DAY 1 - Valerie drops me at my office...then it's just a short walk to Douglas Station so I can catch the Metro to E3

An hour later, I'm checking out a Jak 2 statue I have not seen before...on display at the PlayStation merchandise booth setup in front of the Los Angeles Convention Center. I NEED THIS!

They also have a Delsin statue (from inFAMOUS Second Son)

There was no food truck lot in front (as was the case during past E3 expos), but at least I can still get to the trucks between the halls before the exhibition begins

Vietnamese Iced Coffee and Grilled Pork Banh Mi. When did Mandoline Grill join the $9 club?

I get my DSLR ready before heading to the show floor

Game on!

I bump into Charlotte and Rowan shortly after walking on to the show floor...and then we bump into Cosmo who eagerly demonstrates Abzu, the game he has been working on since leaving Big Red Button. I started working with Charlotte when I joined Naughty Dog in 1996...and she is still there.

My former BRB teammates Dimitri and Cosmo are now both at Giant Squid...and this is now the second E3 in a row that they get to demo something they have worked on. My current team is not showing anything at the show this year.

Project Morpheus is coming in 2016, so Sony has the production version of their PS4-exclusive virtual reality headset on display

After a bit of frustration (and some help from Glen, an NSXer I bumped into shortly after arriving at E3), I successfully download the Try Morpheus App and sign up for a hands on demo later this afternoon. The only lines worth waiting for at E3 these days are for experiences you cannot view over YouTube.

Tony Hawk is getting interviewed. Apparently a fifth installment of his once popular skating video game series will be coming out in September.

Victor and I, both long time Gran Turismo players, head over to the Xbox One booth and go hands-on with Forza 6 (we opted to try it with the new Elite Xbone controller rather than wait in line for the 3 monitor / wheel / motion seat setups). In the race to sequels, Forza certainly has caught up with GT...Sony did not announce a seventh installment in their series this year. Microsoft managed to get the new Ford GT for their booth...first time the car has been displayed outside of auto shows.

2017 Ford GT

2017 Ford GT

2017 Ford GT

2017 Ford GT

2017 Ford GT

2017 Ford GT

2017 Ford GT

The Xbox One / PC game Cuphead nails the visual style of Silly Symphony style animated shorts...even has the right amount of film grain, dust, and scratches to complete the illusion of watching a 1930's era cartoon.