Live From E3...our photo blog

Microsoft holds its conference at the Galen Center. This year's conference played more to the traditional hard-core gamer than last year's festival of family fare. Explosions, violence and mayhem were front-and-center, as was connectivity and the expansion of Xbox as the center of living room entertainment, not just a game device.

Traditionally (and E3 is all about traditions) EA holds its press conference in one of downtown LA's grand old theaters, the Orpheum. Another tradition, EA has the loudest sound system; my clothes vibrated under the air pressure of a thousand sub-woofers. The emphasis was on dynasty building and sequels. Dead Space 3, more Madden, more Medal of Honor, more Fifa. The overall sense, here and at other press conferences so far was that in a year when people are uncertain about their financial future, this is the wrong time to be particularly innovative. Instead, the products have been 'safe' and 'marketplace tested' retreads. One boss battle looked as if it had been hardly changed from when it was used in Mass Effect 3 earlier this year, yet was now lifted and placed into a 'new' game in a different franchise.

Sony's press conference highlighted a number of technical innovations like cross-platform play (ps3 and vita users can play with each other in selected titles), and the announcement of the Wonderbook. (Read my interview with Wonderbook's creator <a href='http://jamesgames.com/Story/exclusive-interview-with-the-creator-of-sonys-wonderbook' target='_blank'>here</a>.)

Sony finished the prequel day of E3 with a swank poolside cocktail party on the roof of the JW Marriot hotel.

E3 always kicks off with a day of humongus press conferences by the major players. Its a sort of annualized prequel that sets the stage for the big products and trends of the year's show. New hardware is announced. The hype machine gears up with a voice of a multi-million watt sound system, a clarion call, an homage to virtual realities and hours to be sacrificed in them. Today's photos from the Microsoft, Sony and EA press conferences (as well as the Sony after-hours party on the roof of the JW Marriott hotel at LA Live) give an idea of the scale and fireworks that attend E3 2012.

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