And we're done! The third day of E3, in the books. Today was a little quieter compared to the first two days, mostly because the "big three" had already shown their hands. That's not to say nothing happened, however. Plenty happened. And you can find the highlights below.

Liveblogging Take-Two's 2008 E3 Press Conference
Tretton: Sony Considering PSP with Harddrive
Liveblogging Konami's E3 2008 Press Conference
Rock Band 2: Perfecting The Game
E3 Gate Crasher: Ghetto Vader - Let Him In?
PS3 Press Conference Rehearsal Crashed By Mystery Blogger
Sega: The iPhone is as Powerful as the Dreamcast
Your 360 Themes "Could" Look Like This On The New Dash
Bungie's Halo Game Announcement Held Back For A "Dedicated Event"
Miyamoto: "We're Making Pikmin"
80GB PS3 To Hit "All PAL Territories" On August 27

Yeah, E3 doesn't technically start until later on today, but there was enough news yesterday to cause us to re-evaluate our numbering policies. Microsoft's keynote address contained a few things we'd expected, but also a few things we did not expect, and one thing in particular we did not in any way oh my god expect. If you missed it all or were somehow otherwise engaged, you'll find the important stuff below.

The New Xbox Experience: Just The Facts (And Maybe Some Conjecture)
Interview: Catching Up On Microsoft's Big Announcements
Microsoft Releasing LE Red, Green 360 Controllers
Final Fantasy XIII: The E3 Trailer
Final Fantasy XIII Coming To Xbox 360
Liveblogging Microsoft e3 2008 Press Conference

To: Crecente
From: Bashcraft
RE: Don't Leave Us Hanging

Tonight's Night Note is kinda long, so I put it after the jump.

What you missed last night
What Are The Top Selling Games Of 2008 So Far?
Fallout 3 Refused Classification In Australia
Patapon 2 Announced, Let's Look At It
Mega Man 9: Cheap As $US 10 Chips
Cliff Bleszinski Wants Fewer Buttons
This Wii Hard Drive Is So Damn Phony (And Funny)
Does This Banjo Kazooie Video Confirm An Xbox 360 Motion Controller?

To: Crecente
From: Bashcraft

Man, it's Monday! And a pretty quiet Monday, post holiday. Went to my kid's soccer practice, where another little kid crapped in his pants and had to be taken off the field by the coach. Ah, yes, youth.

Been listening to a lot of Bowie recently, a lot -- well, up to Scary Monsters, after which he seemed to lose the plot for a while (warm fuzzy Labyrinth soundtrack memories aside). Heroes just might be in my top five albums of all time...

I always seem to go in phases where I begin listening to one artist or genre, listen to that to death and then move on..........

What's on your playlist? Gonna need some Tunes to listen to on the plane.

What you missed last night
2.40 Fix Coming "Midweek"
David Hayter Begged Konami To Change MGS4 Stuff
Let's Watch The First Mega Man 9 Footage
New Prince Of Persia Screens
Japan Presents Foreign Dignitaries With...A DS Lite

To: Crecente
From: Bashcraft
RE: Happy Third!

Actually, kinda miss the 4th. Well, the way it's done in America. People pretty much set off fireworks all summer here -- like you can buy them at your local 7-11. So, they're more of a summer thing, which is nice. Not sure about the laws regarding them, but people tend to go down by a river and shoot 'em off at all hours of the night with no problems from the police.

We planned on shooting off fireworks tonight, but ran out of him. The afternoon was spent at the doctors. Going into this, Mini-Bash wanted a girl, but after a ding-dong popped up on the ultrasound, it looks like we'll be adding yet another young lad to the Ashcraft clan. Afterwards, he remarked: When the baby boy is a baby, it'll be cute. But when it grows up, it won't be cute anymore. Valid point.

Now, we just have to think of a name....... And a name that "works" in both English and Japanese and has Japanese kanji. Tricky!

What you missed last night:
Five Games That Matter In Kojima's Life
New Halo Game For E3 (Master Chief Not Included)
Dyack vs. NeoGAF, Part II
360 Rock Band Guitars Work With GH: Aerosmith [Update]
DualShock 3 And Xbox 360 Frankencontrollers
64 Percent of Those Polled Gave Up Wii Fit
Led Zeppelin Uncomfortable With Licensing Songs To Rock Band, Guitar Hero

To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up, Kiddos?

Wow it's been a crazy day. I've spent much of it trying to finalise our E3 plans, which includes that reader party we've been talking about. The appointments are mostly booked for the show. I just have a few companies left to finalise with. Even though there are less attendees this time around, the fact that there really is only two days to see stuff (Tuesday is packed with press conferences) makes fitting all 40 or so companies a real task.

As for the party. I just got off the phone with the bar and we've got everything locked down. The party is going to be at the Golden Gopher in Los Angeles on the Sunday night before E3. I even managed to squeeze Gawker Media up for a little open bar monies. This one will be like the ones we've held in New York and Tokyo. A low-key affair that gives us a chance to hang with all of the people who make our jobs possible.

I'll be posting the official announcement tomorrow sometime. Can't wait!

