"I just hope I meet Mary Kate and Ashley."

Just less than a week before I leave for LA, and it’s about time to get the E3 festivities underway here on PlanetN2000. I can’t believe it’s almost time to board a plane to LA, and kick it with a whole lot of other fellow geeks. Trying to explain where I am going to people at work (and why) was a rather interesting experience. Changing the story to just, “I’m going to visit my cousin” made life a whole lot easier. But in less than a week, I will be getting my “dork on” in a big way.

I think E3 is definitely the “promised land” for all die hard gamers. I have no idea what to expect really. I have a feeling I will completely overwhelmed by it all. Okay how does this sound….getting out of work for 6 days, play all the newest games, and see a bunch of hot MF chicks! I think it’s probably going to one of the most incredible experiences ever. It’ll probably hit me the second I’ve gotten on the plane. I’ve been an avid E3 news follower since it was in Atlanta. I always dreamt of going but never thought I would actually be going. But it’s all happening…and I personally can’t wait. What I think is cool is finally meeting everyone I’ve worked with, or gotten to know on the net. Hell I’ve only talked to two or three people that have worked on this site over the phone. It’s going to be nuts! Not just all the games, but to meet all the people I’ve known online for such a long time will be amazing. People like Fran from DC, Mikey Veroni from Tendo Box, Matt, Peer, and the whole IGN crew, Dojo(s), and all 400 of the Nintendorks that'll be there. Unfortunately the rest of the staff couldn't join us, but hopefully next year well be able to all hook up. It’s going to be one twisted reunion that’s for sure. And did I mention there’s going to be tons of chicks that everyone is going to hit on, and no one is going to seal the deal? 'Cept for me....hehehehe! Ohhhh…the stories will be fun that’s for sure! Just getting away for a while is good enough for me right now. It’s been a while since I have had a real vacation. Blowing off steam at E3 sounds really good to me.

The big question is…will there be any Dolphin information unveiled at E3? My gawd, I sure hope so. I really believe Nintendo has something up their sleeve. At least I have a gut feeling about it. You’re going to tell me that they are going to say something last year, and not this year? I don’t think so. Granted Nintendo will be promoting their remaining heavy hitters this year to the maximum. But I do think they will shed some light on the new systems. Granted Nintendo will keep all of their cards hidden until the time is right, but if Sony, Sega, or Microsoft decide to pull something, don’t expect Nintendo to sit by quietly. At least this is what I am hoping for. Maybe a 1 minute Mario movie, or a demo of sorts. GBA behind closed doors. Trust me, I'll be kicking down a lot of closed doors in LA. **Knock Knock**....Pizza Guy! Landshark....

This is E3 folks, and anything can happen. If they do decide to show something Dolphin/GBA we will be there and ready for anything. Steven is in charge of bed pans so in the case of a Dolphin/GBA showing and we all need to piss ourselves…we will be completely ready. If all goes as planned we will have Pictures, Audio, and Video feeds from LA of everything that goes on. Definitely check us out daily for 24 hour coverage live from E3. We are going to be taking a rather different approach to E3 coverage...from the E3 virgin point of view. Remember we are a Dolphin Site, and that will be our main focus. Granted we will be reviewing Nintendo’s heavy hitters that we see. But it will be from a Dolphin stand point. We will be talking with Developers on what their plans are for Dolphin/GBA development, and hopefully getting some insight about what we have to look forward to.

Outside of Dolphin speculation, there are many titles I am looking forward to playing. Realizing that at this years E3 there will be over 2600 titles to preview that seems pretty incredible. I believe Nintendo still has a pretty amazing line up for the remainder of 2000. There are at least 7-8 titles I can picture myself purchasing right now….let alone any surprises that pop up at the show. And you know come Wednesday’s press briefing there will be some surprises. There always is! Here is a quick list of what I am looking forward to playing or seeing at this years E3…

Nintendo:

The Legend of Zelda : Majora’s Mask

Star Wars Episode 1:The Battle for Naboo

Mario Tennis

Mario RPG

Eternal Darkness

Conker’s Bad Fur Day

Dinosaur Planet

TWINE

Pokemon Attack

Hey you! Pikachu

Mickey’s Speedway USA

X-Men’s Mutant Academy

Ogre Battle 64

Aidyn’s Chronicles

Turok 3

Quarterback Club 2001

Megaman 64

Riqa

Blitz 2001

Indy Title

Pokemon Gold/Silver (GBC)

Kirby’s Tilt ‘n’ Tumble (GBC)

Donkey Kong Country (GBC)

Zelda Triforce Series (GBC)

Megaman X (GBC)

Sega:

Sonic Adventure 2

Ecco the Dolphin

Jet Set Radio

Shen Mue

SEGA Sports NFL 2K1

Quake 3

Half-Life

Power Stone 2

Sony:

The PS2

The Bouncer

Gran Turismo 2000

Gameday 2001

Tekken Tag Tournament

Final Fantasy IX

PC:

Voodoo 5

GeForce 2

Episode I: Obi-Wan

Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament running on a real PC

Diablo 2

Halo

Messiah

Diakatana

Team Fortress 2 (please!)

Microsoft Voice dealie

Do I really have any odd E3 predictions? Well I predict that Nintendo will reveal Dolphin in all of it’s bad ass glory. Heh heh. Well I would love to be right on that one. As I said we will be there if something breaks. There are a few things I would like to accomplish while I am in LA…so bring on…

The Top Ten Things Billy would like to Accomplish at E3:

1. Meet Shiguru Miyamoto, kidnap him Penny Arcade style, and play him in a round of Wave Race.

2. Tell Sony that I really hope a Mary Kate and Ashley title is ready for the US launch of the PS2.

3. Meet Joanna Dark. Propose. Marry. Retire to hotel for the evening.

4. Get an actual beta version of Dolphin, and GBA, with a copy of the new versions of Mario, Mario Kart, Wave Race, Pilotwings, and Metriod to take home with me.

5. Meet Brett Farve. Get Jersey signed. Have him rifle a pass to me on the show floor, I accidentally miss, and it takes out Mary Kate and Ashley.

6. Play John Romero in Diakatana.

7. Have everything with the site work okay.

8. Pick pocket Bill Gates so I can actually afford this trip.

9. Still have a Job when I get back.

10. Survive it all.

We’ll see how that all pans out. E3 will be a long time coming. Between a lot of personal life and job changes, the site redesign, the hostile IGN Takeover, and all of the E3 pre planning, it’s been pretty crazy. I see a lot of e-mails or forum posts saying things like, “Damn, I really wish I could go to E3!!!” You know what? You can! It’s not like we did anything major (outside of this site) to get our selves into E3. If there is a will…there always is a way. I will say one thing about E3…it’s not cheap if you’re not living in the LA Area. Let’s just say this trip total will cost our team a couple of import Dolphin’s to say the least. But I know deep down in side it will all be worth it. Only a couple days left till the doors open at the Los Angeles convention center…and we’ll be there!