E3 floor plans posted

I think Nintendo should trade places with Microsoft so that MS and Sony can duke it out while the rest of us play Nintendo without any distractions....

Yawn. Pretty much the same as always.

I miss the days of Sega next to Sony next to Nintendo.

And even with the Space Channel 5 girls dancing, you could still hear the Pokemon music. Oh, yeah, and beer on the floor for Conker's Bad Fur Day.

Everyone knows Kentia Hall is where all the best stuff is. You can find anything down there.

DAMMIT JOYSTIQ! old news again! this has been on the E3 site for a while now.

If that opens on the 10th, that measn all the pre-E3 press conferences are on the 9th, right?

killer.

The Xbox press conference is on the 9th at 11:30am. I'll be there.

The Sony one is on the 8th...I think (not going to that one... unless they invite me!)

Pre Show conferences start on the 8th actually. Activision and Square are that morning, Sony monday afternoon. Nintendo goes first on Tuesday and Microsoft hits the late-morning early afternoon slot.

Nintendo's Conference is on the 9th @ 9:30 at the Kodak Theater.

21 days until the show...I can't freakin' wait!!!

I don't see Nintendo or Satoru Iwata on the speakers list. OH NO!! Nintendo won't be announcing the Revolution this year!!!1!!.

Ha, anyway, does anyone know if they don't publish that to avoid any speculation?

Either way, I'm sure at least by May 10th, the start of the Expo, we'll know something.

Where did you see that Sabre? Just curious.

I might take the day off on the 9th to watch all that on TV. Hell, I've got the vacation hours. I suppose it would be better to record, though, I just hope I don't screw myself over with time zones.

That Sony/Nintendo area is gonna be congested. MS has South Hall all to itself...in regards to the big three.

Yo, bring us back some hot dogs and frozen lemonade from kentia hall. I heard theyre the best in town!!!

Activision has as big a booth as EA? And damn Nintendo and Sony are taking up a ton of floorspace. Better be worth it.

Here ya go Lectoid:

http://news.punchjump.com/article.php?id=2285

They actually announced it sometime last year...

"That Sony/Nintendo area is gonna be congested. MS has South Hall all to itself...in regards to the big three."

Ha...that's funny. The South Hall will be just as congested b/c MS is normally towards the back of the hall. The ONLY hall that is not crowded is he Kentia Hall...which is good b/c my friends and I go there to get away from the crowds and play some classic arcade games.

It's always fun to see who didn't have enough money to get a real booth and ends up being stuck in the concourse with the France booth. (Which usually has a water cooler. Useful to know.)

This year...Codemasters and SNK Playmore are the unlucky saps.

Call me a newb, but I've always been under the distinct impression that E3 wasn't open to the general public. Which sucks, too, because this would be the week before finals.

If anybody has an inside angle or passes they don't want, let me know. :-D

god it's gonna be so great to hear about everyone at the sony booth - wondering why the ps3's graphics dont look *all that good* while listening to everyone across the way at the nintendo booth having the time of their lives with the best games ever created... wish i could be there to hear it myself!!!
can't wait for joystiq's e3 coverage... i need to know about the friggin revolution man!!!

Nice floor plans!

This will be my first E3 to attend. I am covering the event for the Houston based newspaper that I write, and design for.

Can anyone give me lots of advice on E3, how to cover it efficiently, what to avoid, what to bring etc?

Exchange of email would be good. Mine is tylertron@gmail.com

thanks

E3 is going to be absolutely incredible this year. Each year brings something sweet to the show, but this one's really going to shake things up. Don't forget though, for us in the media, we get to go in 2 hours early.
Paul Gale
1up.com

As a 7 year veteran of attending E3, you will need the following things:

- comfy shoes (don't wear sandals)
- Heachache medicine (if you are prone to headaches from pounding audio)
- a backpack (don't grab those huge bags they hand out b/c they are a PAIN IN THE ASS trying to walk around the show floor.)
- Pack a lunch (if possible - b/c the food there is EXPENSIVE and the lines are EXTREMELY long.)
- (if possible) Try to get your badge holder on the 9th to avoid the MASSIVE lines on the first day.

@ PaleGringo:

Normally it is closed off to the general public b/c it is an industry event. In the past students were able to (thats how I got in most of the time) but now they are cracking down on that (even if you are studying to work in the industry.) You're only shot of getting in is to borrow someones badge (and no I won't load mine to you.)

Actually, if anyone is willing to give advice to Tyler, could they also pass it on to me? It's my first time going to E3 as well, so any advice would be appreciated.

plastichandgun@gmail.com. Thanks.

First of all - make a list of the top 5-10 places you want to hit first.

I'd get to the 3 consoles - Xbox, Sony, Nintendo. See what shows or previews they've got planned.

then draw up a schedule. Keep an eye out for the press-briefings. Last year EA had a closed room, for example, and you need a press badge to get in.

Most of the big publishers will have their own "theater" to preview games - sega theater, Square Enix, Ubisoft, etc. etc. Some of these have long lines later in the day - so if there's one that you've GOT to see, then get to it first. Last year Square and Xbox were giving out reservations for their screenings, so make sure you get these in the morning, so that you've got a "seat" later in the day.

Also, bring water. Digital camera is a must, because after 8 hours on the floor, your memory starts to blur. If you've passed the same booth 10 times in a row, then you're going in circles.

Don't let the fire breathing female acrobats distract you.

Don't expect to get a lot of demos of things. They don't hand them out :( !

The booth babes by and large don't know anything about the games. Sometimes but almost never. If you see somebody who looks like a programmer, then they're probably a developer - meaning they *made* the game, and most every developer I spoke to last year was eager to talk about their games.

Oh, and I noticed that Wednesday wasn't as crowded as Thursday which wasn't as crowded as Friday. Not sure if anyone else has thoughts on this.

FYI: Square-Enix's theater reservations sell out F-A-S-T!

Also...if you are referring to EA's general booth being closed off to everyone but the press that is incorrect. In the 7 years I've gone it's always been open (the booth has never been designed all that well) but its always been open to everyone.

Finally...if Nintendo has a theater of some sort and you want to see it, it is best to get there early. Otherwise you will have to wait a LOOOOOONG time in line. Last year's line was around 4 hours so make sure you bring a DS, PSP, etc. something to keep you busy.

Two years ago was the first E3 I went to. The DS part of Nintendo's booth sucked because only certain people got to play the "good" games (Super Mario 64 DS, Metroid Prime Hunters) and it was totally random so you'd get people that weren't even playing the games while people stuck on the other side had like Pac-Pix or whatever and could only stare from behind the rope while one of the Metroid kiosks was totally empty.

However on the third day (as I didn't find out until I got home) the whole DS floor was open, barring the random person thing, because most of the press had already gotten all they needed.

Point being that the rush of the first day is a lot of people who just want to snap photos. By the third day you should try going back and seeing what's changed.

SquareEnix's theatre thing is total hype, and I think it's a total waste of time personally. But if you want to spend valuable show time waiting for that ticket, and then waiting again for the theatre to open up for you, then that's your perogative.

Kentia Hall is your friend because there's some food places down there too and they're usually not as crowded as by South Hall. People are glad just to see you and it's really cool if you're actually interested in their product because they'll be really nice. Also, they have Pengo. But if I'm in Kentia I'm probably playing Pengo.

you're right the EA booth is open... as do most publishers, they've got a back room... last year it was a screening room upstairs, press only :)

You forgot that Kentia hall has the classic video game museum thing too...that's always cool to see.