What you missed:
Resistance 2's Leviathan Unveiled
Blizzard WWI WoW Pet Revealed
Square Enix Confirms Chrono Trigger DS
Infogrames-Controlled Atari Gets 49 Percent Of Publishing Revenues From DBZ
Frankenreview: Battlefield: Bad Company (Xbox 360)
American McGee Gives Gamers Free Grimm
Alpha Protocol Aims Ambitiously For RPG, FPS Fans
Sony Pulls PS3 2.40 Firmware After Reported Problems
One "Mortal Kombat Killer" Avoids Prison Term

To: Crecente
From: Ashcraft
RE: Vacation: Cuff Links, Readers and A Swamped Pool

Sounds like you had a nice vacation! And I dig the cufflinks. (And the brilliant reader Photoshops in the comments.)

Earlier this evening we went up to Mini Bash's school for the Star Festival. Next week is the Tanabata, which you can read about it here if yer interested. Anyhoo, Mini Bash and all the other kids in his class told the teacher want they wanted to be when they grew up. The teacher then wrote these wishes on slips on paper which we attached to bamboo leaves. Mini-Bash's read:

When I grow up, I want to be Squirtle from Pokémon.

Yep, we're pretty proud. o_0

What you missed last night
Yakuza 3 Announced (No, Not Again, A New Yakuza 3)
Is This Official Chrono Trigger DS Confirmation?
Is Chrono Trigger DS Coming To America?
Minority Report Designer Behind New, Motion-Controlled 360 GUI?
An Elegant Stylus For A More Civilised Age
Namco Bandai Says Soulcalibur IV Install Size "Significantly Overblown"
Rock Band 2 Preview Shows Journey, Foo Fighters, Motorhead And More

To: Crecente
From: Bashcraft

So, yeah, everyday I've been playing soccer when the kid. When I was younger, I played soccer for a few years, but later, got more interested in baseball. The kid really likes soccer, and man, I'm quite enjoying it! Don't remember liking soccer this much. It's really a great game — love the passing, love it.

What you missed last night
Two New Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Characters Revealed!
Sony Files Multi-Touch Portable Patent
Microsoft: If We Launch A Game On 360 & PC Simultaneously, We Shoot Ourselves In The Foot
Too Human: "This Has To Be The Worst Game I've Played In The Last 5 Years"
Let's Dress Up Chun-Li
Rock Band 2's Guitar Is Easy On The Eye"
Too Human Hands-On: Six Hours In And Half-Way Home

To: Crecente
From: Bashcraft

Ahoy! Welcome back from you boating adventure.

Today, I went to the immigration office to see if I got permanent residence. The way it works here (and other countries, too, I guess) is that you typically get a one-year or a three-year visa from your employer, who sponsors your visa. If you are married, then your spouse is your sponsor. That's kinda worrying if you've got a family — like, what if you don't get your visa renewed? (It happens!)

What's more, for me, I can't qualify for a home loan with a spouse visa. Banks just won't lend money! They got burned lending easy money during the Bubble Economy are are extra cautious. Want to buy a house? Most foreigners need that governmental Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval that is permanent residency. To apply, I had to fill out a bunch forms, stating why I wanted residency, divulge personal info. like how I met Mrs. Bashcraft and include pictures of us together over the years. She was my sponsors for my application, and her parents, my in-laws, were like the back-up sponsors. The government checked my tax record, blah, blah, blah, to see if I was being a good foreigner. We've been on pins and needles, 'cause we are too ready to buy a house, sick of paying rent, whatever. And today, we went to the immigration office and learned that, yes, I am officially a permanent resident of Japan. Yay!

What does that mean? Pretty much that I don't have to renew my visa and can stay here as long as I want, but do have to get re-entry permits for my passport when I leave the country (which is something every foreigner has to do — maybe except for Korean-Japanese, not sure). Can't vote with permanent residency, though, you gotta be a citizen for that. In the past, it's been somewhat challenging to get permanent residency, though it probably was much easier for me as I am married and do my part in increasing the shrinking Japanese population.

What you missed last night
Rock Band 2 announced
2.40's In-Game XMB Walkthrough
"Major Retailer" Confirms 360 Price-Cut
DualShock 3 Finally Dated for Europe
Metal Gear Online Stand Alone Confirm, Access Numbers Announced

To: All of Kotaku
From: Stephen
Re: Nobody Knows Good Pasta Like Stephen Totilo Does (Photo Proof!)

Well, this was a fun week. And a hard one.

Juggling a day job and Crecente's shoes isn't easy. (Oh, but the smell -- wow!) A fan of Kotaku and my MTV blog said the past week was like the Jetsons Meet The Flintstones. That was a good cross-over, right?

I enjoyed my time posting for the readers here and rubbing elbows with the fine Kotaku editorial staff. You're all an impressive bunch and terrific group to write for. I always try to do work that I'd like to read -- that is interesting, respects people's intelligence, and, when suitable, enjoyable. I'm glad it seemed to hit the mark here.

I hope all you Kotaku readers out there will never lose sight of the influence you wield. Your decisions about what you consider important and worth reading direct the reporters and bloggers who ultimately serve you. Go with your gut and please keep helping the coverage of games improve, as I think it has, year after year.

And, if you didn't do so already, please drop by MTV Multiplayer blog next week and beyond to see what we're up to over there. I won't even force you to take a quiz or read about Jimmy Olsen.

See you in the comments section.

What you may have missed

New Details On DC Universe Online
My Game Collection Is This Small
Was There A Better Way To Pitch A Lego: Transformers Game?
Yes, I Really Did Watch A Guy Play Boogie Superstar
I Beat Harry Potter's Executive Producer In A Wand Duel
This Samsung Xbox 360 TV Looks Fake (But It's Not A Bad Idea)