Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) held at the Los Angeles Convention center is the annual industry event where new products and technologies are unveiled. This is exciting stuff even for someone who isn't the stereotypical video game enthusiast--you know, the typical male spending hours in a fantasy world conquering militant enemies or reliving classic sports rivalries as a hall-of-fame athlete. E3 satisfies their hunger for new adventures and sparks an interest in a casual gamer like me.
I walked home with some free potato chips and magazines, and a whole lot of things to add to my wants list. The perks of E3 is having the opportunity to play games before the rest of the world gets their hands on it and chat with experts about their products.
E3 is dominated by action and shooter games, but there's also a huge portion of it dedicated to sports and family-oriented entertainment. Attendees can try out new games before they hit the market. Gamers give their thumbs up or down, share their feedback and influence the success of a game for its release.
Watching and playing demos at E3 has me buzzing about PlayStation Vita handheld with WiFi and 3G capabilities through AT&T and game titles such as Street Fighter X Tekken and Dance Central 2. I enjoy puzzles and adventure games, but I'm always up for a challenge, even if I have to expose my two left feet and less-than-great hand/eye coordination. You can never be too old or inexperienced for video games.
Street Fighter X Tekken has a brand new tag-team game play feature along with the blending of fighting styles of these two Capcom games. Fans of Street Fighter and Tekken games are in for a new arcade experience and can look forward to more characters.
Months ago after overcoming my stage fright, I became a fan of hands-free play on Kinect for Xbox 360, and I look forward to more songs and moves for Dance Central's next installment.
PlayStation's wireless stereo headset is the fancy alternative to the less expensive Bluetooth headset already on the market. This product to be released in the fall is good for those who want more intense sounds during gameplay and perhaps don't want to bother anyone else in the room with hours of gunfire. This would make a great gift for the gamer in your life or for yourself.
When it comes to choosing games, I'm an open book to most genres and it simply boils down to what's fun for me or what fits my mood. You can tell from my PlayStation Network profile that I haven't earned many virtual trophies for games I've been playing occasionally the last few months. This could all change if the right game comes along this year to suck me and get me into serious gamer mode.
Though E3 attendees are predominately male, there are many more female video game users out there. According to the Entertainment Software Assocation (the people who own and operate E3):
- Game players are 58% male and 48% female
- 72% of American households play video games
- Average video game player is 37 years old
- 33% of gamers say that playing computer or video games is their favorite entertainment activity
- 55% of gamers play games on their phones or handheld device
- 45% of parents play computer and video games with their children at least weekly, an increase from 36% in 2007
- Call of Duty: Black Ops ranks number one on the list of top 20 games of 2010 by units sold
For a better breakdown of video game demographics and consumer data, check out ESA's Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry 2011.
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