Ricardo's Clean Suitcase
What can I say? E3 is and was a unique and certainly an awesome experience. This was my first time attending E3 so I didn't know what to expect nor did I really have any expectations. So, here we go...
Monday, May 16: Are We There Yet?
I left Miami, Florida at 1:40pm. The flight to L.A. wasn't too bad. I was more worried about the landing than the takeoff. Ironically, the landing was very smooth while the takeoff that had me clawing and grasping at my armrests and at seat in front of me. Those brief moments of emptiness you feel as the plane gets altitude are killer. I hadn't flown in over nine years and my last flight wasn't very pleasant to say the least. I'm also not fond of heights. In other words, I was seriously in doubts of not going to E3 all together since I would have to fly. But in the end, the grueling five and a half hours to L.A. and back in the air were well worth it.
I was originally going to get a flight in the early morning but decided to go with a later flight seeing as I would be there before most of the staffers. Now, with the later flight instead of arriving too early I would arrive too late since most of the staffers would have had to have waited over five hours for me. I was going to be arriving to LAX, alone. Though, I had spoken with Glen Bayer online the prior day and told me not to worry that he would be at the airport when I arrived. Little did I know that it would all be lies. Lies!
I arrived at Los Angeles at 4:40pm. As I made my way to Terminal 2, which was where everyone agreed to meet for those that arrived earlier I realized I didn't remember what Glen looked like. As I walked up and down Terminal 2 I wondered who around me could have been Glen or a N-Sider staffer.
By 5:15pm I grew tired and just took a cab to the hotel. That was my first time riding in a cab and never in my wildest dreams would I have dreamt that taking one would have been so expensive. Watching that meter rise steadily for twenty minutes was very, very agonizing. It was also comforting when my cab driver warned me not to go out at night around the area because its not safe. Wheee!
After finding the hotel and rooms and getting our introductions out of the way everyone decided to have dinner at a Thai restaurant across the street. I didn't order anything since I wasn't hungry so I sat there watching everyone stuff their faces and trying to remember what everyone's names were. Heh.
After everyone's appetites had been appeased we decided to play some video games, or rather a video game, Super Smash Bros. Melee. Though, since the majority of us were tired we didn't play for very long.
Tuesday, May 17: And So It Begins
The Big Day, Nintendo's Press Conference. As I waited there in line with my fellow staffers outside of the Kodak Theater to get our tickets I really, really wished I had brought my DS along with me. I left mine back at the hotel because I didn't feel like carrying it. Everyone around me, and I literally mean everyone around were Pictochatting with their DS.
After getting our tickets we made our way to the entrance where the conference was going to be held. I'm not much of a make-my-way-through-a-crowd person, so I got separated from the group. As I waited there in the crowd there was, whom I think were Germans, to the right of me. The one that was directly next to me was smoking and smelled a bit. But then again he and the vast majority of the people there were in dressy attire and it was quite warm that morning. So the smell is forgivable, still quite unpleasant standing in that crowd. Luckily, the Japanese gentleman in front of me was playing Nintendogs, so I at least had some entertainment.
After what seemed like an eternity waiting in that smelly and ever-increasing hot crowd, we were eventually allowed to enter. I thought I was going to end up with a crappy seat somewhere in the back since I had no clue where everyone else was. But as it turns out some of the staffers were able to get in early and snag great seats near the front for all of us.
By now most of you have probably already seen videos or read about the conference so I wont bore you through the events. Though, Satoru Iwata's comments about kicking Reggie's ass and taking his name in Super Smash Bros. Melee was quite funny. Again, the highlight of this years conference was the trailer from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I'm sure everyone got goose bumps or chills while watching it, I know I did. Being able to watch the trailer on that huge screen was awesome. Words can't explain it.
