E3: 2005 Draws Record Crowd
Tens of thousands cram into the halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center, making us wish all the threats of keeping people out would be put into effect.
The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is the event on the gaming calendar, and this year proved bigger than most. More than 70,000 journalists, publishers, developers, retailers and kids there just for pictures of booth babes (not to be confused with the professional photographers currently readying Kikizo's E3 Babes update) crammed into the capacious halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center over the course of the show's three days.
Last week saw hundreds of game companies unveil more than a thousand new games that will be hitting shops over the next year and beyond. Despite companies taking to releasing information before the show, there were still some surprises, which you'll see if you browse our growing impressions list.
A good deal of the increased attention given to the show this year was thanks to Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo drawing back the blinds on their new consoles, and some publishers were even brave enough to have the first next-gen games on the floor.
As a trade-only event, though, the public is (largely) cruelly excluded, so to make up for that we've got some images fresh from E3, to give you a taste of what it's like to walk around at the show.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
Satoru Iwata Video Interview - the late Nintendo president spoke with Kikizo in 2004 as 'Nintendo Revolution' loomed.
Kaz Hirai Video Interview - the first of Kikizo's interviews with the man who went on to become global head of Sony.
Ed Fries Video Interview - one of Xbox's founders discusses an epic journey from Excel to Xbox.
Yu Suzuki, the Kikizo Interview - we spend time with one of gaming's most revered creators.
Tetris - The Making of an Icon: Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers reveal the fascinating story behind Tetris
Rare founders, Chris and Tim Stamper - their only interview? Genuinely 'rare' sit down with founders of the legendary studio.
The History of First-Person Shooters - a retrospective, from Maze War to Modern Warfare