Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

Well, E3 is gone, leaving Santa Monica, CA as a shell of its former self. The din of the video games has silenced and now, as we have taken several days to digest the amount of data that crossed our eyes, there are some thoughts that need to be said about the show. So here are some notes and a final wrap on E3 2007.

The one thing that everyone has asked and answered and I will throw my two cents in, is about the new format of the show vs the old. At first, I thought the new format sucked, because the exhibit floor was dead, all the events were spread out and the press conferences were stacked so tightly that it was a nightmare to attend them. But having some time to reflect on it, as of the last day of the show, I came to love the smaller size. I was able to try all the demos on hand without having to wait hours in line. We were given more face to face time with developers to ask questions and get meaningful data from them. Yes, the general public thought the format was poor, but that is more likely due to the fact that they could not scam their way into the show, like in years past.

The show did not offer the same amount of suspense and surprises like at previous E3 events. Some of that may be due to the fact that a lot of the big news was leaked ahead of schedule, but there was no big “Wow” announcement of the show. That said, Gears of Wars for the PC coming out in November was a shock as it had seemed like the project was on the back burner. Silent Hill V and Resident Evil 5 were big surprises. Games for Windows Live picking up external developers was a good announcement. I would like to see some big announcements held until next years event, but I doubt that will happen.

Hands on became a reality this year. With little to no wait time at Barker Hangar or the hotel suites where companies had more info on their games, demo time was a reality. Any of the journalists could go to a demo station and try something without having to wait. That was huge, because now we would be able to get our impressions out about a lot more games in the same amount of time. All one has to do is look at our coverage to realize that we got a lot of hands on time with a lot of games.

As for some of my top honors of the show, I thought that Gears of War PC was my hit of the show, but Boogie was a surprising second. Gears got my nod because it was super smooth, but added a slew of new content, and will cost less that Gears of War costs on the 360 today. Boogie on the other hand was a surprise to me and was a load of fun. I had not tried the game or really heard about it until a few days before E3, but when I saw what it had to offer and the feel and look of the game, it just stood out over the entire show. I would give my spoilsport award to Square-Enix. First they complained about the size of E3 this year, then they just left Barker Hangar a day early. Nice one guys. My dud of the show was Sierra/Vivendi. Beyond some Timeshift info, World in Conflict and some rumors about another WoW expansion, I just did not get impressed at what they had. Sierra used to be a powerhouse of the industry, and now they seem relegated to second fiddle.

The last thing I would like to say is thanks to the guys from E3 for inviting us. It made our coverage better. Thank you to the readers for getting into all the news we had to offer. We also want you to tell us what we did right in our E3 coverage and what we did wrong. What can we improve on for you, the readers, next year.

Well E3, that’s a wrap. See you in 2008.