When the Electronic Entertainment Expo—popularly known as E3—wrapped Thursday at the Los Angeles Convention Center, 48,200 video game industry professionals, investor analysts, journalists, and retailers from 102 countries had come for the annual gaming-industry-only pilgrimage to California. Owned by the Entertainment Software Association, the show is a huge boon to Los Angeles—accounting for about 28,000 hotel room nights and $40 million in revenue generated for the city.
Inside the convention hall, about 230 exhibitors hawked their wares among big, buzzy booths—swirling with costumed characters and the controversial so-called booth babes. On and off the show floor, the events and exhibits demonstrated top technology, design, and special effects.
Here’s a look inside some of the biggest events and exhibits related to E3.
A surprise performance came from the iLuminate Dance Troupe, which ended with Alienware C.M.O. Neil Hand emerging from the dark in a lit-up LED suit to address the crowd. Neil then introduced and unveiled Alienware’s three new gaming laptops. Following his speech, guests were granted access, according to their colored badges, to the Alienware “chamber” to test out the three new pieces of hardware. At the end of the evening, three raffle winners took home one of the three new Alienware laptops.
The Xbox E3 2013 Media Briefing was held at the Galen Center with more than 4,300 attendees—including broadcast, print, and online press, partners, developers, and fans. The program was broadcast live and commercial-free on Spike TV, as well as streamed online and through the Xbox console via Xbox Live. Zed Ink was the brand’s experiential marketing agency executing on all creative and production for the event, collaborating with the Xbox Global Marcom team, led by Mark Harper, Craig McNary, and Beth Honebrink.
Microsoft executives presented content and announcements, while developers from Microsoft Studios, EA, Capcom, Respawn Entertainment, and other studios got a first look at demos, videos, and new developments in gaming that will be available on Xbox One and Xbox 360 for the first time. Highlights included announcing the new Xbox 360 console and a major reveal of the rare McLaren P1 emerging from the stage for the Forza 5 demo and reveal of its cover car.
At the center of Zed Ink's scenic design was a 35-foot-wide high-definition projection screen, flanked by two additional HD screens for a total of 72 feet of projection surface. Three lower screens provided dynamic and animated backgrounds for presenters.
The HD environment was made up of nearly 20,500,000 pixels and more than a terabyte of custom animations.
The E313 Best of Xbox Showcase transformed Vibiana, the former cathedral downtown, for a night of hands-on gameplay, demos, and sneak peeks of new and upcoming games for Xbox One and Xbox 360. The event drew gamers and media to the venue, which was bathed in green light, for a first opportunity to play games on the new Xbox One console, as well as try new titles for the Xbox 360, Windows Phone, and Surface. Zed Ink handled production.
The 43 game stations were organized into suites where developers, artists, and producers were on hand to provide tips and info on what the public can expect in November. The 130-year-old space was turned into a high-tech venue with a mile of power cable and more than 600 lighting instruments—all done with more than 2,000 man-hours of labor.
The exterior garden included a 770-square-foot wall projection. Introduced by Microsoft Game Studios vice president Phil Spencer, a surprise performance by the Shins capped off the evening.
Less than 24 hours later, the same venue, Vibiana, turned into a car-culture space to showcase Forza 5. Zed Ink was the experiential marketing agency executing on all creative and production for the event, partnering with April McKee, Beth Honebrink, and Mark Harper from the Xbox Global Marcom team.
More than $1.5 million worth of vehicles was brought in and displayed for the event.
In attendance were two Indy 500 winners, Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon. Firestone Indy Lights champion, Josef Newgarden, gave Forza 5 creative director Dan Greenawalt a ride to the party in his IndyCar two-seater for extra drama. Chris Hemsworth, star of the upcoming Universal movie Rush, joined the party, and guests got a peek behind the scenes of the movie.
To kick off E3, Alienware celebrated with an over-the-top event at a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles Monday evening. On arrival, guests scooped up different colored badges and were escorted up a staircase and through the “Museum of Alienware.” The museum, created to showcase the history of the Alienware brand, took guests on a journey from the company’s birth in 1996 and continued through to present day, displaying flagship products of the past. The Projects worked with Lindsey Weinstein to produce the event.
Guests could explore a museum-like passage, showcasing the first Alienware major milestone beginning in 1996 and leading all the way to present day.
Guests next crossed into a large freight elevator where they were taken on a short ride down into the main event space, designed to evoke the idea of bridging the gap between where the brand has been in the past and where it is going tomorrow. As the elevator gates raised, guests witnessed the warehouse come to life, illuminated by lasers and projection mapping. New York-based DJ Vito Fun spun upbeat tunes.
Guests had the opportunity to test out their favorite games as well as anticipated releases like Saint's Row IV amongst 19 different X51 Alienware gaming stations. There were snacks like mini sliders, tacos, and grilled cheese, Tito’s vodka cocktails, and ice cream creations provided by Ice Cream Lab.
Brand initiatives started even outside the Los Angeles Convention Center for many brands, such as Xbox, which brought a tank and costumed military personnel—including sexed-up female ones, in keeping with the expo's controversial (but far from uncommon) use of so-called booth babes.
Disney’s booth at this year’s E3 invited guests to step into the world of Disney Infinity and experience the new platforms. Cinderella’s castle and monster truck coach straight from the game’s Toy Box mode stood sentry in the center of the pavilion.
At Disney’s booth on the show floor, attendees had the opportunity to create custom T-shirts with artwork from the game and also go home with interactive figures from the game from a vending machine activation three months before the pieces hit stores. Guests could also experience Disney Infinity at a variety of demo stations throughout the booth.
Disney also had a theater to showcase Fantasia: Music Evolved, a new project coming from Disney Interactive and Harmonix. Within the space, attendees witnessed a 20-minute demonstration of the new game for Xbox One and Kinect for Xbox 360 and were able to demo the game in two recording-studio-themed rooms.
Nintendo's whimsical and colorful exhibit on the show floor included multiple photo ops and costumed characters that proved to be crowd-pleasers.
Respawn Entertainment garnered major attention for its walking exhibit, in the form of a guy who works on its game, Titanfall. He walked the show floor in a dramatic logo Mohawk—that also glowed in the dark. (A buddy walked behind with a black-light flashlight to activate the effect.)
Gaming audio company Turtle Beach unveiled its new gaming headsets at E3 in an exhibit where a giant pair of headphones served as the centerpiece. Ignited was the agency behind the booth.
E3 is full of brand-new and notable—and extremely high-tech—exhibits, but one exhibit on the show floor took a more retro approach. At the Video Game History Museum exhibit, attendees sat on a vintage couch playing a decidedly low-tech Atari—under a banner that was a far cry from the show's no-holds-barred modern exhibits.
Zombies interacted with attendees in Capcom's creepy E3 exhibit.
Activision Blizzard's dramatic E3 exhibit included massive screens in a theater-in-the-round setup.
A model war plane served as a projection surface at the 10,000-square-foot Wargaming exhibit.
At EA's exhibit, tweets went to high-definition screens in real time.
Live dancers punched up the exhibit for the dancing game Music Soul.
Warner Brothers Interactive Games' exhibit included a towering replica of the studio's Burbank tower.
Sony's Playstation 4 got top buzz at E3, and its exhibit included round-edged shelters piped in colorful light.
Another race car appeared on the show floor for Xbox One's Forza 5.
At E3, nothing is off-limits for branding and signage, including the staircase at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
