Katamari E3
The "live" Katamari was emblematic of the ever-expanding and all-consuming E3. Indeed, this was the largest E3 ever, with over 70,000 folks in attendance! And, I am proud to say that I survived my 10th show - barely ;)
Of course, the focus was on the console announcements. But, the emphasis did seem premature as the games (ie, the most important part of the next-gen equation) were not quite ready for prime-time... Sadly, I just did not get a lot of time to check out the show floor, so I missed out on a lot. Perhaps that's for the best, as so much of the content on display was derivitive - with a few rare exceptions (eg, Okami, Shadow of the Colussus, Odomo, etc). A recent Hollywood Reporter article gets at the crux of the next-gen scale issue (ie, bigger budgets, larger teams, less game, less risk/innovation, etc).
Of course, the IGDA's members-only party was a blast. Nearly 900 members RSVP'd for this rare-for-E3 developer focused event. It was nice to move out of the hotel's basement lounge and up to the poolside terrace. Hmm, perhaps that's emblematic of something too...
Anyway, on to the fun. Check out all the pics from the trip.
Frederick Brassard, Cedric Orvoine and Martin Carrier from Ubisoft Montreal to cheer on Ghost Recon's showing during the Xbox 360 launch event.
Drink the Cool-aid: A lot of vision bla bla from Robbie Bach. Dude, just show us the cool demos!
James Regan (Ubisoft) and Sony spy Bret Mogilefsky at the Xbox launch party.
Guha Bala (Vicarious Visions), Greg Zeschuk (BioWare), Nehme Frangie (Vicarious Visions), Karthik Bala (Vicarious Visions) and Ray Muzyka (BioWare) chilling out at the Xbox event.
At center, Will Wright (Maxis) waves his hands vigorously, mesmerizing the audience with how he creates innovative games. It was an insightful panel on creating AAA games.
IGDA Party: Board chair Jesse Schell (in brown blazer) chats up various IGDA members...
IGDA Party: Claude Reeves and Sebastien Lavier from Ubisoft Montreal hanging with Dan Irish.
IGDA Party: Marc Saltzman, Nathaniel Loh (Toys for Bob), Sean Kaupinnen (Kohnke), Jason Buhrmester and IGDA press queen Sibel Sunar (Bohle) having a good time :)
IGDA Party: Like rare creatures, the game developers gather in the urban jungle of LA...
IGDA Party: Rudy Geronimo (IGDA), Warren Currell (Sherpa Games) and Richard Lemarchand (Naughty Dog) risking a big shove into the pool.
IGDA Party: As a "designated boozer", Tobi Saulnier (1st Playable) makes Zach Schlappi (EA LA) work for an extra free drink ticket.
IGDA Party: Music men Jesper Kyd, Bob Rice, Cris Velasco, Chris Rickwood hanging out.
IGDA Party: Noah Falstein (The Inspiracy) laughing with/at Brian Sullivan (Iron Lore).
IGDA Party: Richard Lemarchand (Naughty Dog) chats up myself and fellow IGDA staffer Rudy Geronimo.
IGDA Party: It would not have been a real party if at least one developer hadn't jumped into the pool - sadly, it was to fetch his cell phone...
?, ?, Dave Perry and ? proud of Shiny's Into the Pixel entry from Matrix: Path of Neo.
Korea challenges the world: KGDI president, Jong Sik Woo intros the panel discussion on MMO games during a special dinner event.
Ugh! This is the line for Zelda... I figured I'd just see everything online, or on TV. No time to wait!
No one seems quite so interested in the booth beefcakes...
The game's not even out yet, and there's Death Jr. plush toys. Very cool.
Rajesh Rao (Dhruva), Tobi Saulnier (1st Playable) and Daniel James (Three Rings Design) chat at the E3 speakers reception. Close inspection uncovers a Lorne Lanning still very interested in the game space...
Nicolas Gaume (Lagardere Active) on his soapbox during the France reception at the hip Standard hotel. Not sure why Olivier Goguel is laughing so hard...
One of the few really wacky/interesting games, Yoot Saito's Odama is one to watch.
The folks from Koei admitted that this samurai armor was getting the most attention in their booth - at least it wasn't a bikini ninja or thonged bushi ;)
As a fan of Jet Set Radio and urban culture, I'm hoping Mark Ecko's combination game, Getting Up, will live up to the hype.
Master FPS marksman, Fatal1ty impressed the crowed.
Another innovative game with Sim-style breakaway potential, Peter Molyneux's The Movies.
The grand final: To me, the most impressive game was Capcom/Clover's Okami. I must play this game!
Posted on May 25, 2005 11:52 AM
Comments
Jason,
Wonderful seeing the photos! I had so wanted to go, aha but academic budgets and timing!!! Great to see Dan's smiling face. Thanks for letting me live vicariously!
Ann
Posted by: Ann DeMarle at May 26, 2005 03:46 PM
Jason,
These are excellent pictures. I thought you might like this bit about the Katamari Live show: http://www.bunkmag.com/gamereviews/katamari.html
Mark
Posted by: Mark Marino at May 28, 2005 02:48 AM
Interesting,
After reading the post on the inability to see potential, you have picked two interesting games from .... Japan.
Haven't been to a E3 and really not interested in the madness that is E3, but the IGDA party may be worth the trip :)
Posted by: magicback at June 11, 2005 06:01 AM