There is such a thing as a free lunch.

The Nintendo of US upper brass didn’t individually hand write their signatures over thousands of times, but hey it’s the thought that counts, especially when I wasn’t entirely kind to their press conference. On reflection though, their smile seminar wasn’t half as embarrassing as Microsoft’s attempt to be Nintendo in their ‘hip to the casual market’ pitch. Sony was reserved by comparison, though you’d think they would know better than to use pre-rendered footage by now.

Seeing the photos of upcoming Leipzig game convention has given me a jealous streak. E3 was fun and all, but no one could argue it was drab. No more towering booths, no more banners, just a few hastily thrown up decorations to keep it feeling too much like a college lan party. Why couldn’t the US have gotten the faux skyscrapers for Mirror’s Edge or the cardboard vault for Fallout 3? Would it have really killed the publishers and organizers to throw up a few banners in the hall? At least there were stacks of free lunches.