Eric Johnson
Congratulations, game companies: You suckered me into taking pictures of your massive marketing apparatuses at E3 and posting them here on Re/code. The generally big and loud booth installations are fun to look at and to talk about and are a hallmark of E3.
Although the general public is not allowed past the security guards, the gaming trade show still attracts a fair share of fans — some from within the industry, and others affiliated with the “enthusiast press.” Dozens of costumed attendees roamed the Los Angeles Convention Center this week, a pittance compared to fan-focused events like the PAX conferences, but a reminder of the fans nonetheless.
Here, then, is a look at some of the better sights of E3.
E3 attendees line up outside the Los Angeles Convention Center’s West Hall on opening day, Tuesday.
Calm down, Travis Kalanick — that’s just a yellow car, not a taxi, being crushed by this tank from World of Tanks.
Fizzy, the mascot from the evil corporation FizzCo in the upcoming Xbox game Sunset Overdrive, hovers above the South Hall.
Mario and Luigi take a break in the convention center concourse. Luigi is, of course, playing a Nintendo 3DS.
E3 attendees inside Oculus VR’s booth try the virtual reality headset.
Another gaming conference mainstay, Virtuix shows off its virtual reality treadmill that lets players run around while wearing Oculus Rift.
In Sony’s booth, characters abound. I caught a taciturn Delsin Rowe from the latest Infamous game lurking behind a gaggle of people.
Even indie games like Vlambeer’s Nuclear Throne got costumed characters.
At Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. tournament, fans came in costume and armed with signs — including this one referencing an Internet-famous quip by Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime at E3 in 2007.
Super Smash Bros. player Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios enters the Nokia theater for the grand finals of Nintendo’s tournament.
Attendees line up for their chance at a photo-op with a character statue from Activision’s upcoming shooter game Destiny.
One of the quieter parts of E3 — a gallery of art inspired by videogames called Into the Pixel.
To promote the cops-and-robbers angle in Battlefield: Hardline, EA brought an armored police vehicle to its booth.
Not to be outdone, Activision and Uber invited attendees and general passers-by to ride around LA in a Call of Duty-branded military vehicle.
Star Wars’ Boba Fett and a Stormtrooper pose for pictures underneath a giant pair of headphones.
Two attendees dressed as Steve and a Creeper from Minecraft wait in line to play, of all things, a Street Fighter game.
The Batmobile from Warner Bros.’ new Batman game, Arkham Knight, was a frequent magnet for photo ops.
Goliath, a monster from Take-Two’s Evolve, roars down at people in line to try the upcoming multiplayer shooter.
Outside the convention center, Microsoft installed a Titan from Titanfall in Nvidia’s outdoor booth.
Next to the Titan was a completely different type of robot — ones that looked like golf balls, Orbotix’s Sphero, which attendees were trying to drive over ramps and into pyramids of Red Bull.
A mural of characters from PlayStation games sat seemingly incomplete for days until the final day of the conference, when the artists returned to paint in the words “Are you the greatest?”
Nearby, characters from Sunset Overdrive posed next to a bus with one of the game’s mutant enemies splayed across the hood.
Wolverine was there, too. For some reason.
A woman dressed as Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat takes a break in the South Hall’s dining area.
Hey, when’s this game coming out? Even the games in the “videogame history” section could draw crowds at E3.
More E3 Coverage
- E3 in Pictures: From Giant Aliens to Tiny Robots
- Mobile Gaming Plays at the Fringes of E3
- Would Nintendo Try Again at Virtual Reality? Not Yet, but …
- Kinect Is Not Quite Dead, Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Says (Q&A)
- It’s Complicated, but Sony’s Pay TV Service Is Still “On Track”
- Nintendo Details Amiibo, Its Answer to Skylanders and Disney Infinity
- Sony’s $99 TV Box Is No Longer Just for Japan
- Nostalgia — And Pretty Flashing Bracelets — Dominate at Xbox E3 Event
- Five Questions This Year’s E3 Needs to Answer
- Aisha Tyler on Race, Sexism and Video Games (Q&A)