After the conference came to an end we made our way to the floor below where we would exchange the tickets we had been given earlier for the Nintendo Press Kits. Lucky enough I had been given two tickets by mistake, thus I was able to get two press kits. Most of us were hungry we so we ventured to some of the places across the street but not before we would have our encounter with a celebrity, Adam Sandler. He was there in front of the Chinese Theater promoting his new film, The Longest Yard.
Anyways, we ate at some pizza joint right across the street from the Kodak Theater. I've never seen a pizza so large in my life. Seriously, it was probably 25 inches in diameter if not more. Afterwards we had some errands to do, picking up our tickets for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith at the Arclight Theater and our badge holders for E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. We eventually returned to the hotel where we proceeded to play some more SSB:M among other games.
At around 6pm or so we went to what I think was the northern side of downtown, not sure though. In any case, we were surrounded by tall buildings and had ater at Denny's a.k.a. Chez Denny's as it became known as from E3 2000. After feasting on that glorious and fancy meal we headed back to the hotel where we naturally played some more SSB:M.
Wednesday, May 18: Gotta Get Da Swag
The first day of E3. When we arrived at the L.A. Convention Center we attended the media briefing by Douglas Lowenstein, the president of the ESA (Entertainment Software Association). While we waited for it to get started most of the staffers, myself included, popped out our DS systems and started playing Daigasso! Band Brothers. But I think I played for about three minutes before I realized our playing was pretty loud and bad for that matter. I mean, there we were surrounded by people in suits and people much older than us and were there in regular attire playing. Its pretty funny now that I think about it but at the time I was nervous and decided not to play. Heh.
After the briefing all of us from N-Sider got in line for the complimentary media breakfast. But since power at the convention center had been lost, getting everyone fed was taking forever. Eventually some of the staffers got tired of waiting in line. Some decided to go to the media center while others decided to get in line for the show floor. After what seemed like hours of waiting they told us they had ran out of food and they would give us vouchers for food at the food court.
By now the show floor had already opened. I was waiting in line with two fellow staffers, Mark Medina and Glen Bayer. Together we headed to the South Hall first since it was the closest. Once there Mark wanted to see the Microsoft Booth, so we went there first. After walking around for a bit in the South Hall I somehow got separated from Mark and Glen and decided to make my way to the West Hall, where Nintendo's booth was located. On my way there, I met up again with Mark and Glen. Though, they didn't notice I was behind them. I just kept walking behind them without saying anything. After a couple minutes I just cut into the conversation to their surprise. They thought I had been forever lost to the E3 crowd. Heh.
I basically spent the entire first day of E3 in Nintendo's booth. And a good amount of that time was spent played Mario Kart DS. There were eight DS units wirelessly connected playing MKDS. If you played the game you were given a Mario Kart stylus. But only if you won the race were you given one of those tiny remote control karts of either Mario or Yoshi.
I think it was at about my 12th attempt or so at playing MKDS that I finally was able to get first place. I was literally going to go crazy if I hadn't won. I had basically been in the lead for most of the races and then at the very end Id get bombarded by shells and lose. Then when it wasn't the shells Id get Bowser or Donkey Kong (who which I got for four races in a row). Once I fell behind with one of those guys I really needed to be lucky with the items I got in order to catch up again. Mark on the other hand won on his first attempt and kept doing so for most of the day. By the end he had six or so of those remote control karts. We all hated Mark for being so good.
Throughout the day you were guaranteed to find at least one of the staffers playing MKDS trying to win. Everyone was determined to win at least once. Somewhere around my eighteenth attempt I won for a second time and the funny thing was that it was on the same course with the same character: Peach on the beach. I really must say that I love the fact that Nintendo brought back the triple-shells-revolve-around and the multiple bananas that trail behind you.
Sometime close to mid-day, Josh Langley, Glen and myself ran into each other next to the display of the Game Boy Micro which is almost directly in front of the entrance to the meeting rooms in the back. As we hung around there we noticed more and more important Japanese looking people in suits. It was quite funny as Josh tried to inconspicuously get shots of their faces and badges with his video camera. Then at one point, we were completely surrounded by Japanese people in suits. Glen and I had our laughs at Josh's expense while he tried to get more shots of people. Josh is going to make a great spy one day.
