My First E3 Experience: Day 0 Part 1

The misadventures of one GameSkinny contributor's E3 experience.

I have been absorbing game news since I was around 5 or 6. As a kid, I always scored highly on reading proficiency tests because I spent so much time reading Nintendo Power, GamePro, Electronic Gaming Monthly, etc. E3 coverage was always my favorite since it was where the best news came out every year.

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It had been a dream of mine since childhood to attend E3. It was something I had kind of given up on until I found GameSkinny and realized I could apply as media for a pass. I applied, got in, and then soiled myself in excitement.

After a change of clothes, I checked my e-mail every day to accept invites to panels and events that seemed interesting to me. Each digital letter was a reminder that I would soon be able to cross one of the things off my bucket list (1) Go to E3, 2) Get a PhD, 3) Beat Battletoads.)

Yesterday marked the events arrival. It was Day 0. Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, and Sony were all doing their big announcement panels. I woke up at 5:00AM to get prepared for the day. Around 6:15AM, I was on the bus and getting ready to say goodbye to Orange County and hello to the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Two hours later, I arrived in the city of angels, directly across the street from the LA Convention Center. As a frequent Anime Expo attendee, I was surprised to see the place practically empty, especially since Microsoft’s panel was going to happen so soon.

Before tracking down the location of the Microsoft panel, I first had to pick up my badge. After walking between the main entrance and the West Hall two times, I saw a badge pick up area.

No one was in line. “Sweet”, I thought, as I snaked through the long ropes, facing the people at the desk, not facing the people at the desk, and so on and so on with tons of awkward eye contact. Unfortunately, that was the wrong line, but they directed me to where media members get their badges. So, I went and got mine.

Name tag removed to protect identity of Joseph Rowe, author of this article.

After a few minutes of being super stoked about having a Nintendo lanyard and Atlus E3 pass (Dragon’s Crown on the front and Shin Megami Tensei IV on the back), I asked the staff about the Microsoft panel’s whereabouts. 

It took a while and a lot of asking different friendly staff members, but eventually I found out where I was supposed to go. The E3 Day 0 events were taking place over at the USC campus/auditoriums and not near the Los Angeles Convention Center. This is something I would have caught if I had not assumed everything was on that specific section of Figueroa.

I exited the convention center and sat at the bus stop. Shortly after I got there, another E3 attendee showed up and we made some small talk about where we were heading. He asked if I knew where he should go to catch a cab so he could go to the Microsoft panel and I told him I had no clue and was just planning on taking the bus.

He hailed a cab and as it approached, he offered to share it with me and cover my fare. I refused initially, but after the second offer and remembering how much I had already sat on buses that day, I accepted.

It turns out that the man I was riding in the cab with was one of the optical engineers responsible for the Kinect. I kept all my dislike for XBOX ONE’s policies to myself and had some enjoyable small talk. He was a very awesome and friendly guy.

After a while, my cab mate and I made it to the Colosseum where the Microsoft panel was taking place. We said our good byes as he rushed off to catch up with his coworkers. I tried to figure out where to go to wait in line to get into the event.

I asked a few workers around the event where I should go. Eventually, I found out that the conference was something that you needed to pre-register for. I had never received any e-mails from Sony, Microsoft, or Ubisoft, so I figured these panels were something an E3 pass could get you into. I was wrong.

Luckily, I did get the invite to attend EA’s E3 panel at the Shrine Auditorium a few hours after Microsoft’s. One of the kind workers in front of the Colosseum gave me some directions that were either wrong or that I misheard and I began walking a mile in the wrong direction.

I walked for a while until I realized the year was 2013, I had an Android on me, and I could simply use the maps application to get walking directions to where I needed to be.

Along the way to where I was supposed to be, I saw some fancy Microsoft and Forza cars that probably cost more than I will make in my entire lifetime.

Yeah, well, the vehicle I came here in can fit like 40 people.

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Baby’s First E3 Experience: Day 0.


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Author
Joseph Rowe
World traveling English teacher, writer, and aspiring front-end developer.