Joe's E3 Journal

[digitalpress]

Well, I'm loaded up with all kinds of gear, should be able to get online between shifts at our E3 exhibit and share pictures, experiences, and whatnot.

PHOTOS
General Floor Pics:
http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5
Summary Pics (for recap page):
http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5/main
History of Videogames Exhibit:
http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5/booth
History of Videogames Set-up (behind the scenes):
http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5/setup
Booth Babe Pics:
http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5/babes
After Hours Pics (see the exhibit floor without people!):
http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5/empty
Xbox 360 Demo:
http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5/xboxdemo

Starting here, I'm at Newark Airport in NJ. Isn't wireless technology wonderful?

As usual, whenever I'm going to be away, something breaks. Looks like our online guide is broken and I haven't been able to get in touch with Adam. Usually he just snaps his fingers and the database obeys.

I'm looking forward to this years' exhibit. Last year we had no idea what we were getting into, and while it all turned out great, some things took forever to get done. The setup wasn't at all efficient. This year we're on top of things and even though we've got less personnel I'm confident we'll have a faster setup tomorrow.

The crew is much more relaxed about it as well. John and I even put together a little gag for the concourse, announcing "NEW FOR 2005" and then proceeding to describe the futuristic Starplex Controller. "Unique five button design!" "Perfect for your favorite space shooters like Star Fox(tm)!". Heh. Then you see this early 80's hunk of technology all brand spakin' new. We even have a Mythicon Star Fox game sitting beside it. Yeah, maybe it doesn't sound so funny but it's the sideways looks at the display that I'm looking forward to capturing :)

My plane to L.A. boards in 45 minutes. I'll see some of you there - others I'll do my best to convey in pictures and text right here.

Game onwards!

[hydr0x]

can't wait for the coverage :)

hope everyone enjoys his visit and maybe i'll be able to visit E3 too one day (when i have become rich LOL )

[digitalpress]

OK, DP HQ has been set up in our base at the hotel.

I'm solo for the next two hours or so, John and Larry are en route via San Jose (with a truck full o' museum goods).

To be continued!

[digitalpress]

I'll post pictures to this folder as I get 'em.

http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5

[Stark]

That first pic is great but it really dosen't tell a story. More drama please. LOL

[Famidrive-16]

I'm guessing that's DP.

[Lothars]

yup I would agree, I think that's joe but im not sure.

[digitalpress]

Heh, yeah that's just me. That is the official "thumbs up" of DP@E3 :)

Better photos later. I promise!

[tholly]

Heh, yeah that's just me. That is the official "thumbs up" of DP@E3 :)

Better photos later. I promise!

pics of joe in a hotel room......hmmmmm.....more please.....and less clothes LOL

[Queen Of The Felines]

Don't forget the obligitory "John + Corona" pic. LOL

Kristine

[punkoffgirl]

Wow, you even SHAVED! *lol*

What are you still doing in YOUR hotel room? :)

[Videogamerdaryll]

I'll post pictures to this folder as I get 'em.

http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5

Cool..Looking forward to seeing them.... :)

[digitalpress]

John and Larry arrived with the truck sometime around midnight. We drank beer and had a jolly good laugh.

We're headed off to the Convention Center with said truck o' goods. Over the course of the day we'll hook up with four or five other guys as we set up the booth. I'll get some pics of the set up as well.

See ya's in a few.

[l_lamb]

You should make this topic sticky, at least until after the show's over.

[AtariBuff]

Joe,
I wish you and the guys a great time at the E3.
maybe next year a (small) european delegation will attend the cge. i'm looking forward to it 8-)

[fergojisan]

You should make this topic sticky, at least until after the show's over.

I'm sure at some point they'll spill some beer on it, then it'll be sticky. LOL :cheers:

I'm looking forward to seeing pics of the setup this year. Last year's was awesome.


Dr. Pushy

[bargora]

Have fun, brother!

Incidentally, did you cut off the top of your head in the first picture to disguise its true size?

[digitalpress]

WHEW!

Setup is done and the exhibit looks great. I took photos of this, which includes the grand unraveling of the mighty DP banner high above the exhibit itself!

I gotta run but I'll add some details to this later. Check the link above for the photos!

[punkoffgirl]

Oooh, so Mister Kelley DID go! :)

Good luck tomorrow! Everything looks really awesome.

[ubikuberalles]

I see you decided to display not only some classic game systems but also some classic GAMERS!

http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5/DCP_2499.JPG

LOL

[Avenger]

whoa so you guys took a TON of stuff with you...has anything ever been stolen from your tables? With all those games/systems, and all those people, is it ever a problem?

