Even though Mirror's edge made Ashcraft a little ill at E3, the game looks like it's going to be one hell of a ride. This quick paced gameplay trailer gives us a little taste of what we can expect this upcoming September when the game is released.

Let's just say we shant be getting any job offers to be Michael Pachter's trusted aide, as our incorrect guesses about what we thought we'd see at E3 this year grossly outnumbered our correct ones. In our defence, we cast a wide net with our E3 '08 predictions, with some clearly outrageous bets that were ground more in fantasy than reality. Plus, E3 sucked.

While we were surprised to see a lack of X-waggle and to learn that Kid Icarus was a no-show, that Duffy performance clearly came out of nowhere. Hit the jump for the final tally and keep your eyes peeled for the winner — and possible tie-breaker — of our E3 Fantasy Betting Pool contest. Woot!

Some people really hated on E3 2008. Said it was boring or there weren't big announcements or whatever. Scott Alexander from Playboy has a nice look back at this year's E3 and what it all means in the big picture. He writes:

The old E3 was all the worst parts of nerd culture mashed up with all the worst parts of frat culture. When these two natural enemies join forces it can only presage the eldritch touch of Satan. Imagine a giant steaming helping of brain-dead rah-rah awesome bro 'tude combined with sweaty, hygenically challenged man-children futilely chasing their ever-receding childhoods. The old E3 was a three-day migraine with a side order of Asberger's Syndrome, which turns out is neither pretty nor pleasant. Plus, some of us were trying to get work done. Seriously, no one likes a good party more than me, but a good party has to ebb and flow or people get exhausted. The old E3 was like a four-day bender with your friend who just discovered how awesome crystal meth is. It's entertaining at first, then it gets tiring, then annoying, then scary, then you wake up in jail without your pants.

Sounds like Revenge of the Nerds, but better. Way better.

How To Sound Smart About E3 [Playboy]

More E3 navel-gazing! Can you stand any more? Do try, because this has got to be the last one. Asked for his thoughts on the validity of E3's "new" format, SCE UK's Ray Maguire said:

I think we felt that E3 suffered by not having that grandeur and the theatrical shows that demonstrate this is a business that generates billions of Euros. It was more like a convention for plumbers. But behind closed doors, there was a decent amount of business going on.

If that's a comment on the amount of visible ass-crack on show, Ray, I can assure you, it's all the rage with the kids these days.

Interview: Ray Maguire, MD of SCE UK [TechRadar]

And the post-E3 soul-searching continues! Latest to be asked for his $US 0.02 is the man with the soothing voice, Sega US boss Simon Jeffery. Who, for all the work he managed to get done during the week, still thinks the event could do with a little more...pizazz.

E3 was a strange beast this year. We had an extremely strong product showing, had some great meetings, and got our messaging over pretty strongly - all at an event that had all the atmosphere of a large hospital corridor...we'd like to see something that represents the fun, dynamic nature of the industry a little better without going back to the insanity that was E3 of old.

It's OK, Simon. We miss the booth crumpet as well.

'E3 felt like a hospital corridor' [MCV]

Even if this year's E3 wasn't exactly all that and a bag of chips, there will be another one. And you know what? It will be next year. That's right negative humanoids, the Electronic Software Association is plotting E3 2009. Says an ESA rep:

As we do every year, we're beginning the process of surveying exhibitors and attendees to determine potential changes to the Summit. Once this is completed and shared with the ESA's Board of Directors, we will make an announcement about the specifics of the 2009 E3 Media & Business Summit, which will occur.

Maybe they'll move it back to Santa Monica again to keep everyone on their toes. Or how about Pasadena? Bring it to Orange County!

E3 to return in '09 [GameSpot via Go Nintendo]

And the E3 post-mortems continue! Latest to chime in with his 2c is swarthy heart-throb David Perry, who thinks E3 is stupid. And broken. And an embarrassment. And diluted. And...look, we'll just let David explain:

If there aren't dramatic changes to the format and staff, I'm never going again...The concept is broken, it's expensive, messages are diluted, consumers are ignored (remembering that the future of this industry is direct connections with consumers - not retailers), the ticket policies are stupid, and if the entire industry worldwide doesn't participate, it's not real anyway.

Tough words! Tough, but true. Who'll be next to let us know of E3's impending demise? Stay tuned!

Perry: E3 is an embarrassment [GI.biz]

Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe is the musical equivalent of the MK team's Kid A, says associate producer Hector Sanchez. For those unfamiliar with that Radiohead reference, maybe MK vs. DCU being the video game equivalent of a post-make up KISS will make more sense. Regardless of the rock allusion, Sanchez essentially told me at E3 that after seven slogs through the MK universe, expanding and retreading, rinsing and repeating, it was time for a change — a big change.

Like Radiohead and KISS before them, the team decided that there wasn't much further they could take the Mortal Kombat franchise without doing something radical, hoping that after the shock wore off, that the core fans would come along for the ride.

I suspect that they will, with DC devotees also hopping on board. Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe is currently resting at the top of my personal list of biggest surprises at E3 08. Not only is it disarmingly fun, it reminds me of my favourite entry in the series, Mortal Kombat II.

It's official. E3 2008 has given up the ghost. Time of death was approximately 4:08 PM Pacific Standard Time. I learned of the news when visiting Midway's office to get a hands-on demo with Wheelman and noticed that the This Is Vegas presentation stations were being torn down. So sad.

But there's a silver lining! Our coverage will continue despite this tragedy. Expect loads more hands-on impressions, media, out of context quotes, and analysis over the following days. E3 coverage... you're soaking in it!

At tonight's E3 2008 Nintendo Developer Roundtable, Shigeru Miyamoto quickly and casually confirmed that a new Pikmin title is under development. His words? "We're making Pikmin". The long version of that answer, when asked if the team was planning on revisiting that particular franchise was far more verbose.

"We continue investigating all types of games", Miyamoto said. "When it's time to announce such a title, I'll announce it". Then he did. "We're making Pikmin".

Again, that's "We're making Pikmin".