I'm really not sure how I'm going to top today.

[SackAttack]

I mean, I know E3 hasn't been all that "sexy" compared to past years, but it still gave me a day today that I'm not sure what I'm going to do for an encore.

Started out kind of silly and geeky, but got progressively cooler (although still significantly geeky).

Drove into downtown LA today (for reasons I'll explain shortly) and got into town much earlier than I had anticipated, so I was able to spend my early hours checking out some stuff on the show floor I hadn't previously seen, including the new Animal Crossing.

They had the town I was playing on a network, and one of the other users was the guy who does Mario's voice using the WiiSpeak attachment. He had this Robin Williams stream-of-consciousness stuff going that had me laughing my ass off.

Went to my meetings with Eidos (Tomb Raider Underworld hands-on) and Sega (a handful of nifty titles, but nothing I got to go hands-on with; that comes tomorrow).

Got a half-hour of hands-on time with Fallout 3, unguided. Just let to do my own thing, so that was pretty awesome. Fallout 3 was the main reason I confirmed my invitation for E3 this year; I didn't want to not go and then find out I could have played it.

At that point, day's already going pretty well. I get an unplanned meeting with 2K Sports, which itself leads to a previously unscheduled meeting tomorrow with 2K Games, then head to my EA demo room meeting, where they had Spore playable in various forms. Spent almost an hour with the PC version, and the balance of the meeting time with the iPhone/iPod Touch version.

When that meeting was over, started to wander for the show exit so I could head to the Rock Band event (that's why I drove instead of taking the train; the event was scheduled to end late enough that I couldn't have taken the train home), but on my way swung by the Ubisoft and Microsoft meeting rooms. Didn't have scheduled meetings with them, either, but got set up for EndWar tomorrow with Ubi. Microsoft let me in to check out Fable II, basically me and one other guy in a private audience with Peter Molyneux. Not bad for an unscheduled drop-in.

Went to the Rock Band event, and before the concert half of it started, guy notices my badge, asks if I'm press, and tells me he's the manager for AC/DC, and that their former drummer, Chris Slade, is in the house if I'd like to interview him. Chatted with Slade for about five minutes, and then had to hustle to find a seat in the packed auditorium for the concert. The act?

The Who. Awesome show.

Why is it that in 5 or 6 years of going to E3, the best day I've had took place at a time when the future of the show is in doubt? Crazy stuff.

[spleen1015]

That sounds awesome!

What did you think of Spore? I am really looking forward to it.

[Subby]

I'm really not sure how I'm going to top today.

That's easy. Start it off with a mimosa!

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Subby

That's easy. Start it off with a mimosa!

Amen brother!

[Cringer]

And end it with Salma Hayek.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Cringer

And end it with Salma Hayek.

HIGH FIVE!

[st.cronin]

Instead of a mimosa, how about a nice Campari and soda?

[flere-imsaho]

You buncha metrosexuals. Start the day with a whiskey.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

You buncha metrosexuals. Start the day with a whiskey.

A real man spells it "whisky."

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

A real man spells it "whisky."

That's a common misconception, because a real man generally knows how to speel.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

A real man spells it "whisky."

A real man wouldn't need to spell or speak it. He'd just grunt and Selma would get it.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

That sounds awesome!

What did you think of Spore? I am really looking forward to it.

Really, really impressed. PC games don't generally encourage me to upgrade my computer. I'm more the type to either buy-and-hold (for when I get a new computer), or pick it up after the fact. I just don't put the resources into upgrading when I can use those resources to further my console addiction.

Spore won't /change/ that, exactly, but it has a real good shot of being the first game to get me to upgrade my PC specifically for that game.

The folks I spoke with while playing it (sadly, Will Wright wasn't one of them; maybe that's my encore topper?) said that the sysreqs for Spore: Creature Creator are pretty much in par with what the final game will require, so the copy of Spore: CC they gave me will be the litmus test on whether I need to upgrade significantly at all.

