E3’s 
not only where gamers get an advance look at what’s to come, it’s also where savvy entrepreneurs can freely scoop up items worth hundreds of dollars.
As happens every year, a cottage industry has formed on eBay around some of the more collectible (and not-so collectible) E3 shwag, with excited gamers paying ridiculous amonts of money for show-related tchotchkes.
E3 
is a hydra. There’s so much going on at any given moment that it’s hard to keep up with everything being shown, talked about and hinted at.
While the show is closed to the public, Nintendo once again offered fans the chance to play demos of “Super Smash Bros.” at over 100 Best Buy locations around the U.S. And while that may gave fans a taste, it hardly filled their appetites.
While it’s impossible to fully showcase E3’s eccentricities, here are a few snapshots of the industry’s annual party/trade show to give you a taste.
While 
it’s still anyone’s guess as to when the Oculus Rift or Sony’s Project Morpheus will be commercially available, this year’s E3 made one thing clear: there’s nothing virtual about the fun these devices deliver.
VR may not have been front and center at this year’s show, but it certainly created a lot of buzz. Sony saw huge crowds queing up for Morpheus. The line stretching around the Oculus booth was several hours long.
I tried out a lot of VR games at the show. Here’s what stood out.
The 
E3 after a console hardware launch is always an awkward one for investors.
The excitement that surrounds new game systems often has a sweeping effect on share prices of companies in the video game space—but it’s hard to get as worked up about game announcements the following year.
The 
worst part about E3 is the waiting.
After ingesting a flood of information for hundreds of titles and watching their excitement levels rise to critical peaks, players now must sit back and be patient. Some of the games won’t be out for months. Others could take years.
Figuring out which will top sales charts is always a dangerous exercise. Publishers show carefully controlled demos of small segments of their games, specifically designed to pique interest. It might be fun in a five-to-10-minute microburst, but truly terrible after an hour of gameplay.
As we do each year, we’ve compiled a list of the games most likely to perform well when they hit stores. That doesn’t mean they’ll be critical smashes, but they’re likely to connect with today’s gaming audience.
Here’s what turned our head at this year’s E3.
Microsoft 
has long painted the Xbox One as a system that’s about more than just video games, saying home entertainment is equally important.
To underline that, a year ago it announced a live-action “Halo”-themed series produced by Steven Spielberg—and has since revealed a fairly extensive lineup.
But the division has undergone changes, and now original video content is being de-emphasized.
Independent 
games don’t rule the sales charts. Their fan base is dwarfed by that of even a mid-level game put out by a major publisher. And the money they make is just a drop in the bucket in an industry whose global revenues last year totaled $93 billion.
But lately, those indie developers have been the belle of the video game ball.
“Grand 
Theft Auto V,” which last September set entertainment industry sales records, is speeding toward the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software broke the news late Monday night at Sony’s pre-E3 press conference. Although the announcement had been expected, that didn’t dampen the response from fans.
Before 
“Halo,” before “Call of Duty” and before “Grand Theft Auto,” there was “Tetris.”
The tile-matching game that Alexey Pajitnov created on a whim in 1984 quickly became a global sensation, going on to be played on more than 50 gaming platforms in over 185 countries.
The 
video game industry has held its annual trade show in its backyard of Los Angeles for 17 of the past 19 years. But the president of the Entertainment Software Association, which organizes the annual event, says E3 may pull up stakes.
“E3 is a world class show that deserves a world class venue,” said Michael Gallagher at a media dinner Sunday night. “The Los Angeles Convention Center is no longer a top-tier property.”
Chris Morris: Journalist 