A few days before Kobe and Dwight took to the hardwood floors of the Staples Center, the biggest show in town was across the street at the Los Angeles Convention Center, home of the video game industry’s sparkling darling, E3.  Returning to its former glory, E3 featured the biggest, brightest, and boldest in the video game industry.  A huge PlayStation banner (above) greeted the lucky attendees.  The excitement was almost palpable.

NEW TITLES ON DISPLAY

New titles were put on display.  EA debuted their foray into the tennis genre with Grand Slam Tennis (which, when coupled with Nintendo’s brilliant new Wii Motion Plus, makes for some cardio-burning, living-room destroying fun).  Sony gave the public their first taste of The Last Guardian.

Familiar series were refreshed and renewed for the show.

Ubisoft demoed a level from the latest incarnation in their Splinter Cell series, titled Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Namco Bandai gave the public their first hands-on experience with the stylish Tekken 6.

We were treated to Konami’s Metal Gear Solid reveal at their press-only event.  To make the sweet even sweeter, the news was delivered by none other than Hideo Kojima.

Master Chief is officially back for Halo Reach.

Mario, perhaps the industry’s most famed character, is back for several titles, including Super Mario Bros. Wii, and in cohorts with his former console competitor, Sonic, for Mario & Sonic at the Winter Games.

Capcom’s beyond-brilliant series, Lost Planet, was back with a vengence.

And, brilliantly, every form of nostalgia crept up on the collective mass of E3 show-goers with Atari (yes!) and Ghostbusters (yes!).  The Ecto1 and Stay Puff Marshmallow Man were popular mainstays at the event.

SETS & LARGE-FORMAT PRINTING

Inside and out, the show featured beautiful sets (like MTV Games’ Rock Band) and amazing large-format printing.  The two most breath-taking examples were the 500′ x 60′ Assassin’s Creed 2 poster and the Final Fantasy XIII building wrap at the Hotel Figueroa (which, incidentally, was where IGN hosted a stellar soirée.

Our boys over @ bluemedia would have a field day at this event.

HARDWARE & PERIPHERALS

The story of the show, however, was hardware.

Tony Hawk’s category-leading series found a new developer, and, with it, a new device: an actual skateboard.

Activision seems at home with high priced title/device combos, continuing the success of the Guitar Hero series with Guitar Hero 5 and the spin-off (no pun intended) DJ Hero.

Nintendo’s long-awaited Wii Motion Plus took the already game-changing Wiimote to a whole new level.  People smacked drives as Tiger Woods and hit aces as Rafael Nadal using lifelike motions.  Nintendo even showcased weights that house the Wiimote for their new Wii Fit Plus title.  Microsoft and Sony, not to be outdone, both launched motion-sensitive additions to their units: Natal, a motion sensitive camera, for Xbox 360, and a yet-unnamed motion sensitive controller for the PS3.

From a marketing perspective, the video game industry is one rife with possibilities and frustrations.  It is arguably one of the most innovative industries on the planet, yet it is apparent that marketers are still looking for equally innovative creative.  A few brilliant examples were on display, but for the most part, print and television are still the driving forces.

2009 is a year of huge changes for the video game industry, as it is for Blind Society.  Publishers have to move smartly through these tumultuous times, launching some of their most expensive titles of all time, aimed squarely at people’s expendable cash.

As we moved from booth to booth, and meeting room to meeting room, we met with some of the hardest working, most dedicated and creative minds in the world.  Without exception, they are all calling for one thing: change.  From Namco Bandai to Electronic Arts, and SouthPeak to Capcom, the message was the same: we need $100,000 to work like it’s $1,000,000; we need to be relevant; we need to rise above the clatter and clutter; we need to connect with our buying society; we need to be top-of-mind when consumers are making their buying decisions.

If the industry is calling for change, then, dear readers, change we shall bring them.

We will see you all next year in LA, June 15-17, for E3 ’10!

PS: Ben has a standing offer to join the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Darren (with his 3D glasses for Invincible Tiger) is in negotiations to play Fred Savage’s best friend in The Wizard 2.

Check out some of the images that we snapped on our fancy phones.

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A special thanks to the many participants who uploaded terrific pics on Flickr, including NKDBY, dropslash, pinguino, lauralollipop, and kekoax.

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We didn’t shoot the Assassin’s Creed 2 image above, but you can download it here.