Our second diarist is none other than David Braben, co-programmer of legendary space trading game, Elite, and founder of Frontier Developments...
"I've just got back from a party at the British Embassy - catching up with many people I hadn't seen for a long time. It is an amazing contrast - the beautiful, manicured gardens of the Embassy with the noisy hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. It is also great and much appreciated to see some government recognition of the British games industry.
"The E3 show hasn't started yet, but the mainstream media is already throwing the gauntlet down for the 'next generation' between Microsoft and Sony. What is most apparent here is Sony coverage (which is everywhere) - billboards around LA, at the show (see picture) - there was even a large sticker on the TV in my hotel room. Is Sony rattled - or maybe Microsoft feels the battle is elsewhere?
"I was at the show earlier and we were helping set up various computers and console kit. A real frustration is the premature pervasiveness of LCD TVs - the change is dramatic; last year there was a mix of conventional CRT TVs/monitors, but now I think there is a perception that CRTs are old fashioned. The down side is they simply don't (yet) work as well for some things - colours don't match, interlace doesn't seem to work reliably. Even this hotel have ripped out their TVs, and replaced them with giant flat 16:9 screens - but they mess with the aspect ratio, so everyone on TV is short and fat, and there's no option to show as 4:3. Progress, I imagine. I think I'm getting old!"
David Braben
A PS3 teaser poster in the looooong glass corridor between the two main halls
