Giant Bomb @ E3 '11
Preparation
Day 00
Day 01
Day 02
- Bombcast - E3 2011 rages on. Special guests include John Drake, Eric Pope, Justin McElroy, Dan Teasdale, Michael Wilford, Carrie Gouskos, Dan Ryckert, Adam Boyes, Chris Charla, Dave Lang, Greg Kasavin, Greg Rice, Jenova Chen, John Vignocchi, Kraig Kujawa, Logan Cunningham, and Ulf Andersson.
- Day 02 Video - Avoid the weirdos outside South Hall and get the guy's opinions on EA, 2K, 3DS and other acronyms.
Day 03
- Bombcast - The GB crew closes out Electronic Three 2011 with a cavalcade of stars including Andrew Pfister, David Ellis, Shane Bettenhausen, Christian Nutt, Brian Ekberg, Chris Tilton, Emily Halpin, John Bellomy, Marcus Beer, Mark MacDonald, and Peter Bartholow.
- Day 03 Video - As the Electronic Three winds down, the guys discuss BioShock Infinite, Street Fighter X Tekken, Fable: The Journey, Halo Anniversary, BloodRayne, Aliens, Prey 2, and... Hulk Hogan.
Interviews
- BioShock Infinite - Jeff sits down to pick the brain of Ken Levine (Founder/Creative Director, Irrational Games) for a half hour.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Jeff tracks down Mark Rubin (Executive Producer, Infinity Ward) to talk about Spec Ops.
- The Darkness II - Ryan finds Tom Galt (Lead Designer, Digital Extremes) to tell us more about this sequel.
- Far Cry 3 - Brad learns the definition of insanity from Dan Hay (Creative Producer, Ubisoft Montreal).
- Prey 2 - Brad gets the raw details on this very different sequel from Chris Rhinehart (Project Lead, Human Head).
- Rage - Patrick snags a rare interview with the legendary John Carmack (Technical Director, id Software).
- Ridge Racer Unbounded - Jeff drops by the Namco Bandai booth to get the lowdown from Joonas Laasko (Producer, Bugbear).
- Tomb Raider - Ryan checks in with Kyle Peschel (Senior Producer, Square Enix) to discuss this Lara Croft reboot.
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Alex talks to Travis McIntosh (Lead Programmer, Naughty Dog) and Taylor Kurosaki (Cinematics Director) about the sequel to Giant Bomb's 2009 GOTY.
- XCOM - Ryan pins down Jonathan Pelling (Creative Director, 2K Marin) to find out why we haven't heard about XCOM in a year.
Press Conferences
Links to archives of all the press conferences can be found here.
Konami
June 2, 2011 - 5:00 PM PDT / 12:00 PM GMT (Pre-Recorded)
Shinji Hirano introduces Konami's lineup.- Shinji Hirano (President, Konami Digital Entertainment) welcomed viewers by thanking them for their support of Japan after the recent earthquakes. He announced that Hideo Kojima will be instructing young game designers at the University of Southern California in the Fall of 2011.
- Yoshikazu Matsuhana (Creative Producer) discussed the features of Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater unique to the 3DS and presented a new trailer.
- Shingo "Seabass" Takatsuka (Creative Producer) introduced the newest features of Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 which focuses on off-the-ball gameplay. A new trailer was shown.
- Shinta Nojiri (Producer) brought new footage of NeverDead from his development studio in Oxford, England. A new trailer was shown featuring music from Megadeth. Release date is this Winter.
- Tom Hewlett (Producer) introduced footage from the new upcoming movie, Silent Hill Revelation, being filmed in Toronto, Canada. Silent Hill Collection was announced, being an HD compilation of Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3. Silent Hill: Book of Memories was announced for the Sony NGP. A new gameplay trailer was shown for Silent Hill: Downpour, which is also slated for this Winter.
- Mark MacDonald (8-4 Ltd.) met with Hideo Kojima at Kojima Productions to discuss why the prolific developer would not be attending E3 2011.
- A Mega64 parody video was shown that announced Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Zone of the Enders HD Collection. Also introduced was Transfarring, which will allow players to transfer their save data between PS3 and PSP. The first game to use this feature is MGS Peace Walker, which is included in the MGS HD Collection.
- Hideo Kojima had no new footage of Metal Gear Solid: Rising, but did confirm that it would still be released in 2012. Yoji Shinkawa spoke briefly about the art direction of the game.
- Hideo Kojima announced that his next project involves the development of a new engine called Fox Engine, which will allow for his team to develop simultaneously on multiple platforms.
