Dave Toole Senior Producer, GameSpot Live

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Time Flies When E3 Comes

This year's E3 will mark the event's 10th anniversary.

Reality check: E3 is almost here already? It really is hard to believe that it's already been almost a year since last E3. I guess the old saying is true: "Time flies, and the older you get, the faster it goes." Because, I swear, it seems to come at me faster every year. This will be the seventh E3 I've attended, and it might just be the one I've been most excited about since my first E3 back in 1998.

I'm a bit of a tech geek and am always eager to see where technology will take us--not just in terms of games, but in the world at large, too. As much as I love seeing next Christmas' smash-hit games at E3, the possibility of getting a sneak peek at future consoles and handhelds really gets me going. This E3 promises the possibility of a sneak peek at up to five new platforms, and I cannot wait for the whole thing to kick off with Microsoft's Xbox press conference on May 10.

There was a little bit of gossip going concerning a small chance that Microsoft would give people a little peek at Xbox Next at the recent Game Developers Conference, but it was not to be. It was only gossip, and after this long in the game business, I ought to know better, but I still got my hopes up. In fact, I have a little hope that Microsoft will give us a taste at E3. You never know what to expect when it comes to Microsoft--especially at E3.

E3 is where we'll see just how impressive the PSP really is.

You can bet on Sony showing off its PSP handheld and strongly focusing on it during the show. I expect we'll see quite a few third-party games for it at the show as well. I'm quite interested in seeing a game that shows off the power that developers have claimed the PSP is capable of, because, quite frankly, Death, Jr. doesn't look too hot. And after all of the flip-flopping on Sony's behalf, I'm also very excited to see what peripheral features the PSP will actually have.

Then there's the small possibility of Sony giving us a very early look at what we can expect on the PlayStation 3. I know the chances of seeing anything substantial are slim, but you never know--especially at E3. Sony did shock everyone last year with the announcement of the PSP at the end of its press conference. I'm hoping for another surprise.

The hardware that probably has me the most curious is Nintendo's dual-screened handheld. Don't confuse curiosity for enthusiasm, though--I'm just hoping to know what the heck Nintendo is thinking. I'm really interested in finding out just what Nintendo will do with the two screens and what market the handheld is intended for, since Nintendo has stated it's not the next-generation Game Boy. I'm also curious to see what type of support the DS has picked up from third-party developers.

Nintendo speaks about the GameCube (project Dolphin) for the first time at E3 1999.

Lastly, let's not forget about the possibility of Nintendo revealing its next-generation console. Nintendo was the first one to release information on the current-generation hardware when it unveiled the specs of the GameCube, codenamed "Dolphin," during E3 1999. That was cool, except no one really cared that much until Nintendo fully unveiled the GameCube at Space World 2001 in Tokyo. With Nintendo posturing like it won't let Sony get a head start with its next-generation hardware, anything can happen--especially at E3. So, with the possibility of so much new hardware to be seen at E3, I can't wait. I really hope the big three are up to showing everyone a glimpse of the future.