With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
E3: A Recap

E3 has once again left the City of Angels, leaving in it's wake a trail of litter advertising the newest, hottest games, tons of Starbucks cups, the swag no one wanted, and booth babes sporting a bit more money in their wallets. Everyone that exhibited during the week of videogames is still probably recuperating, we can only imagine. Best thing overheard at E3 this year? "Man, this is where nerdy girls get laid."
Our thoughts?
As predicted, Nintendo dominated with their new Wii console. The thing is simply amazing and revolutionary. We noticed that when everyone stepped up to hold the wand-like controller for the Tennis game, they automatically got down into a Tennis stance, bent knees, Andre Agassi-like focus, and Steffi Graf-like grunting. This system actually makes you get off the couch and have fun. It was hands-down the hit of the show, leaving everyone behind in their wake. They also had the "raviest" booth which was massive, and done up in a sort of dreamy zen-line white gauzy substance. They pumped songs like the Chemical Brothers "Galvanize", and every demo station was packed with folks. They had the longest line at E3, but they also had interactive plasma screen displays where you could speak with someone via a video camera and microphone.
Will Wright(father of Sim City, The Sims and more) showed off his new game, Spore, on Wednesday night at the Wired Magazine shindig, and it also stand poised to change the face of gaming. It allows you to build a species, see them evolve, develop technology, and eventually go off-world to spread across the universe. The online component runs seamlessly in the background, and you start encountering the creations of other people playing the game, resulting in endless combinations. Robin Williams got up to demo it, and showed how entertaining the game can be.
Other highlights of the show?
Paris Hilton's megaflub. She shows up an hour late to promote a game bearing her name, then promptly forgets the name of it. Ouch.
Xbox 360: They had a massive booth showing off a ton of games on the horizon, and behind closed doors we got a sneak of Gear of War, which is an incredible game. It may make people finally forget that Halo 3 is coming sometime soon.
World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. While we are sometime a bit chagrined to admit that we are WoW addicts, this new expansion has us drooling.
N-Gage: Their booth was massive, featuring fog waterfalls, couches, and game areas. But...isn't this company practically dead in the water? They also told us that we won a "backpack", which turned out to be a nylon sack with strings.
LucasArts: They were sort of the snobs of the show, not opening up their booth to the public until late on Friday, at which point, we didn't care much anymore.
Brady Games: They featured videogame pianist (now there's a profession) Martin Leung playing tunes from every game you can imagine. The highlight was seeing him play the Super Mario theme while blindfolded. The kid has talent.
Food: Paying 10 bucks for a chicken ceasar wrap wasn't the highlight of our trip, and every booth's press area seemed to hold Krispy Kremes, dense muffins, and/or cookies. Making it very difficult to eat healthy. Although you balanced it out by walking for about 250 miles each day. Our dogs are still barking.
Schwag: People will go nuts for anything that's free. And we mean anything. Some booths were giving out free mints. People went nuts for them. We began to fear for the arms and limbs of anyone offering free stuff, afraid that someone would run off with those too.
And now begins the long wait for E3: 2007. GAME ON!
In the meanwhile, check out our E3 photoset on the LAist group at Flickr!
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

-
Flauta, taquito, tacos dorados? Whatever they’re called, they’re golden, crispy and delicious.
-
If California redistricts, the conservative beach town that banned LGBTQ Pride flags on city property would get a gay, progressive Democrat in Congress.
-
Most survivors of January's fires face a massive gap in the money they need to rebuild, and funding to help is moving too slowly or nonexistent.
-
Kevin Lacy has an obsession with documenting California’s forgotten and decaying places.
-
Restaurants share resources in the food hall in West Adams as Los Angeles reckons with increasing restaurant closures.
-
It will be the second national day of protest against President Donald Trump.