What do you know! E3 is here. Well, not HERE in a regional sense but here in the sense that it’ is occurring on this planet. It’s just about the hugest electronic shindig since, umm, since CES, the show it handily replaced (and it took only about a year to do it).

Now, I used to be a regular attendee of CES (Winter and Summer) back when I was in the industry. I even attended E3 when it was held in the southern hothouse of Atlanta, GA. While it’s great from a “see all the new cool stuff” perspective, it’s a double edged sword. See, after each show, you are now aware of everything that is going to be out for the next 6 to 9 months. Everything. There’s not a controller, not a system, not even a game that will go unnoticed by a true fan of the hobby (and in some cases, you’ll see things that never see the light of day). So, after all the excitement dies down, all the previews have been written and all the fanfolks have taken sides, there’s nothing left. No more anticipation because, like a prognosticator that needs a twice-a-year recharge, you are aware of each release before it’s comes (including the “behind-the-scenes” ones you can’t talk about yet). That surprise release from that publisher that everyone is abuzz about... you played it 4 months ago. That cool new controller? While you might not retain a photographic memory, you did notice they changed the box art a bit. You begin to realize exactly how many games you saw and relegated to the dustier corners of your brain when you see familiar marketing materials, hear the well worn (to you) slogans, and you understand that you know the 4 games to look for over the course of the next 6 months... and that’s ALL you have to look forward to.

Would I like to be attending E3? Hobbing and Nobbing with some of those really cool developers that infect you with the excitement about their upcoming releases? Attending closed door sessions laying out important plans for the next two years? Being soda’d and dined in press areas set up to let you slow down for just a tick and realize just how cool this all is (and conversing with others that feel the same)? I’d have to say yes, just as much as I’d like to be the Plantronics phone on that large desk in the top secret Apple conference room. However, I think the perfect thing would be to recall and relish everything for a week after the show, just enough time to get all the work done, then flip the “Oblivious” switch...

and enjoy the sweet, slow progression of time.

Today’s shape is the Wii logo, going up just in advance of Nintendo’s PrE-3 show. It’s a little harder to create than it looks (those middle lines are a tad narrower than the outer ones), but at least you don’t have to create it! Go out there and create some cool wallpapers, (or effigies if you don’t like the name) and drop me a line to let me know what you’ve created. I’ve released this art in .key format and you can click above for the Keynote 3 version or wiik2.zip for the Keynote 2 version.