Electronic Entertainment Expo '99

Related Links:
Map of Los Angeles Convention Center (Microsoft Expedia Maps)
Electronic Entertainment Expo Homepage

This year E3 was held at the Los Angeles convention center.  Here are a few highlights from the exhibition floor.  I apologize for the quality of the photos- the lighting was crazy!

On the left, Sega puts all their marketing might behind the Dreamcast.   On the right, at the Shenmue booth, the epic role playing game disappoints with Dragon's Lair gameplay and talking head demos.  You can see a close-up of one of the 3D rendered characters in the monitor under the Shenmue banner- obviously just a ploy to try and counter the hype of the next-generation Playstation demos.

On the left, Sony demonstrates the power of its gracefully aging Playstation console.  The next-generation Playstation is hidden inside a pyramid-shaped display, with Sony television displays on each face.  In the middle, the head of an old man from the Final Fantasy movie is rendered in real-time.  On the right, I crash and burn playing the beautiful looking but thoroughly boring Gran Turismo port.

The highlight of E3 for me was meeting Jane Jensen, designer of the Gabriel Knight series, at the Sierra Studios booth.  Here, she personally gives me a demo of the gameplay and one of the cutscenes in Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned- all rendered impressively in realtime with the 3D G-Engine.  I also got her autograph on the back of one of her business cards.  Thanks Jane!

Microsoft puts out their full line-up, including titles from Digital Anvil, Ensemble Studios, and the newly acquired Access Software.  Nearby, the hardware devices group demos the Sidewinder line of gaming input devices.  Included is a demo of the new Intellimouse Explorer- although the optical tracking is great, it lacks the high-backed ergonomic design of the Intellimouse Pro.  Stock up on the Pro mouse now!

Activision wastes no time capitalizing on their recently acquired Star Trek license.  Star Trek: Insurrection the Game looks about as exciting as the film (that's a bad thing, by the way).

Although the LucasArts demo was held behind closed doors (where was my invitation?:-), Nintendo had the full Force of Star Wars Episode I Racer at their booth.

Colorful rows of iMac and G3 computers light up the Apple room and highlight the impressive amount of developer support for the MacOS platform.  Perhaps my next computer will be a G3...?

Posted: 5-21-1999

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