Tip a 40 to the homies, this used to be E3 week

We are gathered here today, not to remember E3's death on July 31, 2006, but rather its life. A life which we would have celebrated this week if it weren't for its untimely passing. In the words of 20th Century wordsmith P Drs, we take a moment to remember:

I tip my 40 to your memory
Take a drink, and I
Stop to think, and I
I know one day soon
We'll be, we'll be hangin out

It is hard to imagine that the event so many loved to hate to love is actually gone now. Right about now journalists, industry folk and the legions of fanboys who scored a pass would be preparing to fly to Los Angeles tomorrow and get settled into our ghetto hotels before the madness of Wednesday. The sweat, the ecstasy and the pounding beat of thousands of speakers vying for consumer industry attention. But, like a tweaked-out twink on a three-day bender, the party couldn't last. The scene became too much for the big publishers and they decided to scale it down, keep their party tight and in private hotel rooms. Abandoned and with no place to go, with no more support, E3 passed. And so, we lost a good friend.

But let us not forget that left behind are PAX, E for All and Min-E3. Two events geared for the masses and one ultra-exclusive meant to take E3 back to its roots. Get the journalists who didn't make their business cards with mom's HP inkjet in to the cover the event. It is sad to think many will not know the joy and exhaustion caused by E3, but in time the pain will fade, like all pain does, and the happy memories will remain. We miss you E3.