I didn't do much for the remainder of the day on the show floor. I just walked around Nintendo's booth, played a game there or two, and collected swag. After returning to the hotel we played some more SSBM, went out to eat, played some more SSBM and lastly hit the sack.
Thursday, May 19: Run Forrest! Run!
The second day of E3. Today I basically went all over the place while at E3. Though, for the love of God I could not find Eidos booth. It was located in one of the halls which I was not able to find even with the map.
I spent the whole day going back and forth between the West Hall (Sony, Nintendo, others) and the South Hall (Microsoft, others).
The only notable event that happened to me that day was that I beat Charles Martinet at MKDS. It was just my luck that I had gotten Bowser but I managed to win since I was using the map of the course displayed on the bottom screen of the DS effectively. Whenever there was someone getting close behind me Id just throw a shell or a banana behind and get them every time. MKDS is awesome and I cant wait until its released.
Since we were going to go see Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith which was at 5:15pm, we had to leave the Convention Center early. We had planned to meet up at the Media Center at 3:30pm. But since it was several of us, it took a while for us to get together and leave the convention center. But before we could go to the theater we had to stop by the hotel to drop off our swag bags and other things. We took a bit longer than expected and ended up leaving the hotel for the subway around 4:30pm.
As we were buying our tickets for the subway a bum appeared out of nowhere asking us to buy his subway ticket for a dollar rather than the three dollars neeed to purchase from the machine. I was able to get my ticket quickly but some of the others were having trouble with the machines -- some didn't have exact change while others were being hassled by the bum.
As the others were still purchasing their tickets Dean, Amanda (Deans girlfriend) and myself decided to go on ahead downstairs to the subway. But as we were going down the stairs we could hear off in the distance that the subway train was approaching. We hurried down the stairs and were really worried that the rest of the group wasn't going to make it. As we could feel and hear the subway getting closer I decided to run back up stairs and see what was taking everyone else so long. As I reached the top of the stairs I saw Adrian DeHerrera (new staffer) running towards the stairs on the other side but abruptly turn around and run back the other way.
By then the subway train was only a few feet away, so I turned around and ran back down the stairs and got in. Dean was pretty upset saying it was their fault for taking so long. I felt bad for leaving them behind but I didn't want to miss the movie. As we rode on the subway in silence Dean all of a sudden realized that we had missed our stop and the subway train we were on was going to a dead end. That's instant karma right there for ya, huh? Heh. So what we needed to do was that, at the next stop we would get on the subway going back and at the previous station we would able to catch another subway, going the correct way.
As we reached the stop the subway going the other way was already there. It was truly agonizing waiting for the subway to come to a complete halt for the doors to open. Finally, as the doors were opening on our cart the doors on the subway train across from us were just closing. Dean somehow called upon the powers of the Speed Force and bolted like The Flash. This was all going in slow motion for me now. As I was running behind I noticed I was falling behind so I kicked up a gear and started to catch up. I've never ran so fast in my life. Dean just barely made it, jamming his foot between the doors preventing them from closing. I was only a foot or two away from Dean when I slowed down and slid and started to fall backwards. As I began to see the ceiling and the lights above I somehow regained my balance. I swear, my back went horizontal with the ground. I really don't know how I didn't fall.
When we made it to the previous stop we only had to wait a minute or two before the subway arrived. We figured that the rest of the guys would be in that subway train but as it went by us we didn't see them. It turns out they were in the last cart and we had boarded the third to last cart. Heh. Anyways, as we finally came to the right stop we all bolted from the subway carts. To the surprise of the rest of the group seeing us run out of the same subway train, knowing well we had boarded another subway earlier, was somewhat of a surreal feeling for them.
