E3 ’08: Day three review

After Microsoft’s news explosion on Monday and Sony and Nintendo’s holler-inducing announcements the next morning, Wednesday at E3 was always set up to be a comparatively hushed affair.

Take Two kicked off the day, with John Riccitiello’s sparring partner, Straus Zelnick, proclaiming that the success of Bioshock and GTA IV in the last fiscal year was “just the beginning for the publisher”.

The company then showed off a range of 2K Sports games – including NHL 2K9 for the Wii, which proved an interesting take on motion-sensing sports amongst the crowd.

But it was the publisher’s close look at Bioshock on PS3 that will have grabbed most of the headlines today – its revelation of exclusive downloadable content drawing cheers from Sony-supporting sections of its audience.

Later in the afternoon, Konami bossed the LA Convention Centre’s Press Conference room, with Metal Gear Online expansion Gene pushing the audience as close as it ever got to the cacophony of old.

Other titles on show from the Japanese publisher included Rock Revolution, Silent Hill Homecoming and a new Castlevania title, Castlevania Judgement for Wii.

Crammed between these two was the ESA’s president Michael Gallagher, whose keynote was witnessed by a much sparser room than the conferences of the body’s members.

A discussion on age ratings obviously didn’t sit too well with the mass of consumer press who, it turned out, were much keener to use Wednesday to finally get their hands on the games they’ve be hearing so much about.

The Convention Centre’s string of rooms – each taken by individual publishers – have been at their busiest all week, with teams of Mario T-shirt wearers hopping from one to another.

So, a quiet one, but don’t fret – because it ain’t over by a long chalk. European Sony fans might like to keep an eye on MCVUK.com tonight (or this morning, your time), because the platform holder has a special party planned for tonight – and rumours a flying that there’s a sexy announcement on its way…