Yahoo Autos E3 2019 could make a gamer out of anyone | On Location
In this "On Location" video, Autoblog Production Manager Eddie Sabatini heads to Los Angeles to check out E3 2019. He demos the latest Forza expansion pack, Lego Speed Champions, tries a $10,000 SIM racing rig, plays Crash Team Racing, and eats some insanely good nachos from Taco King.
The festivities began with the Xbox briefing and showcase at the Microsoft Theatre. Think of this like the Volkswagen Group Night that happens ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show. And put on a show is exactly what Xbox did.
During the briefing, Xbox teased its next console, Project Scarlett, which will feature a Solid State Drive (SSD) and debut Holiday 2020 with Halo Infinite as a launch title.
Xbox was also showing off its streaming technology Project Xcloud. I had a chance to play Forza on a smartphone that was connected to an Xbox controller. The footage was streaming in 720p but it still looked great, and gameplay didn't lag. No word on when you'll be able to stream your Xbox game catalog to your smartphone, but I imagine the capability is coming soon as Xbox will want to compete with mobile, which continues to disrupt the gaming space.
Xbox unveiled the LEGO Speed Champions expansion pack for Forza Horizon 4. We got to demo it, and I must say that it looks amazing and is a ton of fun to play. I would 10/10 recommend if you're a fan of Forza or LEGOs, and I hope that they someday release a full LEGO racing game.
You can check out gameplay footage of LEGO Speed Champions on our YouTube page.
The show floor opened on Tuesday, June 11. The first thing I did was demo Crash Team Racing ahead of its June 21 launch date. It's a fun go-kart-style racing game but still falls short of Mario Kart in my estimation.
Sony and Electronic Arts (EA) were missing at this year's show, but Nintendo had a presence. There were big displays for Luigi's Mansion 3 and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games: Tokyo 2020.
I linked up with Autoblog contributor Carter Jung, and we demoed a $10,000 SIM racing rig from Next Level Racing. It was a wild experience, and the side-to-side sliding generated by the motion platform had me a bit wobbly-kneed for a few minutes after driving. It was awesome.
Another favorite of mine from the show floor was the My Arcade booth. I demoed My Arcade's cute little Bubble Bobble Micro Player. These table-top cabinet games retail for $34.99 and are powered by micro-USB or four AA batteries. Bubble Bobble will be available sometime in June.
Even if you don't self-identify as a "gamer," I think you'd find this show to be a good time. Even though E3 is more of an industry show, there is a ton to see and do. You can see attempts to make it more consumer friendly. I'm not sure we'll ever see E3 reach the level of a Comic-Con (about 66,100 people attended E3 2019, according to Gamespot, compared to the over 100,000 who routinely go to SDCC) but it's certainly worth checking out. And this noob, for one, cannot wait to get back.
