Overview
While many were in favor of the ESA's decision to downsize
E3, the
2007 show was not what people expected. In an effort to improve the show, yet keep it smaller, the 2008 show returned to the Los Angeles Convention Center. Rather than spreading football field size booths throughout the various halls of the venue, the show was confined a single hall and each booth was constructed to be identical to the rest in layout. Many attendees described the event as carrying an odd vibe considering it was in the old home of E3, yet scaled way back. Some thought it was rather depressing seeing what E3 had become while shows like Leipzig and
Tokyo Game Show still flourished on a large scale.
Microsoft came to the show with the
New Xbox Experience, which was a complete overhaul of the
Xbox 360 dashboard. They touted it as the first ever relaunch of a console. Within the new interface were many new features including Netflix, avatars, and
Primetime game shows.
Gears of War 2 was the big title for Microsoft this year, but there was also time dedicated to
Fable II,
Fallout 3,
Lips, and
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.
Halo 3 Recon was conspicuously absent, and was later revealed to have been pulled at the last minute and held for a later event. Microsoft closed their show with the announcement that
Final Fantasy XIII would be coming to Xbox 360.
Nintendo's press conference was a hot topic of discussion among attendees. The most popular comment was that, in their immense success with the
Wii, Nintendo had forgotten about their true fans and core gamers.
Reggie Fils-Aime was no longer the ass-kickin', name-takin', game makin' "Reggienator" from a few years before. Now, he and the newly introduced
Cammie Dunaway were all about smiles; a catchphrase they tried to express many times throughout the presentation. The Big N did announce Wii Motion Plus at this event, along with
Wii Sports Resort. They also had
Wii Music and
Animal Crossing: City Folk, which would come bundled with
Wii Speak. And there was also an announcement for a
DS exclusive
Grand Theft Auto title known as
Chinatown Wars. The Nintendo press conference was widely considered as an utter failure.
Sony's showcase was warmly received by most attendees thanks in part to a clever use of
LittleBigPlanet to guide
Jack Tretton through the usually boring sales numbers and financial segment. Exclusive blockbuster titles like
Resistance 2,
Killzone 2,
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, and
inFamous received stage demonstrations, while
God of War III was officially announced via a short trailer. Sony closed their show with a trailer for
MAG, a 256-player shooter from the creators of
SOCOM.
E3 2008 may have been small in size, but it was not short on games. Notable huge titles such as
Mirror's Edge,
Dead Space,
Resident Evil 5,
Street Fighter IV,
Prince of Persia,
Rock Band 2,
Far Cry 2,
Left 4 Dead, and
Call of Duty: World at War were on display. And there were hidden gems like
Fat Princess,
de Blob,
Braid,
Pure, and
Flower.
Games of the Show
The games listed below not only include those playable on the show floor, but any game referenced at the show. This would include video presentations, announcements, advertisements, or any other official reference to the game from its developer, publisher, or platform. They are listed mainly according to the publisher of the game, with a few exceptions where the publisher did not attend the show. An example of this would be a hardware company such as Nintendo or nVidia showing a game not developed or published by them. In several situtations, games either changed their title or even their publisher before they were released. For historical accuracy in chronicling E3, such games will be listed with their original names and publishers, and linked to the corresponding page of the final game.
Game Critics Awards
The Game Critics Awards are decided by an independent group of North American media outlets. They have selected the most promising games of each
Electronic Entertainment Expo since
1998, and have thus become recognized as the most respected "Best of" awards that come out of the annual show. Games qualify for nomination by having hands-on playable versions of the game at the show. For more information, see the Game Critics Awards page.
Best of Show - 2008 BEST OF SHOWFallout 3 (
PS3/
X360/
PC) -
Bethesda Softworks BEST ORIGINAL GAME Mirror's Edge (
PS3/
X360/
PC) -
DICE /
Electronic Arts BEST CONSOLE GAME LittleBigPlanet (
PS3) -
Media Molecule /
Sony Computer Entertainment 
Best Console GameBEST PC GAME Spore -
Maxis /
Electronic Arts BEST HANDHELD GAME Resistance: Retribution (
PSP) -
Sony Bend /
Sony Computer Entertainment BEST HARDWARE/PERIPHERAL Rock Band 2 Ion Drum Rocker (
X360) - ION Audio /
MTV Games 
Best ActionBEST ACTION GAME Gears of War 2 (
X360) -
Epic Games /
Microsoft BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE GAME Dead Space (
PS3/
X360/
PC) -
EA Redwood Shores /
Electronic Arts BEST ROLE PLAYING GAME Fallout 3 (
PS3/
X360/
PC) -
Bethesda Softworks Best Racing BEST RACING GAME Pure (
PS3/
X360/
PC) -
Black Rock /
Disney Interactive Studios BEST SPORTS GAME Madden NFL 09 (All) -
EA Tiburon /
Electronic Arts BEST FIGHTING GAME Street Fighter IV (
ARC) -
Capcom Best Fighting BEST STRATEGY GAME Tom Clancy's EndWar (
PS3/
X360) -
Ubisoft Shanghai /
Ubisoft BEST SOCIAL/CASUAL/PUZZLE LittleBigPlanet (
PS3) -
Media Molecule /
Sony Computer Entertainment BEST ONLINE MULTIPLAYER Left 4 Dead (
X360/
PC) -
Valve /
Electronic Arts
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