LOS ANGELES – There's no doubt that the E3 video-game show is the loudest, most garish trade show on Earth.
Need proof? To promote its video game America's Army, the U.S. Army staged a mini assault on the Los Angeles Convention Center. Real soldiers rappelled down from a Black Hawk helicopter and rushed toward the entrance with real assault rifles, scaring the daylights out of attendees not aware of the promotion.
As always, the cavernous show floors were packed with video-game industry folks, reporters from around the world and about 20,000 fans. As if the din of the crowd wasn't enough, the exhibitors' booths all blasted thumping music and game soundtracks, making it impossible to have a conversation with anyone standing more than 3 feet away.
But no one seemed to mind. Anyone with even a passing interest in video games would find the place entertaining, at least for a few hours. Game companies offered hands-on demonstrations of more than 1,000 new games. Attendees became some of the first people to view new handheld video-game machines from Nintendo and Sony. And, of course, there were hundreds of "booth babes."
Click on the thumbnails at left to see some snapshots from the show floor.
