PixlBit

Hello. I’m a gigantic projector screen, and I’ll be your speaker this evening. Ignore the mob. They’re here to party.

Without Activision’s banners and badges being paraded around the Staple’s Center, little would have indicated that the event was Activision’s press conference. Activision’s press conference was a concert. That’s the best way to put it. Fun, to be sure, with some gaming news here and there, but it was definitely unorthodox, and completely chaotic. It was so disorganized. Regardless, if they were to increase the gaming news just a bit, then I’d be completely game for a format like that every once in a while. As for what they did show, gaming wise…

DJ Hero 2 footage shown - dated for October 2010.

Tony Hawk: Shred. - I don’t remember if there was a release date or not. I don’t think there was.

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock - dated for September 2010.

True Crime: Hong Kong - dated for fall 2010.

Call of Duty: Black Ops - I had to leave before this appeared, but I keep seeing November 9, 2010 as its release date.

News statements were made via the enormous projector screen at the front of the dome. No actual speakers, PR or otherwise, seemed to be present. Either a DJ, singer, or band would perform; every once in a while a trailer for one of Activision’s game would appear. Release dates for the games appeared during most of the trailers. Not too much else other than that news-wise. In terms of the show, the game footage sometimes corresponded to the performances happening on or around the stage. Otherwise, the performers had the focus. Most people in the crowd were probably more interested in who would appear on stage next than what game was going to be shown.

The concert began with Z-Trip DJing the audience onto the hype train circling around inside the Staple’s Center. This culminated into a all-female dance crew performing to Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance.” Then Deadmau5 appeared for more DJing. David Guetta took the stage next. Around this time, DJ Hero 2 started appearing on the projector.

Next up was Usher. He sang a couple of songs, had a couple of dancers, got very close to one dancer, and Will.I.Am came out to join him for a song. Usher’s proclamations of “We know Activision makes the greatest video games in the world!” or something like that, were just a little excessive. Of course, he wasn’t the only performer guilty of this.

After Usher exited, cel-shaded skating images started appearing on the projector screen. It’s Tony Hawk: Shred, an actual new announcement, for the most part. They showed the board peripheral the game will use, and it looks like it’s either the same as before or slightly modified. Tony Hawk and other skaters skated through a small half pipe to the main stage and waited around for a few seconds (literally—he wasn’t on stage long at all). The original plan was to have them skating in from some sort of platform suspended from the ceiling or something crazy like that (which would have been pretty fun to see), but they had technical issues (not much of a surprise, considering how long it took to get the event itself started). (Oh, and Travis Barker may have been here doing some drumming at one point. I may have read that somewhere, but I don't remember at this point.)

For the next segment was Maynard James Keenan from Tool singing “Bohemian Rhapsody,” also while being sung by the characters of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock at the beginning and end of the piece. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock footage also appeared before the song. With the orchestra and a full-fledged choir, no less a dancing choir, it was very entertaining—in a good way. It was strange at times, though.

Up next was Jane’s Addiction for a few songs. After them, Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell took to the stage for a song. All of which led up to a multi-story phenomenon.

An obscenely tall stripper pole suddenly towered from the floor of the stage to the top of the Staple’s Center dome. A scantily clad woman appeared and did things on that pole, very high up on that pole, that I didn’t know the human body was capable of doing. She’d cling to the pole effortlessly with one arm or one thigh and hang the rest of her body off, swimming in her poses. It was definitely interesting, for lack of a more encompassing word.

But that’s not all! Now N.E.R.D. came onto the stage with Rhea. True Crime: Hong Kong was shown on the projector screen.

At this point, just as what seemed like motorcycle pieces were appearing on the projector screen, Jason H. and I had to leave, but from what I’ve read and heard, the following occurred. Eminem finally came on stage, joined by Rihanna (we heard them rehearse enough times before the show, even though we didn’t actually get to see them). Then the all powerful projector screen birthed footage of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Apparently lots of explosions went off around the stage (that is, pyrotechnic effects), and I think I heard a motorcycle showed up on stage, too. And that, I believe, was the end of the crazy, star-filled, evening of fun and chaos. All that didn’t happen was money raining from the ceiling, but imagining how many millions Activision put into the event, I’d say it practically did… metaphorically, anyway.

Activision’s presence on the actual E3 show floor is slim to none so far as I can tell, so they really went all out on this concert conference. It was entertaining and somewhat informative, but for what was labeled as a press conference, not much news came out of it. Still, it was a fun and definitely interesting twist to the press conference formula.