Back from E3

I spent most of last week at E3, the annual video game trade show and lovefest in Los Angeles. As usual, E3 was fun, informative and totally exhausting. Game companies like Electronic Arts, Nintendo and Sony go all-out to showcase their wares at E3 -- with booths featuring ear-splitting rock music, huge video screens showing game footage, workstations where you can play not-yet-released titles, and of course the ever-present, pneumatically-engineered, scantily-clad booth babes who happily pose for photo-ops with shy, grateful-looking geeks.

I used to hate E3 - the noise, violence and overt sexism really got to me. But I've learned to enjoy the show, and see it as a big videogame cartoon that I get to immerse myself in. And those nearly-nakes booth babes? They're most likely under-employed actresses and models who are happy to have some well-paid work for a few days.

Among the many games on display at E3, my favorite was Karaoke Revolution Volume 2. I played an earlier version of this game during my recent visit to Harmonix in Boston, and it's looking GREAT. For a few blissful moments I escaped the visual and aural assalt of the show floor and sang my heart out, while a small but appreciative audience cheered me on. I can't wait to get my hands on the finished version (due to ship sometime this summer) and invite my friends over for some home-made musical fun. You can read more about the game and view the new songlist here.