Make no mistake, this year's E3 Expo was full of surprises. But for every surprise there was at least one leak, including perhaps the worst kept secret of E3 '09 -- the PSP Go. Ironically enough, the source of the leak was Sony's own June issue of Qore that tipped off mainstream game media and set the blogosphere on fire. Sure there were indications that a new handheld was in development even before this video surfaced, but the Qore issue all but confirmed our suspicions.

Since I've had ESAC on the brain lately, I thought it would be interesting to discuss a press release the industry group issued earlier this month that reports on the major impact Canadian game development studios made at this year's E3 Expo.

Meet your new, mysterious friend. He's 7 years old, 36cm tall and is described as a relatively easy-going, friendly character. His name is Starfy and he's the star (no pun intended...well perhaps a smidgen) of Nintendo's long-time Japanese franchise The Legendary Starfy.

For those of you expecting an article on the brilliant Fantasy Flight board game, I apologize. This article is in fact about my time spent with Batman: Arkham Asylum, and the horror I felt when I realized I was going to have to wait nearly three whole months until I could play it again. Read more...

There were so many great games shown off at this year's E3 I'm still reeling from the excitement. It seemed like the "Big Three" console makers each brought their 'A' game as their press conferences were for the most part, very impressive. With so many great games on display, it was hard to choose my best of show pick, in fact I debated over it for hours. Splinter Cell: Conviction brought the visuals, God of War 3 brought the action, New Super Mario Bros. Wii brought the multiplayer, Modern Warfare 2 brought the gunplay, but it was Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves that really seemed to have it all.

Now that E3 is over and the dust has had time to settle a little—and in particular, I've had some time to sit down and think rather than rush between appointment to appointment—I've been able to consider the best the show had to offer, and will post about it over the coming week. Interestingly, the first thing that sticks out in my mind are some of the games that are coming very soon as part of Xbox Live's Summer of Arcade. Read more...

If there's one thing about E3 that makes me want to kill myself, it's sitting in the media room—perhaps working on an article or something like that—and listening to a group of other media discussing how they need to get more pictures of "Booth Babes". It's demeaning for everyone involved, and particularly frustrating when (as is sometimes the case) a female member of the group might join in with the casual misogyny. But in the aims of balancing out the imagery of E3, here are some nice shots from the show floor, courtesy of Vincent Diamante's flickr stream. Read more...

I had the rare opportunity to chat with Xbox Canada's Platform Manager, Craig Flannagan, just after the Microsoft E3 press conference to get the scoop on what new products and services will be coming to the Xbox 360 system.

Or, to put it more finely, some Brutal Legend play impressions. Read more...

Jack Tretton’s announcement of Final Fantasy XIV at the Sony Press Event—directly after showing a video for Final Fantasy XIII—probably stands out as one of the most surreal moments of this E3, and a true signifier of just how broken the industry can be, piling sequel upon sequel. What saved it, of course, was the simple hilarity of the audience’s reaction to the title. First shock and confusion; then incredible, fanboyish excitement; only to be followed by complete deflation once it was revealed that the title was a sequel to Final Fantasy XI, and thus "only" a new MMO. Read more...

Pitched as a new LittleBigPlanet by Jack Tretton, Vancouver’s United Front Games are under a lot of pressure to deliver with their urban vinyl toy-themed kart racer ModNation Racer. I sat down with the company’s William Ho and James Grieve for a more in-depth look than we saw yesterday at Sony’s press event. Read more...

I realized that while it's all well and good for me to mention the games that I've liked the look of during my "liveblogs" it would be useful for you to get a look at them. So I've selected a some of the trailers and videos and footage that has really stood out for me and linked it all after the jump for your convenience. Read more...

So if there's a lesson I've learned from E3 so far it's that liveblogging without 3G is essentially a fool's errand. When there is wifi, it rarely works, and so usually they don't even bother to try and set one up. But here I am in the Shrine Auditorium for the Sony press event to write it up live, even though I'm just going to have to put it up in one lump anyway. Read more...

Due to the potential that a wifi signal would "interfere with the game demos" there's no way to liveblog from Nintendo's Club Nokia-set Media Briefing, but as before, I'm just going to do it anyway. Read more...

I'm at the Los Angeles Theatre (similarly gorgeous and historic with the Orpheum) waiting for the Ubisoft press conference to start; unlike the past two press conferences, Ubisoft don't even seem to have tried to set up wifi access for journalists. Whatever, I'm going to liveblog it anyway in this Wordpad window, that'll show 'em. [Update: I couldn't find a wifi signal until I got back to my hotel, so here this is, very, very late!] Read more...