But, yeah. It's very easy (and fun!) to pick up and play, and the interface is clean and intuitive. This is going to be a big seller.

[Eaglesfan27]

What are those requirements? I guess I can google for it, but I'm being lazy

With you enjoying and Bill Abner praising it (he called it Awesome 3 times), this could be the game that pushes me to upgrade my system as well.

Edit: Nevermind. I found it. Not bad, my computer hits all of the min requirements. They aren't as high as I feared they might be.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

What are those requirements? I guess I can google for it, but I'm being lazy

With you enjoying and Bill Abner praising it (he called it Awesome 3 times), this could be the game that pushes me to upgrade my system as well.

Edit: Nevermind. I found it. Not bad, my computer hits all of the min requirements. They aren't as high as I feared they might be.

I emptied my shoulder bag of the swag I was carrying before I left the house this morning, so I don't have them handy

But yeah, while I don't know if it's possible for ANY game to live up to the hype Spore has been enjoying for the last year or two, it's not going to pull a Fable and fall so short of the mark that it gets relegated to the "oh, yeah, what happened?" pile, either. "Awesome" is a good word for it. I'm half-tempted to go back to the demo room for more later today, even though I have six meetings to attend and only, now, something like an hour to squeeze in the other things I need to see, like BioWare's Sonic RPG for the DS. Why must day 3 end two hours earlier than days 1 and 2? Le sigh.

[rjolley]

If you talk to 2K Sports again, tell them to get back to work on the College Hoops series.

[korme]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

A real man spells it "whisky."

Ahh, Maker's Mark.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

What are those requirements? I guess I can google for it, but I'm being lazy

With you enjoying and Bill Abner praising it (he called it Awesome 3 times), this could be the game that pushes me to upgrade my system as well.

Edit: Nevermind. I found it. Not bad, my computer hits all of the min requirements. They aren't as high as I feared they might be.

What are the requirements?

[Coder]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

What are the requirements?

According to http://www.joystiq.com/2008/06/10/sp...-requirements/ (google)


Windows XP:

* 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
* 512 MB RAM
* A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
* At least 6 GB of hard drive space

Windows Vista:

* 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
* 768 MB RAM
* A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
* At least 6 GB of hard drive space

Mac:

* Mac OS X 10.5.3 Leopard or higher
* Intel Core Duo Processor
* 1024 MB RAM
* ATI X1600 or NVidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of Video RAM, or Intel Integrated GMA X3100
* At least 4.7GB of hard drive space for installation, plus additional space for creations.
* This game will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) based Mac systems (PowerMac).

[Cringer]

I might be able to run that on my laptop. Video is the big problem for me as always......

[MikeVic]

Thanks. I'm not sure on the processor aspect, but I should be covered for the rest. Sweet.

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Thanks. I'm not sure on the processor aspect, but I should be covered for the rest. Sweet.

Oh, I overlooked that. I may not have the processor for it either.

[Passacaglia]

Was 'swag' a real word before The Office?

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

Was 'swag' a real word before The Office?

It's been around a long time.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

He had this Robin Williams stream-of-consciousness stuff going that had me laughing my ass off.

Bah. My best E3 moment was having Robin Williams sit down to play the game I was there demoing

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

Instead of a mimosa, how about a nice Campari and soda?

Hot damn. If you look closely you can see my face underneath her.

[Izulde]

Spore will be the game that gets me off my ass to set up my desktop again.

[headtrauma]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

It's been around a long time.

...thought it was "schwag"

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Bah. My best E3 moment was having Robin Williams sit down to play the game I was there demoing

Yes, well, celebrities don't go to E3 anymore, so I settle for what i can get.

[SackAttack]

Oh, hey, so apparently the soles of my shoes are halfway off.

I didn't do 1/10th as much walking this year as in Santa Monica last year, so it must have been the rocking, not the walking.