- Shinji Hirano closed out the presentation by thanking everyone for watching. At the very end of the show, a teaser was shown featuring the Contra "C" and a tag line of "They're Coming."
Microsoft
June 6, 2011 - 9:30 AM PDT / 4:30 PM GMT
Microsoft Press Conference- The Xbox Global Media Briefing began with new gameplay of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 presented by Robert Bowling (Creative Strategist, Infinity Ward) and Glen Schofield (General Manager/Co-Founder, Sledgehammer Games).
- Don Mattrick (Senior VP of Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft) took the stage to briefly explain the the major topics they would address at this briefing concerning what's next for Xbox.
- Daniel Neuburger and Darrell Gallagher (Crystal Dynamics) presented new gameplay of Tomb Raider coming in Fall 2012.
- Peter Moore (President, EA Sports) announced Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Madden NFL, FIFA, and one unannounced title will support Kinect with their next installments.
- Dr. Ray Muzyka (CEO/Co-Founder, BioWare) took the stage to announce that Mass Effect 3 will use voice recognition via Kinect. A live demonstration of a conversation between Shepard and Mordin. A separate demonstration showed how voice commands can be used to maneuver your allies in battle.
- A new trailer for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier was shown. Yves Guillemot (President, Ubisoft) announced that Ghost Recon, and all future Tom Clancy's games, would also support Kinect. A live demonstration of "Gunsmith" was shown, which will allow players to modify every piece of their gun via gestures and voice commands.
- Marc Whitten (General Manager of Xbox Live, Microsoft) presented an all new Xbox 360 dashboard using Kinect. He announced YouTube will be coming to Xbox 360 soon. Bing will soon be integrated into the dashboard to allow you to use your voice to search through your game collection, Hulu, Netflix, Xbox Marketplace, and more all at once. Marc Whitten also announced live television coming to Xbox 360 with worldwide partners this Fall.
- Dana White (President, UFC) delivered a trailer to announce UFC content coming to Xbox Live this Holiday.
- Phil Spencer (Corporate VP, Microsoft) introduced a a trailer for Gears of War 3.
- Cliff Bleszinski (Lead Designer, Epic Games) took the stage with Ice-T for a live, co-op presentation of Gears of War 3. Ice-T announced that Body Count would be doing a song about Horde Mode.
- A trailer for Ryse from Crytek was shown that featured Kinect motion controls.
- A trailer for Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary was shown featuring online co-op and multiplayer coming November 15, 2011.
- Dan Greenawalt (Creative Director, Turn 10 Studios) presented a trailer for Forza Motorsport 4 featuring voice recognition and head-tracking via Kinect.
- Peter Molyneux (Creative Director, Lionhead Studios) came on stage to announce Fable: The Journey. A live demo was presented using Kinect.
- Phil Spencer came back on stage to announce that Minecraft is coming to Xbox 360 with Kinect support.
- Kinect Disneyland Adventures was announced, which features the entire park and other various minigames coming Fall 2011.
- Kinect Star Wars was announced via a video presentation that featured lightsaber battles, pod racing, space battles, and more. A live, on stage demo was presented as well.
- Tim Schafer (President, Double Fine Productions) presented Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster coming in Fall 2011. A live demonstration using Kinect was shown as well.
- Kudo Tsunoda (Kinect Creative Director, Microsoft) announced Kinect Fun Labs, a place to test out new Kinect features including finger tracking, object scanning/capture, the ability to use the camera to create your Avatar. Kinect Fun Labs is available immediately.
- Nicole Makila (Producer) announced Kinect Sports Season Two featuring darts, golf, skiing, tennis, football, and more coming this Holiday.
- Kasson Crooker (Project Director, Harmonix) announced Dance Central 2 featuring co-op gameplay, voice control, and a campaign mode. All songs from the original Dance Central will be importable to the new game.
- Don Mattrick returned to the stage to recap the press conference and enforce that Xbox 360 is the ultimate home entertainment console. He then presented a teaser trailer for Halo 4, claiming it to be the dawn of a new trilogy coming Holiday 2012.
Electronic Arts
June 6, 2011 - 12:30 PM PDT / 7:30 PM GMT
- The EA press conference began with a trailer for Mass Effect 3 featuring the reapers invasion of Earth.
- Casey Hudson (Executive Producer, BioWare) announced Mass Effect 3 will be released March 6, 2012. A live gameplay demonstration of Shepard and his team fighting a reaper. A second trailer was shown as well.
- John Riccitiello (CEO, Electronic Arts) welcomed everyone and introduced the next installment in the Need for Speed franchise.
