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Feature
May 9, 2006
SimHQ Reporting Team: "Chunx",
Tom
"20mm" Hayden,
Jim
"Hornit" Campisi, Doug
"guod" Atkinson
by "Chunx"
Dear Mom,
Like lemmings racing to a cliff,
the SimHQ team has once more rendezvoused in sunny Los Angeles
for the E3 Convention. I'm clueless as to why SimHQ corporate
still shells out the per diem bucks needed for us to make
this trip — surely at this point they must realize
that we're just going through the motions, cheerfully lying
to ourselves about the true state of our beloved simulation
genre. Deep down, I think all of us — 20mm, Hornit,
guod, and myself — know the horrible, inescapable truth:
that quality simulations are dead, gone from the marketplace,
a mere memory of days gone by.
 Heck,
there won't even be any booth babes this year, so what's
the point in it all?
Oh sure, we've completely filled
our appointment calendar with trivial interviews concerning
new software and hardware that caters to our arcane hobby,
but really we're just kidding ourselves. What self-respecting
simulation fan will want to read about Bohemia Interactive's
latest tactical sim projects? Or CH Products' new HOTAS
products? Or Saitek's new rudder pedals? Or the latest racing
sim from SimBin? Or Microsoft's FSX? Really, it's all such
a waste of time and effort for us.
And every year, it seems that the
number and quality of flight sim titles are dwindling. There's
hardly anyone at all to talk to about flight sims; yeah,
we'll be meeting with C3PO from Lead Pursuit, the Flight
Sim X team from Microsoft, Oleg from 1C, "Wild Bill"
Stealey from IENT and RJester from XSI. But, last year there
were tons of new flight sims coming out… I mean, there
was… well… uh… ooh, there was… and…
and who could forget, uh… well, there's three that
I can think of, but surely I'm forgetting a few dozen others.
Surely…
Well, I just can't talk about this
anymore. I think I'll go slit my wrists and take a warm
bath while I lament the demise of my beloved simulation
hobby. And the lack of booth babes. Sigh…
I hope you sense a twinge of sarcasm
and glee in the tone of this article. It's great to be in
LA again with the superb staff of SimHQ, sharing the discoveries
in store for us at E3 '06. With what's on-tap, this year's
show should dispel the "sims are dead" argument
— at least for another year or two. Big things are waiting
in the wings for simulation fans in the coming months, and
it's exciting to be here to get some early insight into what's
on the way.
G4 is broadcasting live
from the show floor.
As always, setting foot in the LA
Convention Center as production teams frantically put the
finishing touches on literally hundreds of millions of dollars
worth of marketing displays is always an impressive sight
and a bit overwhelming. Even though the displays were not
yet open, the media were busily moving about the three main
halls of the center, logging their first reports, getting
their bearings, sneaking the occasional peak at the display
prep, and picking up their credentials. Exciting stuff, all.
The setup for the show
will continue far into the night...
...and by tomorrow morning...
...it will all look perfect.
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