[NESaholic]

Nice pics, man i wish i could go, but it is not easy when your from Europe.

Hopefully i can save some cash to go next year,i most defenatly will try my best to be there.

[Lady Jaye]

Nice set of pictures, Joe!!! I like the one where John is inside one of the two displays booths... if you look quickly, you get the impression that he's stuck in there (of course, the door is open behind him, but it's still funny). :P

[Flack]

Joe, who are all your helpers (names and aliases!), and who's wonderful arcade games are those? :)

Looks like you guys are having fun already! When exactly does Sean start sweating, and when exactly does he stop? Please buy him some water from me.

[Lady Jaye]

Yeah, like the 2 visitors who posed with you... who are they?

[digitalpress]

I added a bunch of pictures late last night. They're all setting up pics, courtesy of Don Rogers.

We met up with more of our team over the course of the day yesterday and have one more coming in today. I took a brief peek into the main hall's setup and the show is just huge. Huger than any year I can recall. I guess that has something to do with three new consoles on the horizon, an obvious media feast.

Speaking of media, some of the DP team will be going to the media breakfast and kickoff keynote and I'm hoping they're taking pictures. I'm sporting my "exhibitor" badge over my "media" badge again this year and don't know how much of the excitement I'll be able to get to today, though I'm definitely taking time away from our display to see what's hot this year.

Did you guys and gals notice in the picture that we've got a sit-down Star Wars Arcade cab here with us? Dammit that thing is sweet. I'm trying to figure out how I can justify replacing a living room couch with that thing :) Yeah Liz just isn't going to go for that. The arcade has a nice mix again, in fact, a little more varied than last year where we really focused on "the most popular".

I should also note that Adam (SpasticFuctard) missed his flight to L.A. this morning. He said he read the "arrival" time as the "departure" time and was ready to take a flight leaving NJ at 9:30EDT when in fact he was supposed to land here in L.A. at 9:30PDT. So he's going to miss most of day one. Ack!

Alright, gotta wrap up and get my ass outta here. I'll have more pics for ya from DAY ONE later tonight. Game ON.

[Game Lord]

Hey Joe,
Long time since I have been in touch with you or the other guys. Life outside of gaming has been keeping me busy, though there was always time for my C64 (or 128 for that matter.)
Glad to see you made E3 again this year. Sweet setup! I did catch the pic of the sit-down SW. Nice!
Checking out the pics, I do not see a C64. There is a TI, Timex Sinclair, Atari 800, and 130XE. I did notice you are using C= monitors as display screens. THEY are the absolute best for that purpose. But, dude, let me know if my eyes deceive me. No C64?! Do not kid me like that. Get one and boot up Paradroid, Racing Destruction Set, Creatures, or Mayhem in Monsterland.
We wait to hear how everything is going through Day One.
Have fun, guys!

GL

[Nes]

I may be able to go next year. You guys gotta sneak me in.

[Sanriostar]

I gotta ask...

Is there any chance of a DP get together somewhere around the vicinity of E3? I can't come to E3, but since I'm local (LA-wise), I can come to some sort of gathering scheduled.. :puppydogeyes:

[Chunky]

am i seeing that right, your on some yellow plastic tarp or something?

[Ed Oscuro]

Great archive, I laughed pretty hard at the 2-4th images :)

Keep 'em coming! :O

[Kid Ice]

That Atari Computers kiosk is pretty cool. Is that a DP banner being erected? I need me one of those for my game room. :)

[dan2357]

I was wondering about the tarps on the floor myself.
I'm thinking there there for the setup so the floors don't get ruined by palets, or fork lifts. Hopefully.
Nice pictures.

[DeputyMoniker]

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/DeputyMoniker/Converse2.gif
Is this Converse-vision complete? LOL



http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/DeputyMoniker/Atari02.gif
What is the story behind this Atari? I've never seen such an animal.

[I Am Humanoid]

http://tonyfoxbklynnyc.homestead.com/files/DPeye3.jpg

Arrrggh!

ROFL

[digitalpress]

I gotta ask...

Is there any chance of a DP get together somewhere around the vicinity of E3? I can't come to E3, but since I'm local (LA-wise), I can come to some sort of gathering scheduled.. :puppydogeyes:

I'd love to do it but we're committed to something every night. E3 parties are pretty plentiful, we're all kinds of down with that.

About that yellow "tarp", yes, they put a protective mat over the carpets and cut it all away just an hour before the show.

We did two parties tonight but I'll have to fill ya's in on that stuff later. Like tomorrow. We had a great day. Our booth was rockin' again (literally, with classic 80's tunes) and it's a kick to hear people tell me that our booth is the best one at the show. The next two days will be even better, we'll have 8-Bit Weapon playing live on the floor.