- Jason Delong (Senior Producer, Black Box) presented Need for Speed: The Run and announced it would use an enhanced version of Autolog. The game will also feature on-foot segments. A live demo was played featuring a car chase and on-foot rooftop chase.
- Dr. Greg Zeschuk (VP/Co-Founder, BioWare) presented a new cinematic trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic.
- Peter Moore (President, EA Sports) premiered a new cinematic trailer for SSX, which is coming January 2012. He touted the worldwide success of FIFA.
- Matt Bilbey (VP & GM of Football, EA Sports) introduced the new features for FIFA 12 including the new Player Impact Engine. He announced the EA Sports Football Club, which is a social application that accumulates achievements and statistics from players across all platforms.
- Ray Lewis (Linebacker, Baltimore Ravens), Payton Hillis (Running Back, Cleveland Browns), and Clay Matthews (Linebacker, Green Bay Packers) came on stage to introduce the new features of Madden NFL 12.
- John Riccitiello came back to announce The Sims: Social coming to Facebook.
- Curt Schilling took the stage to introduce Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning with a cinematic trailer.
- Ted Price (President/CEO, Insomniac Games) came on to debut Overstrike, the studio's first multiplatform title, with a cinematic trailer.
- Karl Magnus Troedsson (General Manager, DICE) presented a cinematic trailer for Battlefield 3. He also introduced a free social integration feature called Battlelog. A live demonstration of the game was shown as Troedsson left the stage. The game will arrive October 25, 2011.
Ubisoft
June 6, 2011 - 2:30 PM PDT / 9:30 PM GMT
- Yves Guillemot (CEO/Co-Founder, Ubisoft) welcomed the crowd by thanking them for 25 years of support.
- Michel Ancel (Ubisoft Montpellier) came on stage to present a live, co-op demonstration of Rayman Origins.
- Aaron Priceman came on stage to present a Driver: San Francisco cinematic trailer.
- Dan Hay (Producer, Ubisoft Montreal) and Jamie Keen (Lead Game Designer) presented the debut cinematic trailer for Far Cry 3.
- Randy Pitchford (CEO, Gearbox Software) came on stage to debut the cinematic trailer for Brothers in Arms: Furious 4.
- A video was shown featuring Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson talking about The Adventures of Tintin. A trailer for the game was shown as well.
- Tommy Jacob (Creative Director, Ubisoft Redstorm) and Roman Campos Oriola (Lead Game Designer, Ubisoft Paris) gave a live, co-op demo of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Tommy Jacob then presented a trailer for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online announcing that it will be free to play.
- Adrienne Pechere (Operating Director, Nadeo) and Anne Blondel-Jouin (Director, Nadeo Publishing) presented the debut trailer for Trackmania 2, which will release in September 2011. They also touched on ManiaPlanet which included Questmania and Shootmania.
- Antoine Henry (Game Designer, Ubisoft Paris) introduced Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking for Xbox 360 Kinect.
- Just Dance 3 was announced with a trailer featuring home videos from celebrities and other players.
- Tony Key (Senior VP of Marketing & Sales, Ubisoft San Francisco) presented a trailer for Rocksmith. He also announced Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 with a trailer.
- Alexandre Amancio (Creative Director, Ubisoft Montreal) and Martin Schelling (Producer, Ubisoft Montreal) took the stage to show the debut cinematic trailer for Assassin's Creed: Revelations. This was followed by a live gameplay demo featuring Ezio in Constantinople.
Sony
June 6, 2011 - 5:00 PM PDT / 12:00 AM GMT (June 7)
Sony Press Conference- A video montage was shown featuring all of Sony's products.
- Jack Tretton (President/CEO, SCEA) welcomed all the viewers and apologized to developers, retailers, and consumers for the recent PSN outage. He announced free access to Cinema Now coming soon.
- Evan Wells & Christophe Balestra (Co-CEO's, Naughty Dog) took the stage to give a live demo of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. The beta will begin June 28, 2011. A partnership with Subway will allow players to gain access to the full multiplayer component of the game early. A new cinematic trailer was shown as well.
- Marcus Smith (Insomniac Games) presented a live demo of Resistance 3 in 3D.
- God of War: Origins Collection featuring the two PSP titles remastered in HD was announced along with news that both it and the Shadow of the Colossus & ICO collection would be released in September 2011.
- PlayStation branded 3D televisions were announced featuring split screen based on viewing angle without having to divide the screen in half. This 24" monitor will come bundled with Resistance 3, one pair of 3D glasses, and a 6 ft HDMI cable for $499.99.
