e3 Day 1

I'll break away for a moment from the initial purpose of this blog. The occasion is e3 after all and if there's ever a time to make an exception, it is this week. e3 is no longer hidden away in various posh hotel lobbies on the Santa Monica coastline; it's back to the nerdy, sweaty, swag-filled halls of the LA convention center and once again accessible to the masses (sorta).

It's hard to write a general blog about the day without sounding like a boring bullet-point Word file. Rest assured, I played games, met people, and bought ridiculously overpriced food so my experience diverged little from the accepted e3 narrative. But I had FUN and enjoyed myself moreso than any other e3 before. This year I had a sense that the industry really has a strong direction regarding games and the culture it wants to create and be a part of. 3 or 4 years ago, the future looked murky and no one could fathom another era of Generic Space Shooter 3 as being anything but mediocre.

Nintendo helped redefine the casual gaming experience; they rolled a very dangerous pair of dice with the Wii and DS and came up winners. This year I am witness to the very best in refined gameplay experience for that casual audience. Super Mario Bros. Wii was a genuinely fun party experience for four. XBLA and PSN promise a multitude of indie games that appeal to your most colorful, campy, gaming sensibilities (Fat Princess) and your visceral, twitch nostalgia (Shadow Complex). The industry finally says they have something for everybody and can back it up with real, fun games.

There are those E3's that are legendary where we get new consoles unveiled, and new gameplay concepts. But for me, these middle of the road e3's are spectacular in a subtle way. Games that finally live up to the promises of launch games and early press conferences make me excited for this generation and confident that we have plenty to milk from the PS360Wii era in years to come.