcement. The logo of Grand Theft Auto IV was tattooed on his left bicep, but what shocked the audience was that he said that Grand Theft Auto IV will be available the day of release. That is to say, the game will not be exclusively launched for the 360, which would have elicited gasps I’m sure, but will be available the same day it launches on other platforms. It’s good news for people that might feel a bit gypped by having to wait six months for a port.

At the time I scratched my head. If it had been exclusive to 360, maybe then Peter would have something to crow about. Now, with an ounce of hindsight and a clear head, I realize it takes the wind out of the sails of Sony somewhat, which has always benefited from the initial exclusivity of the GTA franchise, which would have definitely helped when they launch their Playstation 3 later this year (date to be confirmed).

Then Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman of the Board and Chief Software Architect, was introduced to the crowd and he gave a glimpse of further connectivity via Xbox Live between cell phones, PCs and the 360. It’s a neat idea but I’m not sold on the concept for a few reasons but the main one is that it feels like a headache waiting to happen. (When I’m away from my console, i.e. not playing games, I don’t want to be reminded of new downloads or what my buddy may be up to via my cell phone.)

On the “Games for Window” front (formerly known as “PC games”) the future looked pretty bright with the upcoming Vista operating system reported to be built from the ground up with gamers in mind, DirectX 10, and a demo of Crysis – again on the big screen and accompanied by thundering sound – wowed me.

Bill left the theater as the lights dimmed to show a quick, in-game clip of Halo 3, which was low on action, information, or anything else particularly useful. Master Chief walks out of a swirl of dust (it’s obviously Earth) as Cortana’s voice chirps in; pan to view of Covenant ships and something that looks like one of those temple things from Halo 2; pan back to Master Chief; cut to black; “Finish the Fight” 2007.

End conference. (If you’ve got your 360 hooked up to Live, a heavily edited video version of the press conference is available.)

master chief halo 3

Master Chief prepares to "finish the fight" in 2007

Before the expo proper began, I met up with Armchair Empire writers Kurt Kalata and Danny Webb, who had only been waiting an hour and a half in the hotel lobby for me to show up. After the introductions and acquiring our media badges and holders, Dan and I attended the Nintendo party, which featured a lot of good food, several open bars, and the Black-Eyed Peas. Before the Black-Eyed Peas had even taken the stage I was on my way back to the hotel. After five beers and armed with the knowledge that I’d be up sometime about 1:30AM to greet Lee Cieniawa and at E3 early the next morning – ostensibly to hear the opening address by ESA President, Doug Lowenstien but really to get a free breakfast – I was in no position to stay till the end of the set.

Day 1: I Give Up

Doug Lowenstien’s opening address to the media was coherent – in a rambling kind of way. Besides saying something like (I’m paraphrasing), “Right from the lowly egg farmer to the most high tech medical scanning equipment, they should be thanking the game industry for driving technological advances,” he admitted that this was a “transition year” and that “there will be some road kill along the way.” But maybe most importantly, he didn’t back track on anything he said last year. Maybe I was the only one that noticed, but he seemed tired as he gave his opening address but it was not something I pondered for long – free breakfast beckoned. (Sidebar: Kudos to the organizers. This year all the media attending the opening address received a boxed breakfast.)

A "booth babe" named Crystal

The much-touted “early media access” for those members of the media that registered prior to the end of April were given black-bottomed badge holders that allowed them access from 9:00AM to 11:00AM exclusively on the first day. Access to the South Hall didn’t commence until 9:13, which I bitched about with Kurt, however, I got more done in those first two hours than I usually do in a couple of days. Amazingly, I got to play some of the games. Besides sweeping through most of the booths for press kits, I plunked myself in front of a half-dozen kiosks, putting in ten to fifteen minutes on each. This is in sharp contrast to previous years when waiting ten, fifteen, even thirty minutes was not out of the ordinary.

I asked Pete Hines, PR guru at Bethesda Softworks, if he thought the two-hour early media access was positive or negative. He said it felt like a Friday afternoon – the crowd was that thin – but that it was probably good psychological preparation for first timer PR reps.

Winner for this year’s longest wait: Activision for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. I moved about six feet over the course of almost 50 minutes when I simply abandoned the line. Slugs move faster. On the plus side Quake Wars looks good.

I had a light morning in terms of meetings. I met with UbiSoft and got demos of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Las Vegas, Open Season, and Splinter Cell: Double Agent. The visit was capped by a look-see behind closed doors at Assassin’s Creed (for next-gen systems). Even as an early build the game is looking and playing awesome. In what is clearly a more “realistic” amalgam of Prince of Persia acrobatics and Splinter Cell stealth, Assassin’s Creed puts you in the role of, what else, an assassin, who can cling to any ledge that’s more than 4” wide (in-game, of course). Though the action in the demo puts you in the soft soles of a character out of Richard the Lionheart, it seems there will be more to the overall plot. (Think, “This is all happening in a virtual reality.”)