I loaded a whole bunch of new pics both from our exhibit and from a brief walkthru of South Hall this morning. See the link above. I only covered about 15% of the floor, but there are some Xbox, Ngage, and a number of various 3rd party publishers in the lot. Enjoy!

[lendelin]

Great pics! Thanks for posting them.

Gaming, great systems on display, and E3 parties....sounds like paradise with a lot of sweat.

[Lady Jaye]

Just saw the pic of Keith Robinson with an Exhibitor tag... is Intellivision Production sponsoring this year's CGE presence at E3?

And how about David Crane? Was he just passing by?

Did I see right? One of the sponsors on the banner says... "Coleco"?

Tell us more!

[Game Lord]

We did two parties tonight but I'll have to fill ya's in on that stuff later. Like tomorrow. We had a great day. Our booth was rockin' again (literally, with classic 80's tunes) and it's a kick to hear people tell me that our booth is the best one at the show. The next two days will be even better, we'll have 8-Bit Weapon playing live on the floor.

I loaded a whole bunch of new pics both from our exhibit and from a brief walkthru of South Hall this morning. See the link above. I only covered about 15% of the floor, but there are some Xbox, Ngage, and a number of various 3rd party publishers in the lot. Enjoy![/quote]



Joe, good to hear you had a great first day. 80's music! My kind of thing along with the metal tunes to which I listen.
Still did not hear from you regarding the C64. Thinking, if you just wanted to bring the keyboard, and slap in a cartridge, plug in Kickman. Let me know about the 64's presence, man.
And here is to an even greater second day!
Later, guy!

GL

[digitalpress]

Yeah, like the 2 visitors who posed with you... who are they?

I'm not sure who you mean... which photo?


Just saw the pic of Keith Robinson with an Exhibitor tag... is Intellivision Production sponsoring this year's CGE presence at E3?

Oops, thought I had posted that already. Our sponsors are TechnoSource and Intellivision Productions.


And how about David Crane? Was he just passing by?

Many of the Activision alumni are still in the industry. David Crane works for Skyworks, as does Alan Miller and Garry Kitchen. Dan Kitchen is at Majesco, etc. We've known these guys for many years as they were part of the original core of alums present at Classic Gaming Expo.


Did I see right? One of the sponsors on the banner says... "Coleco"?

I'm not sure if this is "news", but Coleco's properties were purchased about two years ago and their first set of products are out. I haven't seen everything they do but I have seen one of the "compilation on a joystick" products that has a number of Head-to-Head sports games that have ColecoVision-style graphics (but are not ColecoVision games). They also have a number of standalone games that are reminiscent of the Head-to-Head handhelds of old. I haven't played any of these products yet. TechnoSource is manufacturing these units, hence the Coleco name on our banner.

@Game Lord: we're OK without the C64 but thanks for the offer. See you at the show.

I'm off to day two of the show in 15 minutes! Have a great day, all.

[Lady Jaye]

Oops, you're right, should've indicated which picture!

This one:

http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5/IMG_6734.JPG

And I now do remember hearing about the Coleco revival of sorts, but it's been so long that I forgot about it... frankly, I thought it was one of those grand projects that never took off.

Thanks for the specifying re. David Crane. I knew that he was still in the videogame business, but I wasn't sure whether he was at E3 because of that, of because of CGE.

[Game Lord]

Game Lord: we're OK without the C64 but thanks for the offer. See you at the show.

I'm off to day two of the show in 15 minutes! Have a great day, all.



Joe, I was just inquiring if you brought a 64 yourself. I was
not offering. Sorry for any confusion. I am a bit
disappointed, though, that you have forgotten to include
one. But I will get over it. Heh.
Again, the best to you all on this second day.

GL

[chadtower]

Uh, dude... that cockpit cab makes me want to cry. I mean just BAWL. It's like coming home from work and your wife has decided to bring another woman into bed and it's Reese Witherspoon.

Where did you source THAT thing? Does it have a 19" or 25" monitor? Does it have the ESB kit?

EDIT: Damn Joe, what did you do, lose 30lb?

[hydr0x]

EDIT: Damn Joe, what did you do, lose 30lb?

obviously LOL

[Mayhem]

Btw I've had good response from a couple of Brits who are at E3 about the CGE exhibit (and didn't know you were going to be there and are into retro) so thumbs up to everyone there involved :)

[Slipdeath]

Hey Joe try to snap some photos of that Gizmondo booth ;)

[§ Gideon §]

Hey! Spot the DP T (http://www.planetgamecube.com/media.cfm?action=evshot&id=76&seq=2).

