E3, at a crossroads, brings hype, new games to Los Angeles

For too long, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has existed inside a heavily shielded bubble, one in which game makers target retailers and journalists with carefully controlled messages designed to stoke the imagination of the most dedicated of game players. And what have those players wanted? Indeed, at the pre-conference events ahead of the Tuesday start of this year's E3, it seemed at first that nothing had changed. At L.A. Live on Sunday afternoon, Electronic Arts offered insiders a look at a sequel to "Titanfall," a military-esque shooter featuring giant robots, as well as the gritty, World War I-set "Battlefield I." Then Monday morning at Microsoft's bonanza at USC's Galen Center, cheers erupted during a demo of the latest "Gears of War" when a woman used a gun to obliterate an already downed creature. These sorts of displays do little to debunk age-old stereotypes about games and those who play them.