- Chris Snyder and Erick Boenisch (2K Sports) came out to present NBA 2K12 featuring "NBA on the Move," which utilizes PlayStation Move. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers joined them on the stage to give a live demonstration of this mode.
- Umrao Mayer (President, Zindagi Games) and Jeremy Ray (SCEA) announced Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest with a live demo.
- Jack Tretton introduced a cinematic trailer for inFamous 2 and announced that the user created functionality to the game will release this fall.
- In September, deeper PlayStation Move functionality will be added to LittleBigPlanet 2.
- Jack Tretton introduced a cinematic trailer for Starhawk coming from Sony's Santa Monica Studio and LightBox Interactive.
- Jack Tretton introduced a cinematic trailer for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time coming in 2012.
- Hilmar Petursson (CCP Games) announced Dust 514, a first-person shooter based in the Eve Online universe. The game is actually a part of Eve Online and is billed as the first true cross-platform experience. A short piece of gameplay was shown followed by a cinematic trailer. A beta will take place near the end of 2011, with release coming in Spring 2012.
- Jack Tretton introduced a new gameplay trailer for BioShock Infinite. Ken Levine (Creative Director, Irrational Games) came on stage to explain how PlayStation Move will be integrated into the game. He also announced there would be a BioShock game for the NGP. Those who buy BioShock Infinite on PS3, will get a copy of the original BioShock on the same Blu-ray disc.
- Jack Tretton announced that Saints Row: The Third and Star Trek will have Move functionality as well. A cinematic trailer for Star Trek was shown.
- Jack Tretton announced that SSX (Mt. Fuji), Need for Speed: The Run (extra cars), and Battlefield 3 (bundled with BF1943) will have PS3 exclusive content.
- Kazuo Hirai (President, Sony Corporation) announced PlayStation Suite, which will bring the PlayStation brand to other devices.
- Kazuo Hirai announced that the NGP will officially be known as PlayStation Vita. It will be available in 3G and WiFi models. Sony will partner with AT&T in North America.
- Scott Rohde (Senior VP, Sony Worldwide Studios) introduced John Garvin and Chris Reese (Sony Bend) who presented a live demonstration of Uncharted: Golden Abyss on PSVita.
- Travis Williams (Sony San Diego) took the stage to give a live demonstration of Ruin for PSVita.
- Erich Waas (Sony San Diego) came out to present a live demo of ModNation Racers for PSVita. Owners of the new game will have access to all of the user-created content from the original ModNation Racers.
- Scott Rohde announced that WipEout 2048 will have cross-platform play between PS3 and PSVita. He introduced a trailer for LittleBigPlanet for PSVita, and announced that user-generated content from the previous games will be available in the new game.
- A cinematic trailer for Street Fighter X Tekken cinematic trailer was shown. Yoshinori Ono (Capcom) announced that the game will also be coming to PSVita and feature Cole MacGrath from inFamous.
- A video montage was shown featuring many titles coming to PSVita.
- Kaz Hirai returned to announce that PSVita will release this year with the WiFi Only model at $249.99 and 3G/WiFi model for $299.99.
Nintendo
June 7, 2011 - 9:00 AM PDT / 4:00 PM GMT
Nintendo Press Conference- Nintendo began with a video montage of the 25 year history of the Zelda franchise accompanied by a full orchestra.
- Shigeru Miyamoto welcomed everyone and had the orchestra play several famous Zelda sound effects and songs.
- Miyamoto announced The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening as the first Game Boy Color game available on the 3DS eShop.
- Miyamoto introduced many of the new features in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, arriving next week.
- Miyamoto announced The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords coming to DSiWare in October 2011 as a free download.
- The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony will be touring the world in Fall 2011. A CD will be released along with Skyward Sword.
- An Ocarina of Time soundtrack CD will be gifted to those who register The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D on Club Nintendo.
- Satoru Iwata (President) introduced a montage of franchises coming to 3DS including Mario Kart, Star Fox, Mario Bros., Kid Icarus, and Luigi's Mansion.
- Reggie Fils-Aime (President, Nintendo of America) presented a gameplay trailer for Mario Kart 3DS coming Holiday 2011.
- Reggie introduced the multiple controls schemes and new features of Star Fox 64 3D coming September 2011.
- Reggie debuted the first gameplay footage for Super Mario 3D coming in 2011.
- Reggie introduced a new trailer for Kid Icarus: Uprising, which featured 3-on-3 multiplayer and augmented reality cards.
