This week’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles draws the biggest video game and computer companies in the world, and Apple has a presence too. Why? Games are important to Apple, and being at E3 gives the company an opportunity to meet with key game developers and publishers in the PC and console market.
The meeting room, located in a spot near E3 Expo’s main show offices, is an oasis away from the noise and craziness that the rest of E3 has to offer. Unlike the regular show floor, attendees visiting the Apple booth can have conversations at a normal level — in fact, the spot even features a trio of private offices where Apple and other companies have been meeting throughout the week.
Apple’s booth is open to the public, and has been attracting a steady crowd all week of Mac game publishers and developers, Apple fans and others have been stopping by to ask questions and to play games on the array of Apple hardware.
While the focus of the show is games, many attendees wandering by Apple’s show room are asking questions about other Apple technologies, and are looking for advice on how best to leverage Mac technology in their businesses and in their homes. Many people are expressing a renewed enthusiasm in Macintosh hardware and Mac OS X, and are interested in recent announcements like the iTunes Music Store.
Apple’s meeting room features a number of Power Mac G4 1.42GHz dual processor systems set up with 23 inch Cinema HD Displays running the full versions of MacSoft’s Unreal Tournament 2003 and Aspyr’s Medal of Honor Allied Assault Spearhead expansion pack, all running LAN-based games served on an Apple XServe. All the gaming systems have been equipped with Bose noise-cancelling headphones and multibutton mice made by Logitech.
Other PowerBooks and iMacs populate the room, showing off titles like THQ Inc.’s new Finding Nemo games, Enigmo and other titles. Another G4 tower has been equipped with NASCAR Racing 2003 Season, and there’s a system showing off the Mac-compatible development build of America’s Army, announced earlier this week — a 3D military simulation game actually created by the U.S. Army.