There is this rampant obsession within the gaming industry of which company could possibly "win" the conference. Having a successful response to a showing certainly gives that corporation momentum, but they don't flaunt their newfound stardom up and down the streets of Los Angeles wearing blue swede shoes (Okay, I made that last part up). These companies graciously spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on lavish circus performances, laser tag battles, terrible actors and the occasional drunk host so us gaming outlets will have to something boast about a week or two. The group is given a heightened state of awareness in the public eye for what, maybe a week? Then it goes back to the typical jostling we've come to know and love.

Don't get me wrong for one second - the conference is truly important, some even consider it the pinnacle of gaming in its current form. A way for companies to reach a hand-picked audience, 80, 000 members of the press and the rest of the globe. But, someone has to play the bearer of bad news and I was hired to take the role (the pay is liveable). After all the excitement dissipates and people are ultimately disappointed, the industry goes back to the way it was before. Microsoft will still have barely nothing for the core audience, Sony will still be reeling from the PSN attacks, and Nintendo's popularity will be waning until late next year.

All of these companies are in unique situations, so it is pointless to declare a "winner". They have their focuses on completely different things, mostly out of their control. For example, Sony will be using the time to play crowd control and reassure everyone their console is still playable. Microsoft, who considers themselves bringers of the the renaissance of motion control, will be shoving Kinect so hard down our throats, we will see peoples' heads pop off in the crowd as we watch in horror. And for Nintendo, they'll just be pushing the Wii until Project Cafe comes out, and hopefully explain why the 3DS sank in sales.

A month even before announcements are made official, there is rumour overkill. And, as is the case with Project Cafe, secrets are confirmed before their showing. This pre-babbling nonsense ruins the fun of the conference and takes away the WOW factor. Impeccably done by the guys at Eurogamer to first find out the existence of a new console from Nintendo, but the big news gets tossed around like a ten cent whore and now everyone knows. Companies used to be reticent about their secrets, and now since the industry has gotten bigger and given more attention, my eagerness for the conference is slowly dissolving.

The last annoyance I have is how conspicuous the entire event has become. Why bother hiring Cirque du Soleil to show off your product and instead show us how the bloody thing works? This "jazzing up", trying to make everything pretty and glorious, is just a pathetic and wasteful way of drawing the masses from other conferences. A pointless endeavour because companies present at different times. I am watching these presentations to figure out what I'll be spending money on and consuming in the next year, not to see how impressive your corporate dollars are. If that is the intent, why don't companies just abandon E3 and hold their own conferences where there are no limits? Rent out the Staples Center and hold your own version of BlizzCon.

I'll always love the Electronic Entertainment Expo but some things have to change. A cap on expenditures and a time limit will cut down the uselessness and wastefulness of each company's showing. I want to hear about games, not dance about them damnit!