(June 4, 2004) — When all the greatest video-gaming powers in the world met at the L.A. Convention Center May 12-14 to show off all their goods, something happens: magic. Dazzling lights and booming surround sound systems go off left and right, and enormous plasma screen TVs bring tears to your eyes with the amazing cinematics of the upcoming blockbuster hits of 2005, 2006 and 2007 on all the current consoles: PlayStation 2 (PS2), XBOX and Gamecube. The action began in the South Hall with companies like Konami and Square-Enix strutting their stuff. This year was all about sequels with huge booths of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Final Fantasy XII on display. Other veterans of the gaming biz such as Capcom showed off their latest installment of their best selling PS2 series Devil May Cry 3. The much anticipated Halo 2 for the XBOX was also in full motion in a developers’ room, as well as two monster first person shooters (FPS): Half-life 2 and the incredibly terrifying Doom 3. A few more worthy titles to mention were Lineage II for the PC, as well as a new installment of Battle Field 1942 also for PC. Blizzard Entertainment, famous for its Diablo, Warcraft, and Starcraft, revealed its new massively multiplayer online role-playing game, World of Warcraft and its new action/adventure title Starcraft: Ghost. Speaking of sequels, just a few feet away from Sony’s booth in the West Hall was Nintendo debuting their sequels to last year’s hits: Metroid 2, Paper Mario 2 and a new installment of the Zelda series. More of the same was going on in the West Hall where Sony dominated the competition. Their new hand-held gaming system, the PlayStation Portable (PSP), had its own separate booth. With graphics comparable to the PS2 itself, as well as the ability to play music, videos and more all on a disc the size of a half-dollar, PSP will cause Nintendo to go home packing this year. Although there were a titles that strayed away from the trend of making sequels—such asGod of War and Siren on the PS2, both seemingly very promising—not many other consoles introduced any new or original games. As one would expect, with a convention this massive, there has to be free stuff. From t-shirts to hats to demos of the upcoming hits—all of it was thrown into a veritable sea of people. For everyone other than media and the developers, E3 is about free merchandise and all the games one can handle.