by Angie Quidim

It was about seven in the evening and TME was attending a reception for the Sprint mobile gaming network in room 404B.  The usual networking and drinking carried on for the next several minutes then the lights  went off.  The room was pitch black and we heard a loud thud.  After a few seconds, the emergency lights kicked in and we saw that the loud noise was nothing more than the doors slamming shut.  We collected our things and got a hold the Wii mote flashlights provided by Nintendo and set off into the dimly lit hallway.  It was quite a scene from a really bad survival horror game where a bunch of gaming journalists set out to find an exit to the cavernous structure of the convention center.

The convention center is definitely different arena when it is dark.  We headed to the South hall Lobby to see what had happened.  In South Hall everything west of the Nintendo display was perfectly fine.  Everything east of the Nintendo booth was pitch black.  We moved on to the second floor and took the long hallway to the West hall.   Everything was dimly lit by the emergency lights and our Wii motes.  It was too quitet, and there were random sounds as we walked down the halls.

We finally made our way to the outside near the West Hall Lobby.  The room paled in comparison when you compare it to when the old E3 was around.  But we were more concerned in getting out and going to our next adventure.  We were gonna to attend Video Games Live.  The first video game concert in the new Nokia Theatre.