As I write this I’m being propelled through the air in a metal tube full of dehydrated, re-circulated air. 38,000 feet above sea level at six hundred miles per hour. It’s minus fifty-two degrees outside but inside it’s warm and I’ve got a big comfortable seat. I’m three quarters of my way into a flight which will last over ten hours in total. I’ve eaten, there has been wine. My PR contact is friendly and I’ve met Dan who works for WonderWallWeb.com. He’s a lovely chap, as I expected. Dan Maher (MrPointyHead) from Inside Xbox is sitting two rows in front of me, across the aisle.
Tonight, after meeting everyone over drinks and a buffet, I’m being taken to a screening of Halo Legends. By the time the movie ends I will have been awake for 26 hours and I will, no doubt, be looking forward to a comfortable bed in a nice hotel. Tomorrow I have around four hours of looking at video games that haven’t been released yet and talking to the people that make them before more drinks and, on Friday, a free day to explore one of the finest cities on earth
What have I done to find myself in such an odd situation, being treated to an amazing experience, meeting new and friendly people and experiencing something – a press junket – that relatively few ever get to indulge in? Well, I write about video games. And that’s about it.
It strikes me as somewhat bizarre that my musings on a hobby I’ve always indulged in have attracted enough interest from you, our fantastic readers, to warrant the expense and hassle that people are going to. It occurs to me that there are more deserving people. There are probably better writers, people more knowledgeable and more interesting. There is bound to be someone out there that should be here instead of me. But here I am so let’s make the most of it.
So what is the event and what is the plan for my coverage? Well, I’m travelling to San Francisco to cover Microsoft’s X10. I haven’t paid to travel and I won’t be paying for my accommodation. It’s important to me, to TheSixthAxis, that you know that. I am here on their dime. It’s also important to me, to us, that you know that I will be covering the event objectively. I am a strong believer in the ethics of journalism and I won’t compromise that for anything.
There are many rumours about what we’ll see at the actual event, few of them completely confirmed but here’s what I can guess at: Crackdown 2 will make an appearance, hopefully playable. Peter Molyneux may be there and he may be making that announcement about Fable III which, he thinks, will “piss people off”. I’ll let you know if I’m pissed off. I suspect that Halo: Reach will be there and Dead Rising 2 was, I think, confirmed as I was packing for the trip. I think, or at least hope, that Splinter Cell: Conviction will be there in some form and I’m certain that I will see something of Alan Wake, because I’ve been told I’m not allowed to talk about it yet. I would be surprised if Natal doesn’t make an appearance too, in some form.
The fact that the details are still behind a veil of mystery is a promising sign, though. I like it when people keep secrets; it usually means there’s something worth covering up.
So there you have it, the plan so far. I will be trying to get photographs from the event and hopefully I’ll get a chance to talk to some of the developers. All the time I will continue to wonder what I did to end up here and I will continue to do my best to bring you the best coverage I can when I get a chance to write, which will be handily categorised here if Nofi’s done his job… In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter and keep track of what I’m up to.