And I scored my first free t-shirt! Assassin’s Creed, Game of Show!

Then it was over to Beuna Vista Games to get a behind-closed-doors look at the upcoming Turok game (probably release in 2007) and the Pirates of the Caribbean game to accompany the third movie that should be released Summer 2007. (Incidentally, it’s being developed by Eurocom and not Bethesda Softworks. Bethesda is producing the game in conjunction with the second film.) While Turok is nowhere near completion, I have a special interest because it’s being developed by Propaganda Games, which is based out of Vancouver , BC and within a stone’s throw from my office. While the shooting elements seem to be of the “standard” variety, the dinosaurs are looking extremely sweet. And the main character is voiced by Ron Perlman! (His work in Chronomaster is still among my favorites.) All too soon we were shown the door.

I ambled over – well, at this point the place was a lot more crowded so I kind of shouldered my way through – to Nintendo’s booth in the West Hall for my next interview/booth tour. This is where I love being media. During the booth tour, I got pushed to the front of every line.

“You want to try out Super Mario Galaxy?” the rep asked.

“Yes!”

“Hey, shlub! Your turn is over!” the rep screams at the guy holding the Wii remote, emphasizing the “over” with a roundhouse to the noggin. Grabbing the remote out of the air, “Here you are.”

At which point he hands over the demo walkthrough to one of the many lovely assistants that stood by each kiosk.

It didn’t always happen like that but I did always get to the front of the line, which allowed me to sample Red Steel (from Ubi Soft; a gun and sword first-person shooter), Wario Ware (the simplistic, frantic gameplay returns to accompany the whacked out character and art design), Super Mario Galaxy, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

I waved and Wii-ed my way through Red Steel with the help of one of the development team and honestly, the control wasn’t that hard to get used to. At the start, there was a lot of arm-waving but at the end of the demo I was comfortable enough that I wanted to keep playing. (Some demos are so cruel that way.) Wario Ware seemed to make the most logical use of the remote, but it’s unfair to really say the Wii is waste of time. Let’s play some full games, I say.

Over at Activision's booth I was pleased to see a big Optimus statue announcing the game and confirming a rumor I had heard about a live-action movie. Note that there is no line-up for Enemy Territory during the early media access -- this is when I should have tried the game.

After that round it was interview time with Pierre-Paul Trepanier, Nintendo of Canada’s Director of Marketing. I asked him point blank about his own reaction to the name change from Revolution to Wii – not a thought out response but the gut response.

He paused. This is unusual behavior for any PR/Marketing rep at E3. For them, this is an event they’ve been training for all year. Question, answer! Question, answer! To ask a question and receive a pause before the answer is like stumbling ten feet from the finish line. (He was eating his lunch but he talked through mouthfuls of chicken wrap to answer all my other questions so I know that wasn’t the reason.) I think he was either 1) making up a really slick response or 2) actually telling the truth. His answer was actually quite elegant in its simplicity, but he’s obviously a guy far more cultured than yours truly, because he included a reference to Japanese kanji and waterfalls. I really wish I had my tape recorder with me because if the original press release had been more in line with his response, there might have been less screams of complaints when the name change was announced.

Regardless, I enjoyed my ice cream, asked a few more questions then hit the floor – screaming by Tecmo’s booth to see how the booth babe “ban” was being worked around.

No bikinis this year. Tank tops and shorts seemed to be the order of the day; not just for Tecmo but for any booth that featured female “attractors.” The exception being for any woman dressed as a game character. It wasn’t as if they so-called booth babes were completely absent, they just had more clothes on (even if THQ’s Saints Row women really did look like prostitutes).

About this time my brain felt like it was going to explode out of my eye sockets. I felt lethargic and in need of some rest so I fought my way to the Media room to check my email and possibly write a quick article. Then I started feeling nauseous.

I offered only three practical tips to Danny and Lee, who were attending their first E3. First, wash your hands, often. Second, drink plenty of water – it’s hot in the convention halls and it’s easy to become dehydrated. Three, don’t forget to eat. I failed to follow two of the three. Instead of collapsing in a fit of dry heaves on the Media room floor I slipped my laptop back into my bag and headed for the exit. I had to get back to the hotel – Day One and already I felt like going home. As I left, I heard a weak voice behind m, “Aaron, Aaron.” I turned to find Lee on the floor, slumped against a display. After a few Tylenols, some water, a spot of food when we got back to the hotel and we were as good as new – just in time for the media event hosted by Microsoft’s Canadian PR wing.

Now I could go on describing the show like this but instead of boring you with the details like how I slept in the bathtub one night because of Dan’s incessant and surprisingly loud snoring, so I’ll just skip to the good bits.

