Once upon a time, E3 used to be a gamer’s first Christmas of the year. A time when we learned all about the games we would be playing in just a couple short months. Gameplay videos, screenshots, new announcements, surprises — E3 always had it all.

The question is: will this E3 be any different? Short answer: more than likely, it will be very similar. At least to the gamer crowd. Most of the same game news outlets will be attending, so the barrage of info we’re used to keeping up with should remain intact. And even though the expo is no longer packed tightly into one giant exhibition hall, we should still be seeing plenty of the same content we’re used to seeing, if for no other reason than simply because this is the first of the “new” E3’s. The game companies and the media outlets are still learning how they should adapt to the altered landscape. I predict it will remain the same as always this year, and next year, I foresee everyone changing up their gameplans based on the lessons they’ve learned this year.

I’ll be following the action over at the Evil Avatar E3 homepage, so long as the servers hold up. Bapenguin will be liveblogging at each of the conferences using a fancy utility that will update the page automatically, without the need for a refresh. I’ve seen the technology in action, and it’s slick. He’s a PHP master, that one, and I’m looking foward to the constant stream of updates. He will also be checking out booths and attending meetings to get brief glimpses of upcoming titles. He told me that he would try to check out NCSoft’s Aion, though seeing his schedule, I’m not holding out hope that he’ll have the time. But he will be attending each of the big three press conferences, and those will contain a majority of the info I’m looking to get out of this week.

Bap will also be adding “behind the scenes” content to his personal blog, which I’ve been checking out here and there already.

So, it’s E3 week! Gamers’ paradise! I’ll be back later to espouse on the new discoveries uncovered within the next couple of days.