Features// E3 2012 Diary Day 1: The Diary of a Games Man

My first E3 Expo was in 2000 when I saw and played on the PS2 for the first time and wondered what the fate of the Dreamcast would be, despite its strong showing at that year's expo. Fast forward 12 years and things have changed beyond most people's comprehension.

The current generation of consoles are in their seventh year with only one format owner releasing a new system. Mobile platforms are becoming increasingly dominant and PC games are in a renaissance thanks to digital distribution and the ever ageing console technology.

Then there is cloud computing and funding, with one doing away with consoles altogether and the other making publishers almost irrelevant. We do live in interesting times when it comes to video games, but all is not well with E3 according to some observers.

The build up to this year's E3 Expo has been a tad anti-climatic.

Many are declaring that in this era of mobile gaming vs. AAA console titles, E3 does not reflect the current climate of video games and have dubbed it a relic from a by-gone era.

These same observers look to when the PSOne and PS2 held sway and the nature of video games was centred around console games and not titles downloaded onto your smart phone or tablet device.

So, as I landed at LAX in the mid-afternoon of Saturday 2nd June, along with most of the UK's video game media representatives, I struggled to conjure up the normal kind of enthusiasm I have as I wait to get through customs.

Granted the 1.5 hour wait during it may have had something to do with the dampening of my spirits a smidgeon. But there was still this underlying tone of, "Meh" directed towards E3 Expo.

That was until I saw something the following day, after breakfast: it's not until your confronted with the sheer size of the LA Convention Center and how much E3 dominates it that you realise how significant the expo actually is.

At least that's the opinion I began to form as I walked around the area around the expo venue and was confronted with these very large murals.

By the time I reached the South entrance my apathy had diminished to nil, as I knew that E3 2012 was indeed going to be something rather special. Yes there are separate events held by publishers throughout the year, and they have always existed.

But E3 is the only place that a large majority of them come together to meet with the specialist media from throughout the world over a 3 day period in down-town LA.

And to think I haven't even entered the expo hall yet!