From the subway station we all ran to the theater. Some faster than others, it seems Dean isn't the only one that can use the powers of Speed Force. Justin arrived at the theater before all of us. But that's because he used to have track in school. Cheater.
I kind of lagged behind, I'm not much of a runner. Heh. In the end we all got there on time, with a minute to spare technically, 5:14pm to be exact. But even after the movie started which was at 5:15pm we would have had till 5:30pm to arrive before no one was allowed to enter. Which would have been nice to know before hand so we wouldn't have had to rush.
After the movie we decided to eat at some diner in Hollywood. The place was alright, expensive though. An action packed day finally came to a close.
Friday, May 20: Itsa Me!
Third and last day of E3. I walked all over the place again just to see what swag I hadn't acquired yet. But once again I spent most of the day in Nintendo's booth. My main assignment while at E3 was to do a detailed layout of Nintendo's booth. I had managed to get some of it done during the previous day but spent the last day completing my drawings.
I actually didn't play that many games while I was there to my surprise. I really thought I was going to be playing every game I could get my hands on. But, once you're there you really don't feel like playing, at least not there on the show floor. You're content with just watching the majority of the time, for me at least.
Though, there was one game I really wanted to try out. I'm sure most of you can guess which it was, The Legend of Zelda. It was already the last day of E3 and I still hadn't played it. The previous day when I was able to get into the Zelda booth I was more concerned with getting my free shirt that I ended up exiting, since they give you the shirt near the exit and the booth babes there wouldn't let me go back. Though, this second time around I stayed clear from the exit. Heh. I spent probably a good two hours in there watching and sketching out the booth. But even with my chance to play the game till my hearts content I only ended up playing no more than fifteen minutes. Once again I really didn't feel like playing for some reason. The brief time I played was enough to keep me content till the year's end.
Throughout the course of the three days I had been on the lookout for anyone important/famous. When I finally did have such an encounter, I went right by the person not even realizing it. It wasn't after I was a couple of feet away that I was like, "Wait a sec - was that...?" It was Charles Martinet, (he does the voices for Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, etc.). I got him to sign a drawing of Mario and Luigi I had drawn and nabbed a picture with him too. The shirt he was wearing was out of this world. I wish I owned one.
Shortly after my run-in with Charles Martinet I ran into Mark. We decided to play some more MKDS, but by now the booth babes there recognized Mark and wouldn't give him any more remote control karts. Heh. After a bit of MKDS we decided to hit it up with a bit of Super Mario Strikers. That game absolutely rocks! The first match between Mark and I was probably over fifteen minutes. Neither of us were scoring a goal. We just kept blocking each other back and forth. The entirety of the match was almost like that. Then, Mark struck a goal. I said to him, "I hate you." Seconds shortly after the game resumed I scored a goal but as fast as I had scored, Mark scored his second goal even faster winning the match. I demanded a rematch but as we started our second match the game froze. I tried caressing the GameCube but it didn't work. Mark tried kicking it but that didn't work either. We then proceeded to leave the scene quickly.
Mark and I kept walking around Nintendo's booth talking about our strategy for snagging swag when the booth babes would start hurling it at people. Since it was the last day, the show floor closed early, 4:30pm. There was still an hour left but you could already feel it getting hectic. In the end, we only ended up getting another Pokémon plush doll.
When we returned to the hotel (Mark joined us this time) we proceeded to play SSBM and a couple other games. Everyone put up a good fight, notably Adrian, Ben (Deans friend), Glen and myself. We also played a bit of Mario Power Tennis. Mark and I played a couple matches. Once again the ball was just going back and forth. It seems that when it comes to Mario sport titles, were both even.
We also played some more Daigasso! Band Brothers, we played that game whenever possible. I believe this was when we had our little concert. Which, if you saw the video, I sucked. I was not very good at the game at all. I also got my ass handed to me when I played Street Fighter Zero III for the Sega Saturn which Brandon brought. Both Brandon and Adrian weren't even trying when I played against them. They just glanced at the controller and I was instantly KOed. At least I kicked ass in all the games we played for the GameCube. Nyah!
