Extra: The Sights of E3 2017

We came, we saw, we watched a tomato twerk. E3 may be about going hands-on with the latest games, but it’s also just as much about spectacle. And for E3 2017, that spectacle was delivered in spades. Whether it was Nintendo transforming its booth into Super Mario Odyssey’s New Donk City or multiple giant dragons perched around the Los Angeles Convention Center’s South Hall, there was certainly plenty to see as well as play. Below, we’ve put together a gallery of 70 photos that give you a taste of the many sights of the show.

Nintendo’s booth was easily the most elaborate, doing for Mario Odyssey this year what it did for Zelda: Breath of the Wild last year. In other words, it practically felt like a theme park. The entire booth took on the look of New Donk City, right down to small details like a Cranky Ave street sign, Question Box crosswalk lights, park benches and patio sets for portable Switch demos, and even carpet made to look like asphalt. Playing Mario Odyssey would net you a Cappy visor (complete with giant eyes), which you picked up from an in-booth recreation of the game’s Crazy Cap storefront. Scattered about the booth were also numerous photo ops with ‘cap-tured’ Mario enemies, including a three-stack of Goombas, a Chain Chomp, and even a tank – all sporting Mario’s hat and mustache. Plus, the front of the booth featured a life-size statue of the plumber himself on his hat-shaped ship, The Odyssey.

Unlike last year, however, Nintendo brought more than just one game to E3. So while the booth itself was New Donk’d out, what was happening inside the booth was a bit more varied. Treehouse Live returned, this year broadcasting from a second-level balcony overlooking the booth. Below it was a large stage for Nintendo’s Splatoon 2, ARMS, and Pokken Tournament DX competitions, which took place over the first two days of the expo. There were also large demo areas for Splatoon 2 Turf Wars and ARMS battles, a smattering of third-party titles including Mario + Rabbids, FIFA 18, and Sonic Forces, and an amiibo display to showcase all the figurines announced throughout the week.

Other companies brought some spectacle of their own, too. Capcom set up themed areas for each of their big games, such as a massive Rathalos dragon to promote Monster Hunter World and a photo-op with Ultron Sigma on his throne to promote Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. WB Games brought their own separate giant dragon to promote Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, as well as made the tables and demo stations of their LEGO game booth look like they were built with blocks. Then you had Bethesda, who demoed Wolfenstein II inside a replica of Papa Joe’s Diner, as well as Ubisoft, who placed a giant Donkey Kong Rabbid in the convention center lobby for photo ops. We’d also be remiss not to mention Ubisoft’s in-booth Just Dance 2018 dance parties, which featured professional dancers, regular E3 attendees, and that aforementioned twerking tomato.

All these sights and more can be found in our gallery below. Be sure to also check back on June 25 for our next podcast episode, featuring hands-on impressions of Nintendo’s lineup, stories from the show floor, and a big E3 swag giveaway. Until then, enjoy the photo gallery and a video of Ubisoft’s dancing tomato.