E3 Video Game Trade Show in Pictures 2013

by Lori Cunningham

What a fun week I had last week!  The biggest video gaming convention in the US, E3, was held here in Los Angeles at the Convention Center.  This year, both PlayStation and Microsoft have made announcements of their latest and greatest consoles, the PlayStation 4 and XBOX One.  Interestingly enough, both companies focused more on the new games coming out on the console rather than the console itself.  Of course, in many ways, this makes sense as they both need to entice the gamers with the games they play and show them why it’s worthwhile to upgrade.  It’s really the games that sell the console.  I have to say, the graphics of these newest games are amazing and so realistic.  But unfortunately, as a result of these two new consoles, most of the games of the show focused on shooter/violence shows rather than the family friendly games we like to report on.  Fortunately, with more in-depth looking, we were still able to come up with our top 5 recommended family games, which will be coming out in the Fall.  More on that in a later article.

Every year we post our E3 in Pictures post… 2011 and 2012 because sometimes it’s such a crazy place at the convention, you feel you’re in the middle of Hollywood screen sets!  The amount of expense some companies put into their booth displays or promotions is really astonishing.  We wish we could really show you the vibe of the place, but even though pictures tell 1,000 words, they still can’t do it justice.

I met up with a few of my old friends, Rachet of  “Rachet & Clank,” Pacman…remember him?  He’s Back! and the Office Worker Zombie from Plants and Zombies.

This 40 foot robot greeted us as we ventured in the main lobby of E3.  The new release of Hansel & Gretel Which Hunters on DVD also adorned the front lobby.  E3 goers were able to snag some candy from the “witches” after snapping a pic.

PlayStation’s booth was huge with a lot of action going on, showcasing the latest games coming out this Fall.  Microsoft One put a lot of focus on their new Kinect camera which player movements more finely down to muscle movement.

World of Tanks utilized this sponsored tank to highlight how realistic their game is to real warfare.  Gran Turismo 6 set up game simulators outside the convention walls to bring the game more to life.

Nyko set up a 50’s diner theme to attract gaming industry execs to their booth, highlighting their gaming accessories.  This gentleman was dubiously dubbed a king in Dragon’s Crown’s booth.

I enjoyed visiting the GameChurch.com booth where they passed out “Jesus Loves Gamers” stickers.  Game Church is a protestant type church who reaches out to gamers in their own environment.   They also hand out the Gospel of John with commentaries in it that relate to gaming  culture.  It’s a pretty cool mission church that uses conventions as its mission field.  You can even volunteer to be a missionary at one of the many gaming conventions they are attending this year.  Nice people and they have a great message.  That’s what I love about E3, you never know what you’re gonna find!

Be sure to look out for further articles on E3, including our yearly synopsis on The Best Upcoming Family Games from E3 2013.  Here’s our article from last year, 2012.