Saturday, May 21: Too Tired
I was originally going to go to Universal Studios with Dean and Amanda since I thought everyone else had left, and those that were still around had plans. Even though I was really not in the mood to go I didn't want to stay in the hotel on my own. But to my surprise when I went to Deans room Brandon, Jessica (Brandon's girlfriend. She's the one getting punched in the face in the twentieth installment of Heart Containers) and Glen were still around, whom I thought had left already for some reason. Knowing now that if I stayed I wouldn't be alone I decided not to go to Universal Studios. I'm sure it was much more romantic for Dean and Amanda without me tagging along.
Basically all I did on Saturday was hang out and by hang out I mean play video games with Josh, Glen, Brandon, and Jessica. At lunch time all five of us ate at El Pollo Loco (The Crazy Chicken). The food there was awesome. I liked it so much I ate there again for dinner. Heh.
At the end of the day, half of the group had left. Josh and Justin had left earlier in the day while Brandon, Jessica, and Glen left around 10pm. Brandon and Jessica's flight was at 12am so they didn't have to wait too long but Glens flight wasn't until 6am the next day! I really don't know how he managed to do that.
By now my room was pretty messy since it hadn't been cleaned at all over the course of the week. Since people were worried about getting stuff stolen and we were over the limit of people per room, neither of the rooms got any room service. And since I'm a neat freak I couldn't take it anymore and had to clean the room a bit before I went to bed. I filled two semi-small bags of trash. Heh.
Luckily I only had to sleep on the floor once and I swear I felt things crawling over my face. Though, some of the guys say it was because of the drugs I took. I took some pain reliever for my gums which were swollen around a tooth of mine plus some sleeping pill Josh gave me since I was going to be sleeping on the floor. I didn't wake up, so I guess the pill worked but man did my back hurt. I don't know how Justin, Chris Carson (he talks in his sleep), and Josh slept on the floor almost the whole week. But I'm glad I did cause I got to sleep on the bed! Heh.
Sunday, May 22: Get Me Out Of This Place!
It had been a long and tiring week. I really was looking forward to returning home. But at the same time, I knew I was going to miss the fact that I had something new to do each day.
My flight wasn't until 1:40pm but I decided to go a bit earlier and good thing I did too. I got to LAX at around 10:30am and I spent the whole time up until ten minutes before my flight waiting in lines. Ugh, it was terrible.
After waiting forever in line to get my suitcase x-rayed they told me I would have to get it checked manually. When the screener opened my bag he wiped some small cloth on the inner side edge along the zipper. As I asked the guy what that was for he told me that when the cloth was scanned and the alarm went off...and that's when the alarm went off. I asked him what was going on but he just told me he would have to empty out my bag. Which sucked so much since I had spent an hour the day before getting everything organized so that itd fit perfectly and not get anything crushed. If I knew I would have acquired so much swag I would taken another bag. As the guy emptied out my suitcase he told me hed never seen a suitcase so organized, people just usually toss their things in the bag and close it.
The flight back home felt long, very long. I tried to sleep, but couldn't. Tried to read, got dizzy. Tried to play my DS but also got dizzy and didn't really feel like playing. I pretty much did the same as when I flew into Los Angeles -- nothing. Finally, I arrived back home to Miami at 9:30pm. It felt good to be back home. But once I got outside to the open I realized just how hot and humid it is here. It was disgusting. I almost wished I was back in L.A. where the weather was nice and fresh.
For those that have read this far, let me congratulate you, the end is almost near. I never imagined Id write this much. I didn't even mention everything! Heh.
Id like to take this moment to say that I'm glad I was able attend E3 and able to enjoy it with such great and wonderful people as the N-Sider staff.