In exactly one week, the N-Sider staff will be making its annual pilgrimage to Los Angeles for the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3). While the show itself doesn’t start until May 10th, the press briefings and pre-shows begin on May 8th, one week from today.

Over the course of the next week, we will be bringing you past memories from N-Sider’s previous trips to E3 (This will be our sixth year attending!). Also, Sunday's chat will be a very special pre-e3 webchat, so mark your calendars for May 7th at 9:00pm EDT!

An excerpt from “Glen Bayer @ E32k3”

I pondered what I hoped to accomplish at my third Electronic Entertainment Expo. "Something special" was my first thought. What that meant exactly, I did not yet know.

Is it falling asleep on the shoulder of Yvonne Payne, the sweet elderly lady sitting beside me on the plane? Is it shaking Miyamoto's hand? Or is it stripping out of my clothes and seeing how fast I can run from South Hall to West Hall before being tackled and accosted by security? While I didn't know what that "something special" was initially, I unconsciously realized it by the conclusion of my flight.

If a public phone is ringing, do you answer it?

I realized the something special is and has always been the affection and child-like yearning I feel for Nintendo’s comforting touch. Nothing tangible could ever hope to replace or substitute it. Unless, that is, you have a hair wrap and your name is Miss Cleo.

After a three-hour flight, I arrived in LAX at 11:10 PM to a welcoming rush of warm air and the sight of resident writer Cory Faller and artists Aimee Lamoureux and Matthew Musselman. Never mind the requisite Dairy Queen induced colon cleansing mid-flight or the grabbing of a luggage cart from a man in SARS face-mask attire, I’m at E3 baby! With a backpack and duffle bag at my side, the four of us grabbed a shuttle to the Inntowne Hotel - N-Sider’s official E3 accommodations since May 2001.

Being only one week away from what will most likely be the greatest E3 since 2001, brings an almost nostalgic and extreme excitement to those who are attending. For those who are not travelling to the show, N-Sider will have coverage from the show floor all throughout the days of the show as well as in-depth looks at the games upon our return from Los Angeles.

As a reminder, we are still taking pre-orders for our E3 2006 DVD, and at only $6 with free shipping worldwide, it's definately worth picking up.