While in Los Angeles for E3 Expo 2009, my job has been to cover the latest and greatest from the video game world. I had the opportunity to check out everything from Lego Rock Band to King of Fighters XII, Forza Motorsport 3 to Wii Fit Plus. That said, an epic trade show like E3 would not be complete without some random marketing attempts.
Take the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, for example. They had a “life-sized” version of the Ghostbusters monster outside the Los Angeles Convention Center and all the fanboys couldn’t help but to flock to it. Also roaming the convention center were a hackney group of “actors” portraying the Ghostbusters team, complete with the full outfit and plastic equipment. Moreover, you could find the Ecto 1, the signature Ghostbusters car, parked on the street just a few steps away from the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Yes, we’re safe.
You can tell that displays like these are meant to capture the attention of the nostalgic, but they’re also there to remind us of the upcoming Ghostbusters movie reboot as well as the video game that will be released with it.
Keeping with the retro feel, I spotted this old school arcade football game from Tecmo. If you lined up to toss the pigskin, the cute Tecmo rep would reward you with a Tecmo promotional towel to wipe off all that sweat.
In my Thursday post, you may have noticed the pile of junk situated outside the Convention Center. Well, that was there to promote the upcoming Rabbids Go Home game for the Nintendo Wii. This is the fourth game in the series and based on the first few Raving Rabbids games, it should be a lot of fun! And yes, that is underwear on their heads.
Akham Asylum is a highly anticipated game that will take you into the underbelly of Gotham City. You even get to play as the Joker, though not really the version portrayed by Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight. They had a replica Batmobile on the show floor, along with plenty of Arkham Asylum periphrenalia to create quite the brooding and dark atmosphere.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles… Heroes in a half-shell… Turtle power! Ubisoft is about to release TMNT Smash-Up, which is a fighting game very similar to Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Nintendo Wii. You can see some of the gameplay footage I took in my fighting games roundup article on Futurelooks.
Even though I don’t think I’m very good at them, video games have been a huge part of my life ever since I picked up my first Atari controller well over 20 years ago. Based on what I saw at E3 Expo this year, the industry is going to take us on new and exciting directions for years to come.
Nostalgia is a hook. I can remember back to GB’s and TMNT’s as a man in my 20’s. What a gas! I’m sure that anyone from that time frame will at least try the games and go see the movies.
The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man & the signature Ghostbusters car really brought back many sweet nostalgic childhood memories.
And those life-sized Rabbids are so cute…