Do you know who it is?

[I Am Humanoid]

Did 8-Bit Weapon rock the house today?

:rocker: :guitar: :band: :rocker:

[digitalpress]

[quote="Lady Jaye"]Oops, you're right, should've indicated which picture!

This one:

http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5/IMG_6734.JPG[/close]

Ah, that's Jim and Benito, two buddies who help out with some of the behind-the-scenes stuff. They don't get into the pictures all that often but they're a huge help. Neither are forum members here.

Day two was AWESOME. We made a load of new contacts and have all kinds of interesting possibilities for CGE in this and future years.

Courtesy of Larry, there are 152 new pictures loading now to the link above - and I've got another 250 waiting to get uploaded. I'll try to get them out there after dinner. I'm starving!

[NintendoMan]

Cool pics Joe!!!

Thanks much for posting them!

[digitalpress]

EDIT: Damn Joe, what did you do, lose 30lb?

Thanks dude, you're the first person to notice that. Actually it's 24 pounds in 8 weeks. I've still got 25 to go.

UPDATED: There are now 670 (!) photos from E3 in that link above. You can thank your friendly neighborhood booth babe photo specialist Don Rogers for most of these. Parents, hide the children. :)

I'll be back tomorrow with more.

[digitalpress]

Hey! Spot the DP T (http://www.planetgamecube.com/media.cfm?action=evshot&id=76&seq=2).

Do you know who it is?

That would be Jim "Superman" Combs, aka "digitpress Jim" on these forums.


Did 8-Bit Weapon rock the house today?

To say the least. So much rock, in fact, that Kentia Hall nearly drowned out South and West halls combined! They put on two GREAT sets and once again reached a group of people who would not otherwise have known so much retro goodness is going on in our little underground scene.

Clearly, this all changing.

[drwily008]

Great pics man, looks like your having a great time!

A couple quick questions:

1. What is that Atari Cosmos box? Is it a real prototype box? How did you get it?

2. What system was that "NEW" Gunstar Heroes on? I couldn't see it in the picture to good.


Great job guys! Keep it up!

[digitalpress]

Great pics man, looks like your having a great time!

A couple quick questions:

1. What is that Atari Cosmos box? Is it a real prototype box? How did you get it?

It's a real Cosmos prototype box that came from a former Atari employee. The Cosmos was a proposed hologram system from Atari, LED game images appear beneath/behind the hologram image itself.


2. What system was that "NEW" Gunstar Heroes on? I couldn't see it in the picture to good.

GBA! It plays great.

[RJ]

DeputyMoniker wrote:
What is the story behind this Atari? I've never seen such an animal.

It's a Kee Games 2600 proto. Kee was set up by Nolan Bushnell (w/ a friend/business partner in "control") so he could compete AGAINST himself (ATARI) in the market!

Didnt see it addressed, so I thought I'd answer.

[chadtower]

EDIT: Damn Joe, what did you do, lose 30lb?

Thanks dude, you're the first person to notice that. Actually it's 24 pounds in 8 weeks. I've still got 25 to go.


Nice job. I totally need to do that myself. Care to share the method? :rocker:

[Lady Jaye]

EDIT: Damn Joe, what did you do, lose 30lb?

Thanks dude, you're the first person to notice that. Actually it's 24 pounds in 8 weeks. I've still got 25 to go.

Hey, don't get yourself too skinny, lest we start a thread called "Joe Santulli is gross!" LOL (in case you're wondering, there's a debate in the OT about Lindsay Lohan's new skininess, titled "Lindsay Lohan is gross!".)

[ubikuberalles]

EDIT: Damn Joe, what did you do, lose 30lb?

Thanks dude, you're the first person to notice that. Actually it's 24 pounds in 8 weeks. I've still got 25 to go.

Hey, don't get yourself too skinny, lest we start a thread called "Joe Santulli is gross!" LOL (in case you're wondering, there's a debate in the OT about Lindsay Lohan's new skininess, titled "Lindsay Lohan is gross!".)

Perhaps Joe can do the Natalie Portman thing and shave his head! :)

[DeputyMoniker]

DeputyMoniker wrote:
What is the story behind this Atari? I've never seen such an animal.

It's a Kee Games 2600 proto. Kee was set up by Nolan Bushnell (w/ a friend/business partner in "control") so he could compete AGAINST himself (ATARI) in the market!

Didnt see it addressed, so I thought I'd answer.

I'm gonna have to google that because I dont know WTF youre talking about! LOL
Thanks for the info though!

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Thanks for all the cool pictures thus far. :) Though what's up with all the sideways boothbabe pics? You got me straining my neck looking at all of them.