- Reggie debuted the first trailer for Luigi's Mansion 2 on 3DS, which will feature several mansions to explore.
- A montage of upcoming 3DS games was shown including Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, Mario & Sonic at the 2012 London Olympic Games, Ace Combat 3D, Tetris, Cave Story 3D, Resident Evil: Revelations, Driver: Renegade, Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions, Tekken 3D, and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D.
- 3D Classic Excitebike was announced as a free download in the 3DS eShop.
- Pokédex 3D was announced for 3DS in the eShop. The pokédex comes with 16 Pokémon, while the others must be found or earned by trading with other players or from special AR markers.
- Reggie announced that Nintendo's next console would be known as Wii U and introduced the controller, which will allow players to switch from displaying the game on the TV to the controller's built-in 6.2" screen. The controller will have many functions.
- Satoru Iwata returned to confirm that Wii U will be backwards compatible with all Wii Remotes, Wii Balance Board, and other accessories. The Wii U controller has rumble feedback, accelerometer, microphone, speaker, gyroscope, and touch screen capabilities.
- Satoru Iwata announced that Masahiro Sakurai is working on a new Smash Bros. game for 3DS and Wii U.
- Reggie Fils-Aime returned to announce new titles for Wii U including New Super Mario Bros. Mii and LEGO City Stories.
- A video was shown featuring various developers discussing the possibilities of Wii U.
- Darksiders II, Dirt, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online, Metro: Last Light, Tekken, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, and Batman: Arkham City were all announced as coming to Wii U.
- John Riccitiello (CEO, Electronic Arts) came on stage to talk about the potential of EA's franchises on Wii U.
- Reggie Fils-Aime closed the show by thanking everyone.
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.
Nominees for the 2011 Game Critics Awards were announced on June 21.
BioShock Infinite and Batman: Arkham City led the game nominations with four each, while EA and Sony led all companies nominated with fourteen.
BEST OF SHOW
BioShock InfiniteBioShock Infinite - Irrational Games / 2K Games
BEST ORIGINAL GAME
BioShock Infinite - Irrational Games / 2K Games
BEST CONSOLE GAME
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda
BEST HANDHELD / MOBILE GAME
Sound Shapes - Queasy Games / SCEA
BEST PC GAME
BioShock Infinite - Irrational Games / 2K Games
BEST HARDWARE
PlayStation Vita - Sony Computer Entertainment
BEST ACTION GAME
Battlefield 3 - DICE / Electronic Arts
BEST ACTION / ADVENTURE GAME
BioShock Infinite - Irrational Games / 2K Games
BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME
Bastion - Supergiant Games / WB Games
BEST FIGHTING GAME
Street FIghter X Tekken - Capcom / Capcom
BEST MOTION SIMULATION GAME
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Nintendo EAD / Nintendo
BEST ONLINE MULTIPLAYER GAME
Battlefield 3 - DICE / Electronic Arts
BEST RACING GAME
Forza Motorsport 4 - Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios
BEST ROLE PLAYING GAME
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Bethesda Game Studios / Bethesda
BEST SOCIAL / CASUAL GAME
Sound Shapes - Queasy Games / SCEA
BEST SPORTS GAME
FIFA 12 - EA Canada / Electronic Arts
BEST STRATEGY GAME
From Dust - Ubisoft Montpellier / Ubisoft
Exhibitors
Over 200 exhibitors are set to converge on the Los Angeles Convention Center for the seventeenth annual E3.
- O-Games Inc.
- OnLive, Inc.
- Optoma Technology, Inc.
- Orbotix Inc.
- Ozhill Studio
- Video Game Voters Network
- Virtuos
- Voxler
Venue
West Hall (left) and Staples Center (right)- This may be the last E3 held in the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) for a couple years. AEG Worldwide, the company that owns the Staples Center, which is located right next to the LACC, is currently in negotiations with the city of Los Angeles to build a brand new stadium in downtown. The current plan would be to tear down West Hall, which is traditionally where Nintendo and Sony's massive booths are held. West Hall is the oldest portion of the LACC. Once removed, AEG proposes building a multipurpose, $800 million, 75,000 seat stadium in its place. The new stadium's main purpose would be to bring the NFL back to the city for the first time since 1995, but could also be used for other sporting events, concerts, and conventions such as E3. AEG's CEO Tim Leiweke expects a deal to be approved by the city in early 2011 and the stadium to be completed in time for the 2015 NFL season and Super Bowl L. Depending upon how quickly construction begins, E3 may need a new home between 2012 and 2015.
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