|
If you're ever been to an
E3, grabbing free stuff is a big part of the fun. Unfortunately,
this year, most of the companies seemed resolved to putting the
creativity on hold and just handing out t-shirts. But for those of
them who did...here are your requisite mad props.
Best Swag of E3:
|
 |
|
"I like green eggs and ham." |
Cat in the Hat Mouse:
This is a PS2/USB (Not PS2 as in Playstation 2, as in the old
standard for PC ports.) mouse. So, probably the most useful item at
E3. It is a wheeled mouse (What, you thought they'd give out optical
mice?) that has a nice scroll wheel, and the back part of the mouse
his a little "ocean" with the main character's hat inside it. Clever
toy. Probably one of the coolest non-shirt bits of materials we got.
"I'd have to give this "Swag of the Show," because it was so
different in the Year of the T-Shirt. That it's fully functional and
I needed a new mouse anyways (my old one is rather old), means I'm
rather pleased with this one." - Rick
|
 |
|
"Freedom Force?" |
City of Heroes Comic Book:
Someone always gives
out a comic book at E3 for some reason, and this year it was these
guys from the NCSoft booth. It wasn't another t-shirt (although,
they were one of the few booths that I was actually disappointed not
to see a shirt from.) and the art is actually pretty good in the
book.
DOA Volleyballs:
We didn't actually score one of these. But they were tossing out
model-autographed volleyballs while the girls were dressed in their
respective DOA Volleyball outfits, which we were told would be
available on the website for summertime.
"I probably would have had a hell of a time trying to bring one of
these home on the plane, so I guess it's just as well that I didn't
score one. But still, I'd say it was the best theme swag available."
- Rick
|
 |
|
Thanks Joe! |
Exarch Poster, Signed by Joe Madureira:
The guys at NCSoft had comic
artist "Joe Mad" on site and signing posters to people who were in
line at the right time. The poster looks nice, and having stuff
signed by the artist is always cool, as well.
"He was a pretty cool guy too. That, and I really liked his work when
he was penciling the Uncanny X-Men. The fact that they gave out
poster tubes made it much easier to port around other posters
available on site." - Rick
|
 |
|
"66 is 'da MadCatz fanboy." |
MadCatz T-Shirt:
Rick and I both got our sing on, and whether or not we were actually
deserving of it, MadCatz gave us both t-shirts. Even though they're
bright yellow, I do sort of feel like I earned it.
|
 |
|
"Where's the beer?" |
Made in Germany Bag:
It's environmentally
conscious, semi-durable, and it says Germany in several different
languages on the back. The fashionable accessory for afternoon
E3-wear.
"The swag bag that could get the most use out of it. I wish it had
been larger, but still pretty cool." - Rick
Mario Kart Double Dash T-Shirt:
Didn't want to brave the second worst line at E3 for a shot at a
t-shirt, so I didn't wait for this one...they were throwing out
T-Shirts left and right this year, so I didn't see the need for
another one. But probably one of the more rare shirts, and it looked
cool, to boot.
"Eh, not the shirt I was disappointed in missing out on (I wanted the
nVidia FFXI shirt, myself), but the Double Dash T-Shirt was pretty
decent. Only thing is, I think they only handed them out on the last
day, when the line was at its worst. Nintendo had a better shirt
with a shorter wait, in my opinion." - Rick
Mountain Dew Live Wire:
Having arrived at the show without eating breakfast on Thursday, the
G4 guys handing out Live Wire were most kind and fortuitous. Like a
finding a much-needed health potion, that free bottle of Live Wire
probably saved me Thursday. I am disappointed that they didn't name
this "Threat Level Orange", though.
"As a caffeine zombie, and a proud member of the Boston Profit Margin
for Mountain Dew, I am all about free Live Wire. It even contains
some amount of orange juice, so I can pretend it's good for me.
PepsiCo. better not carry through on its threat to make this a
summer 2003 only item." - Rick
|
 |
|
"All gone now, folks." |
Nintendo EON Tickets:
If you have an e-Reader, you
can use these cards they were handing out at E3 to unlock an extra
item/area of Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire. In fact, I gave away one of these things to a lucky Netjak forum regular who noticed my contest, and snagged the prize. Apparently, either the EON
Ticket or linking up with someone else who used the EON Ticket is
the only way to access this part of the game.
"Specifically, it allows you to go to the Southern Island. There,
Ruby players can catch Latias, and Sapphire players can catch Latios.
Whichever version you have, said Legendary dragon will be porting
the Soul Dew, and it's the only way to get it. A bit unfair that
only E3 attendees could get it, but at least they weren't doing
something supremely unfair like give out Deoxys or Jirachi." -
Rick
Nyko Fan:
It keeps you cool, and lights up when it spins! In addition, it also
had something to do with the product they were showing, the Airflow
controller, which has vents to keep your hands free of excess
moisture while playing. Also of note are the F-grade AA batteries
provided.
"These little fans are great for carrying around when doing long
walks/runs, or going to a theme park. The lights are a nice bonus."
- Rick
|
 |
|
"Rock on." |
Sammy Rock:
It's black, smooth, and
perfect for skipping. They weren't "technically" handing these rocks
out, but now I'm sure search engines will be filled with the phrase
"Sammy Rocks".
"We are probably way too stoked about the Sammy Rock, but we don't
care. My Sammy Rock gives me abilities on Guilty Gear X^2 that
nobody else has. (Editor's Note: Rick is completely out of his mind
on this.)" - Rick
Wario Swag Shirt:
If you found the back left corner of the Nintendo booth, you could
weight your bags o' goodies and as a reward pick up a powder blue
Wario t-shirt that reads, "I've Got More Swag Than You." Rick
particularly likes this shirt, as it will permanently lay to rest
the raging "Schwag" vs. "Swag" debate with one of his co-workers,
and nobody will have to endure physical injury...anymore.
"It's "swag" and don't forget it. I thought it was the best "bragging
rights" shirt of E3, and what made it better is that almost nobody
noticed that Nintendo was giving them out. Nintendo apparently was a
bit worried that they would have to take some back to Washington,
because they had their Nabeshin imitator throw some out into the
crowd. This barely edges the .hack shirts as the best design of E3."
- Rick
|
 |
|
"Wish-a-rific." |
Wish T-Shirt & Mug
Rick and I thought this booth
literally popped up out of nowhere on the 3rd day. But they were
handing out mugs, which is cool with me, because beverage containers are always nice.
Especially when they're ceramic as
opposed to plastic. Also on the plus side, they were the only people
who let you choose which size t-shirt you wanted. The guy in front
of us was extra stoked that they had something in Medium, and
getting a shirt in something smaller than the gamer standard, Extra
Large was nice for me, too.
"Kentia Hall's top MMORPG, Wish, was giving out t-shirts and mugs. I
think they were theoretically supposed to be one or the other, but
the booth attendants were extra-cool and gave us both. Must give
props for that." - Rick
|
 |
|
"C is for C-O-O-K-I-E." |
Honorable Mention:
Rick's fried chicken, Erin &
Linda's pancakes, Rick's Chocolate Chip Mighty Ducks Victory
Cookies, and Linda's chocolate cake:
"They weren't handed out to everyone at E3, so you other suckers
didn't get a chance at 'em. Hahahaha. Thanks for providing the
excellent gaming fuel, guys." - Clay
"No problem - shame you missed out on the shrimp Fra Diavolo, but you
don't like pasta anyhow, so you wouldn't have gotten the same joy
from it." - Rick
|