Kurt snapped both these pictures. "Awesome: The Game" is most likely the doodlings of a bored developer or journalist... but maybe it's a brilliant viral marketing campaign! It was a small poster, but over at Bethesda's booth we have "proof" that Fallout 3 is well into development.

Biggest Disappointment

Besides not getting Adam West’s autograph, my biggest disappointments (in no particular order) were the following: no playable Command & Conquer 3, line-ups to play almost any of the games after the early media access, and a small number of surprises.

I was really looking forward to seeing something of Command & Conquer 3 in action on the show floor. Even a quick compilation of clips showing the in-game action would have satisfied me but I was left with a whole lotta nothing.

In theory, E3 2006 should have been a less-crowded year. The ESA seemed to be operating on the pretense that only qualified people will be allowed to attend. It didn’t feel any less crowded and it seemed that instead of restricting the number of people getting in they were simply categorized more extensively. (The badge holders for the media are a perfect example, some were “Early Access Media” some were just “Media.”) Altogether the AE staff saw about eight different badge types. Anyway, far from being an easier place to navigate, the show floors were awash with swag-seeking gamer types.

What Am I Doing Here?

I asked this question a few times during the show. After all, the game trailers were all available online or over Live, press FTP sites eliminate the need for me to travel anywhere to pick up a press CD, and there were a ton of developer interviews available from outlets like GameSpot, IGN, and G4. I could have stayed home and avoided the pressing crush of people around me. The ambient temperature actually changed around Gameloft’s booth when Paris Hilton showed up – I know this because I took a wrong turn and wound up being sucked into the crowd. I barely managed to scramble to safety (and I have the picture to prove it). This is insane, I thought to myself, I would be safer at home and still be able to collect all the information I need to write previews, etc. Answer: Free meals at parties and open bars.

I’d Rather Not

The biggest pitfall of a booth tour is being offered the chance to play a game while a member of the development team chats about why the game is greatest thing since eggs on toast. When asked if I want to play a game in the presence of a PR rep and a member of the development team, I always say no. There’s too great a chance that I’ll make a complete and utter tool of myself.

“If you just move to your right, you’ll see that—” the developer says.

“Oops,” I hiss under my breath as a lowly mushroom- like creature kills me before I can get off a shot.

“No worries, god mode is on,” says the developer. “Ha, ha, ha! Now just head over to the right and you’ll see…”

He trails off as I manage to die.

I always let the developer show me the game. I’ll make my gaming stumbles in private, thank you.

Best Way To Make My Brain Explode

In 2005, EA’s booth featured a circular screen that was used to project panorama views of their latest games. It was loud, flashy and it held my attention for a couple of minutes. This year, they used the same circular screen but instead of displaying the same images in a staggered layout EA used the screen to create scenes that wrapped around the viewer. The Medal of Honor: Airborne trailer was particularly impressive.

Just a pic of Vivendi's Scarface setup (left); the only hockey I saw from EA this year was the Genesis original.

What Was That?

Not a reference to the most heard phrase at E3 – where Noise learns to Explode – but actually the main entry of the Sony booth. I couldn’t quite place it at first, but afterward – as I sat in Kentia Hall crunching down nachos with “cheese” – I put my finger on it. It was like walking between a fat lady’s thighs. I’m sure the aim was to convey a futuristic feeling, but the layout and wall placement… thighs for sure.

“Security” Is Our Middle Name

Who the hell is enforcing the age restriction at E3? Besides the youngsters on their “Make a Wish” outings, I’m positive that the brats on-hand are the progeny of executives and presidents and CEOs – E3 is no place for kids.

Gaming, I Love You

For all my bickering, I actually had a great time playing games, networking with other websites, touching base with PR reps that I usually only communicate with over email, and finally getting to meet some more members of the Armchair Empire family. But it was still about the games. Sitting in BioWare’s Mass Effect demo I viewed the presentation with quite a bit of slack in my jaw – not so much because the game is looking friggin’ awesome and I was totally digging the conversation methodology – but because I was finally hearing a developer say (I’m paraphrasing), “Our game is so cool!” without dressing things up with a lot of mumbo-jumbo. Come to think of it I got the same feeling at the demo for Star Trek: Legacy and a few others.

I got to thinking that maybe developers are hitting their stride for the simple fact that technology may finally be catching up to their imaginations. No longer are they restricted by “primitive” hardware (like the PS2, though God of War 2 looks and plays great) and the technology is there to make their ideas come to life like they never have been before. Who wouldn’t be enjoying that?

The End

Friday rolled around faster than I thought it would but I suppose little sleep – poor quality sleep at that – and drinking more booze than usual created a bit of a time warp. I actually skipped the entire last day – on the first train out to Anaheim to join my family in Disneyland . Did I miss much on Friday? Personally, maybe I did, but since Kurt, Dan, and Lee were there right to the bitter end (then making long flights across the country) the Armchair Empire didn’t miss much.

See you next year!

- Omni

(May 26, 2006)


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