Eurogamer at E3 2011

During the Show

E3 itself begins after the Nintendo conference on Tuesday and runs through to Thursday evening. Additionally, both Microsoft and Sony will be showing their wares to press on Monday evening - and we've also had the opportunity to check out a few big games already, under embargo.

Our first priority will be to bring you hands-on impressions of Nintendo's new console; expect to read these on Tuesday evening. Topping our games hitlist are Halo (if it is Halo) and Forza, the new Tomb Raider and Hitman games, some secret Sony stuff, Mass Effect 3, Assassin's Creed, Super Mario 3D, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Skyrim and so many more. Of course, we'll also be taking time to check out the likes of Sesame Street, TrackMania 2, Soulcalibur V, Binary Domain and the new SSX.

Meanwhile, we'll be holding Sony's European boss Andrew House to account, finding out about OnLive's plans for the UK and chatting to a couple of games industry legends. Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter will be commanding a network of spies from his underground lair to bring you unrivalled insight into the new tech on display.

We're also trying something new this year, with three special features that will run daily from Tuesday to Friday.

The Eurogamer.net Podcast: The E3 Sessions

We'll be doing daily podcasts from LA, recording and uploading these in the West Coast evening so they'll be available in the early mornings in the UK. Well, your morning commute couldn't get any worse, could it?

Urbane Brooklynite and world's most tie-wearing games journalist John Teti - who presented our GDC After Dusk chat shows with Ellie earlier this year - will be your host. He'll be joined for opinion, analysis and irreverent chat every day by Oli Welsh, along with other members of the Eurogamer team and maybe a new friend or two.

A link to the podcast will be pinned at the top of the news column every day, so remember to check it out. It will also be available from iTunes as per usual.

Today's Top Trailers

E3 week is a never-ending onslaught of new video, and it can be hard to sort the wheat from the chaff - while it can be all too easy to miss something cool in all the noise.

We're here to help! Back in the UK, Ellie and Tom Phillips will sift through the mountain of trailers and game footage to bring you five choice cuts every lunchtime. Only the most exciting trailers, coolest games and moving pictures that just demand to be seen will make it - although there'll also be one additional slot for the worst, or weirdest, video of the day.

The top trailers will be pinned at the top of the news column and refreshed at noon.

Who's Winning E3?

It's the question we all ask and love to debate. Who won? What was game of the show, and which platform holder's announcements made the biggest splash?

We'll be aiming to put at end to - or more likely, spice up - those inevitable pub arguments this year with the one thing we've been missing: hard data.

What are you lot most excited about and most interested in? Our web statistics hold the answer. The idea is simple. Every afternoon, we'll bring you a chart of the most popular E3-related articles on Eurogamer.

The results might be surprising. Last year, for example, 3DS dominated headlines and blogs and was the talk of the show floor. But it was articles about Kinect that did the most traffic on this site. Given that Microsoft's new gizmo has sold much more strongly than Nintendo's, that seems pretty telling in hindsight.

And if this sounds like fanboy-bait, it's honestly just a bit of fun that we thought you'd find interesting. Well... mostly.

Because let's be honest - E3 is all about rivalry and posturing. It's what makes the show what it is. It's the one time of year when it's OK to let your inner fanboy out - when even a stiff executive finds himself screaming about arcade racing games at the top of his lungs.

Play nice, stay classy and enjoy yourselves. It's looking like a great year. And when E3 is great, games are great, and we all win.