Looking past the numerous disappointments and the ever present Borg, E3 for me still managed to have its moments. Mostly in things that are rarely publicised by the Borg-controlled press and I'm sure that some of these things will grow in the coming years so that the Borg will have no choice but to take notice and assimilate them as well.

Korean Games booth: Tucked away in Kentia Hall was the Korean Games booth (Kentia Hall is the part of E3 which the Borg don't care about) featuring some of the best online games, PC adventures, arcade cabinets and innovative games and accessories of the entire show. As I said before, if Pikmin had been there at this booth nobody would have cared about it.

The Koreans are coming and I'm sure that they will continue to grow to become an international force in gaming instead of a regional as they are now. It has already begun as a Korean company had licensed Grandia 2 for PC for the Korean market and began programming it, and when Ubisoft saw the stellar work they were doing they decided to pick it up for a Western release.

Agetec: One of the few companies left that cater for the hardcore and bring games over which other publishers won't give a chance. Thanks Agetec for bringing Metal Slug X to Western shores, thanks for picking up Last Blade 2 for release on US Dreamcast at a moment when other publishers are dropping the little machine.

I urge everyone to give companies like Agetec a chance and take the plunge with Metal Slug X on PSOne and Last Blade 2 on Dreamcast. Both are killer titles for their respective platforms and companies like Agetec deserve our support much more then companies like EA or THQ who have the financial power to market and sell whatever cookie-cutter games they publish.

Conspiracy Entertainment and Crave: another company that seems to cater for the niche hardcore market. At Conspiracy I was casually checking out GBA Tiny Toons when Dan Jevons (the executive producer formerly known as Knightmare (from GameFan fame) spotted me and my company. He started a 15 minute speech about how happy he was to have secured a 5 game deal with Japanese developer Treasure (first Conspiracy/Treasure effort is a weird and wonderful game called Stretch Panic, you can read lots more about it in GameGo magazine) and how excited he was about working with those talented guys.

Genuine enthusiasm like that is a rare thing in this industry and I'm glad to see that Dan hasn't lost any of his enthusiasm ever since he left the UK to work in America. Dan, this world needs more people like you, people who genuinely care about the games and who would rather have a moderate hit with a good game then a monster hit with rehashed crap.

GameGoMmagazine: Eric Mylonas, after the Express.com/Gamefan debacle, has started a new magazine that will cater for people with differing tastes, for people who have grown wary of the mainstream press and are looking for something a little bit more different. I wish them the best (yes even you Shou-Sama) and even tough I have my doubts about the long term viability of the magazine. I hope Eric, Matt and the rest of the GameGo crew pull it off and can make a small difference.

Oh and guys, don't give in to the Borg.

Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences: The AIAS hands out the annual AIAS awards and strives to get more recognition for the people who make a difference in the games world. Sadly, the annual awards ceremony was met with a lot of empathy by the companies who had received awards, most of which didn't even bother to turn up to receive their awards. The AIAS in Paul Provenzano has since last year a president who brings with him a lot of experience, and from my interview with him seemed very passionate and professional with a great understanding of the games industry.

It's always a pleasure to talk with people like that and I wish him the best of luck and hope he achieves the goals he set for himself and the AIAS.

Thanks go out to the following persons as well: Heidi, thanks for accompanying me throughout the show, Juyi Naka for being a good sport and missing four taxis to chat with Heidi and me, Jason Wilson from Tips and Tricks magazine, the TNL crew for having so much patience with me, Andrew Alfonso for being a good sport after I firmly planted my knee between his legs.............repeatedly, the guys whose pizza I stole when I visited the TNL crew in their hotel (Editor's Note: Yah...good going on that man, thief!!!), my roommates in the Hollywood Ramada for allowing me more financial breathing space, Peter Mui from NCS (I don't know what would have happened if you didn't retrieve my passport just hours before my plane left), Team Ninja's Itagaki, Sega/Smilebit's Hiroko Yokosuka (I'll mail you soon I promise) and countless others.

You people made my stay in LA bearable and almost worth the effort.

··· Ali