Oh, and this pic is total gold! (http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5/IMG_7101.JPG) LOL

[shertz]

I too took some pics. ENJOY!

Set up day
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0817.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0822.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0823.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0821.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0829.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0830.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0831.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0824.jpg

Gary Coleman!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0827.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0828.jpg

8-bit Weapon
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0855.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0856.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0857.jpg

and on a final note....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v120/shertz/E305/DCAM0832.jpg


-steve

[digitalpress]

OK so we've got over ONE THOUSAND photos in the link above :eek 2:

I don't even know where to begin with today or even how to wrap up the week in general. Our team had a blast at the show. Over the next week I'll pick out the most relevant photos from this folder and arrange them so they're somewhat categorized so you can find what you want.

In the meantime, if you have some time to spare and really want to see all that went on at this years' show, I doubt you'll find many sites with more pictures... and there are still more coming in from forum members outside of the DP/CGE team.

Enjoy!

[Mayhem]

Perhaps Joe can do the Natalie Portman thing and shave his head! :)

He'd need a giant razor to cover that huge head of his ;)

[digitalpress]

On my way home now... if I have any time and energy tomorrow I'll get a page of key photos up with some commentary, but if not I'll build it over the week.

Viva la classic gaming!

See ya's in a bit.

[Gamereviewgod]

Did anyone else find it disgusting that G4 couldn't give a dsiplay like this more than a passing glance during their Live E3 coverage except for one of their unfunny comedic bits?

They spend 10 minutes with a stupid booth babe pick-up segment, but all they did was rip on the hall the display was located in. They showed an Apple II, that was it. Way to go G4.

-100 respect.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Did anyone else find it disgusting that G4 couldn't give a dsiplay like this more than a passing glance during their Live E3 coverage except for one of their unfunny comedic bits?

They spend 10 minutes with a stupid booth babe pick-up segment, but all they did was rip on the hall the display was located in. They showed an Apple II, that was it. Way to go G4.

-100 respect.


I'm with you. I hate how they'd waste 15 minutes on a lame joke with muppets instead of showing actually footage from the show floor. Not that they didn't do a decent job or anything mind you, but save the cheese jags for X-play and such. E3 only comes once a year.

[shertz]

Yes, I was bothered by that too. G4 is pretty much for teenagers who only care about new games and systems. So of course, their shows and segments are pretty much going to be childish and cater to that age group. The only show i really watch that channel is Attack of the Show and Icons.



-steve

[SpasticFuctard]

So I've returned. And it was awesome. I say to hell with 17 dark eyed virgins, I'd kill all of you and your mommas for a heaven filled with cutting edge video games and free booze at parties.

also, I got into the D&D online beta courtesy of my mad gaming skills, and a mild trickery of a stupid AI (First bug: monsters should not just stand on traps.)

Adam - day late, and a dollar short.

[Zadoc]

What I wanna know is if anything got jacked. Not that I would, but when I was at the booth I couldn't help but notice how easy it would be to steel a game or a system, especially like the Lynx.

[RJ]

They spend 10 minutes with a stupid booth babe pick-up segment

If thats the segment I think it was, w/ the ratty puppet- I thought that was kinda funny.

[digitalpress]

What I wanna know is if anything got jacked. Not that I would, but when I was at the booth I couldn't help but notice how easy it would be to steel a game or a system, especially like the Lynx.

Nothing got 'jacked'. It might have looked easy to take something but there were many eyes watching at all times.

PS Why didn't you introduce yourself?

[nildem]

PS Why didn't you introduce yourself?

I've been planning on doing this for the past 2 years, but every time I was in the area you'd either be swamped by media or conversing with other attendees. :P

Plus, I got into the show as an investor this year, making it damn-near impossible to walk around Kentia Hall without being kidnapped by exhibitors.

[Jumpman Jr.]

Joe, make sure you bring me hope a booth babe alright!

any of these should be fine:
http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5/IMG_7089.JPG

[slip81]

Joe, make sure you bring me hope a booth babe alright!

any of these should be fine:
http://www.digitpress.com/images/cge@e32k5/IMG_7089.JPG

That's weird, the girl on the bottom(or right depending on how you look at it), looks like a girl I know from college, only about 5 years older.

[PentiumMMX]

Did I see right? One of the sponsors on the banner says... "Coleco"?

I'm not sure if this is "news",

It not "News", is "Olds"!

BTW, I think I'm the only DPer that watches Judgmant Day and X-Play...

...I'm still mad that they did not show anything from the booth! :angry: X50

...And no new info on Mega Man Battle Network 5! :angry: X50