[YouTube] E3 Show Dailies (1998-2012)

https://youtu.be/aDNvakY9fEk

This is a post I meant to put together last June and even had the video mostly done, but I never got around to completing it. It's basically my goodbye to the Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, after it was permanently canceled on December 12, 2023. Since launching the blog in 2017, I'd often post something related to E3 during the second week of June when the show typically took place. I used to drown myself in E3's plethora of video game news, in part because of my former job, but I also played way too many games across a variety of genres and platforms. Last year there were still a lot of video game events held online during the former E3 week, however, this year the showcases have been lacking. At least that's how it feels, though that could be due to my lack of gaming the past year and my aging hardware that can't play most of the newer games.

In the video I flip through some of the E3 Show Daily magazines that date between 1998 and 2012. Each year's show had three issues, and I have a random selection of them, and sometimes only one or two from a single year. I acquired them from former co-workers, as I only attended the 2003 show myself. Below you'll find photographs of the front and backs of the issues that I own. Unfortunately, I don't have the means or the time to scan them. I'm also providing links to previous blog posts about E3 and other conventions at the bottom.

Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)

The Week Before E3 Week: Part 1 (2017 Predictions)

The Week Before E3 Week: Part 2 (Next Generation's E3 1999 Coverage)

The Week Before E3 Week: Part 3 (My E3 2003 Experience)

E3 2018 Predictions

E3 2019 Predictions

Electronic Gaming Monthly #72: E3 1995

E3: The Show That Was (Next Generation #44 - August 1998)

Consumer Electronics Show (CES)

The 1992 Summer Consumer Electronics Show Recap (VG&CE - September 1992)

Tokyo Toy Show/Tokyo Game Show (TGS)

The Tokyo Toy Show: The Games of 1991 (Electronic Gaming Monthly #14)
Sega Introduces Saturn at Tokyo Toy Show (EGM2 - July 1994)

Tokyo Game Show 1998 (Next Generation - January 1999)

Tokyo Game Show Fall 99 (Official Sega Dreamcast Magazine - January 2000)

[YouTube] G.I. Joe Adventure Board Game!

https://youtu.be/BchTL4I1_MU

G.I. Joe Adventure Board Game! by International Games, Inc. was released in 1982, the same year that Hasbro launched the 3 3/4" action figure toy line. It's the first of five original G.I. Joe board games released between 1982 and 2002, in addition to G.I. Joe-themed versions of Battleship and Monopoly from 2009. The game is designed for 2-4 players, but it actually includes nine player pieces, one of each of the first Joe action figures. As you'll see in the images, my game came with six stands, though only four are used in play. There are also two dice, one is used during the starting areas, while two are used to navigate the rest of the board and to determine battle outcomes. The main goal is to be the first player to reach 100 objective points.

I don't recall if I enjoyed playing the game, though I don't think I played it too much. As I say in the video, the manual doesn't seem too clear, but it is simpler than I realize. What I do remember is playing Milton Bradley's 1985 Commando Attack Game much more and having a lot of fun with that one. In the manual scans below, I rotated the "UNO" page to make it easier to read. As the fourth page of the manual, the top faces left with the area to fill in the customer's name being right side up.

Although not part of this board game, at the end of the video I showed 7 of the 20 bonus miniatures that were packaged with specially marked action figures in 1989. I mistakenly called them mini figures in the video, as I didn't realize there was an official name, and that is Micro Figures. The size of the micros makes them perfect as board game player pieces, either as a substitute for G.I. Joe games like this and Monopoly, or for any game with small plastic pieces.

[YouTube] Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Fan Club Photos & Topps Stickers

https://youtu.be/SWaQ_0RKZFM

This is a look at a few Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back items that I believe I acquired via mail-in promotions. There isn't a lot to say about them, they're simply cool to look at. The four 8" x 11" photos are from the Star Wars Fan Club in 1980 and I'm fairly certain that the movie logo patch is from that as well. What I don't know is where I got the last item from. It's a sheet of Topps trading card stickers from The Empire Strikes Back Series 2 set. My best guess is that Topps had a mail-in offer to get all of the stickers on a single sheet, and my parents ordered it. Maybe it involved sending in some wrapper and money for postage? It's also very possible that it was part of the fan club package too. I've done many Google searches and wasn't able to find any information on this. It looks like an uncut sheet of stickers, however, it's not thick enough to be card stock. The actual trading card stickers could be flipped over to create the film's poster which can be seen multiple times on the back of this sheet.

While there really isn't a need for a video of these items, I made one anyway because I've not made many videos lately and it was an easy one to put together. I did edit the photos a little bit, so the scans look better than what you'll see in the video.

1980 Star Wars Fan Club

1980 Topps Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Series 2 Sticker Sheet

May the 4th be with you!