Big productions highlight E3 2010

The 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, is in the books. This year’s show will be remembered for its theatricality.
Cirque du Soleil produced a lavish show for Microsoft’s Kinect controller-free video game system for the Xbox 360 console.
Eminem, Usher, Rihanna and other stars performed for Activision at an over-the-top concert at L.A.’s Staples Center.
Nintendo, Electronic Arts and Sony also staged dramatic events for the media at the annual E3 show, which ran June 15-17, with pre-show events starting Sunday night June 13.
Nintendo trotted out a hundred attractive women, in the style of “Deal or No Deal,” each holding one of the company’s new Nintendo 3DS handhelds. They walked off the stage and into the crowd of media and analysts to show off the device.
EA showed off its new “Medal of Honor” game by having 24 players on stage demonstrating the game’s online multiplayer mode.

Best crowd-pleasing event

Activision’s amazing concert spectacle included not only A-list music acts, but high-profile DJs, dancers and fireworks. Huffington Post and USA Today had good coverage of the epic three-hour concert. The Gamer’s Temple posted the official press release.

Weirdest event

Microsoft’s Cirque du Soleil show was just bizarre. French acrobats pranced around as tropical primitives in awe of the magic of technology. At least, that's what I think was going on.

Best celebrity cameo

Not Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana at the EA press conference or Olympic gold medal snowboarder and skateboarder Shaun White at the Ubisoft media briefing. The best celebrity cameo at E3 was Kevin Butler, a fictional Sony executive played by actor Jerry Lambert. He brought the house down with his hilarious put-downs of Microsoft and Nintendo.

Best video game

“Dance Central” by Harmonix, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks, was the best new game introduced at E3 in my opinion. First off, it takes full advantage of Microsoft’s Kinect full-body motion control system and can’t be replicated with Sony’s Move or Nintendo’s Wii, which use handheld controllers. It has the potential to be a breakthrough game and cultural phenomenon.
CNBC, TheStreet.com and Silicon Alley Insider posted their views on the hit games of the show as well.