Since E3 is technically over, rather than do an entry for both days 2 and 3, I’m going to split them up. Tonight, we’ll have the in-Hangar portion; tomorrow the outside meetings/real world portion.
The last two days walking around the Hangar were pretty rough; I borrowed one of those clicky walking thingies from a friend, and tracked my Day 2 miles walked as just under 7 total; no wonder my feet hurt so bad. (And my neck still hurts from that damned backpack.)
Was it worth it, though? Yes. Compared to Day 1, 2 and 3 were a blast. With people situated more and a much freer schedule, I was able to enjoy things I wanted to look at, and avoid things I didn’t want to.
The first thing I did was just walk around meeting the people I’ve worked with via email for two years now face to face (some of which for the first time). It’s odd, knowing people so well but not being able to even begin to pick them out of a lineup (one of the guys I’ve worked with ended up being a woman!)
I think people seemed to sense that I was from a smaller site, because a lot of the people I spoke to were honestly surprised when I showed genuine interest in a game I’ve never heard of before, and were so happy when I stuck around after they explained the initial gameplay I swear they would have given me their shoes if I asked. I’ve always liked working with the stuff people tend to ignore in favor of the HUGE names. (Honestly, everyone will have their impressions and praise on Mario, Zelda, Halo, etc.; how many people took the time to play Insecticide, or Onamarama?)
This time, I was prepared when it was time for food. You see, due to a huge amount of complaints from the journalists about the E3 free lunch being offered ONLY at the Fairmont (and expensive prices at the Hangar and other hotels), the Fairmont did a cool thing and set up separate areas with pre-made lunches. Turkey sandwiches, pasta, salads, roast beef-they had a huge variety, and it was obvious they went out of their way to make it easier for everyone involved (too bad other people didn’t do the same). So thanks, Fairmont staff – your hotel may be extremely overpriced, but at least with that price you guys show actual care towards your invited guests.
The highlight of my days 2 and 3 walking around had to be running into a PR person for a certain company I can’t name (but who has always been an asshole to us in the past – anyone writing for GN can likely guess who). He asked me how my E3 was going (I had just been talking to someone with Activision, so he introduced the two of us), and I told him okay. He asked, "Have you been getting any of our blast emails about our assets?" I told him, no, because every time I tried to call, email, fax, or write their PR people, I’ve either been told we "weren’t big enough" to receive anything (even emails?!) or been flat-out ignored.
He looked at me, and went, "Is that so? That shouldn’t be happening at all." He then asked me, "Give me the contact info for your EIC, and I’ll be sure to fix this right away." I told him, "That would be me," and he did a double take. I guess most EICs don’t bother spending their time walking around the showfloor at E3; they opt for the glitz and glamour of backstage interviews.
"Really?" he asked. I gave him my card. "Thanks, Brendon. By the way, I’m , vice president of ." I think we’ll have a good working relationship with them now. I really think a majority of the press tries to act more self-important than they probably should. For example, three times in days 2 and 3 I asked someone a question only to have them go, "I’m only a developer/QA/character artist, you probably want to talk to a PR person." After saying no, I would love to talk to them since they were involved in the game, two of them went "Really!?" and went on for half an hour giving a ton of cool info. (Including some I think is under embargo, so I need to remember to check that out before I publish it…)
And now that that was a relatively normal (and possibly boring) recap of the showfloor (honestly, most of my showfloor recap would just be the previews, anyway), here’s a few random E3 quotes!
"Sony’s been doing a great job this year." – random major publisher PR manager on Thursday.
"I knew it was too good to be true." – same publisher Friday morning after he heard about the PS3 60GB situation.
"I’m sorry, I don’t speak Mexican." – E3 press attendee when asked by Miguel from some Mexican video game website if he wouldn’t mind giving a few thoughts on Portal.
"Why did Microsoft get Reggie Bush to play the Madden game at their press conference? Isn’t Barry Bonds the best baseball player?" – E3 press attendee confirming the stereotype that gamers can’t know about sports.
"Final Fantasy Tactics [on the PSP] is the original game, but with new characters and a few new additions." – Square-Enix employee
"So it’s an entirely new game?" – E3 press attendee obviously not paying attention
"No, it is same game, but with a few new additions." – S-E
"So then it is a new game." – E3 press attendee, as he walked off to go to THQs area
"I think that’s the quickest someone has beaten the Portal demo yet!" – Doug from Valve after at least six different people beat the Portal demo while I was in the EA area
"American’s love machine guns, and women in bikini." – 1C’s Anatoly
"No, we love bikinis and explosives." – Me
"It’s a Madden game, so there’s not really a story mode." – EA developer to random Korean press
"That will be three dollars, sir." – Oblivious café employee quoting price of a Coke with giant sign reading ‘E3 press receives drinks free (no alcohol)’ less than a foot away from him
"E FOR EVERYBODY!" – Todd (Bethesda) as he shot round after round into a dead super mutant in the Fallout 3 demo
