14 DAY TRIAL // The Entertainment Software Association has announced that more than 46,000 people attended the E3 trade show this year, coming from no less than 90 countries. The industry trade body has trumpeted that the 2011 edition of the Electronic Entertainment Expo will be taking place from June 7 to 9, with the attendance expected to grow over this year and with more huge unveilings expected.
This year's exposition had 300 companies trying to get attendees to look at their products and there were plenty of impressive announcements. The Los Angeles Convention Center will continue to host E3 in 2011.
There were two major axes the event was built on. Microsoft and Sony showed off a host of videogames for Kinect, the motion tracking system formerly known as Project Natal, and the PlayStation Move, ranging from first person shooters like Killzone 3 to a new dance-oriented game created by Harmonix, the company behind the Rock Band franchise. The two are hoping that the fresh devices, which will arrive during the fall, will help their home console surpass the Nintendo Wii in terms of sales.
The other big success of the expo was the Nintendo 3DS, the handheld that will not need any glasses to deliver a full 3D gaming experience. No titles were shown in action for the fresh platform but all those who have seen it are amazed by the way it managed to pull the player into the experience. The Nintendo 3DS is set to be launched late this year or early in 2011 and the developer hopes that it will help stave off the rise of the iPhone as a gaming device.
In terms of videogames, most publishers opted to show off the titles that they will be launching late this year, with Medal of Honor and Call of Duty: Black Ops set to battle for the title of best selling game in 2010.