Press Start: All the news of E3 that's fit to print

OK. Now you can go on vacation. Technically, E3 goes from a Tuesday to a Thursday. In reality, it's preceded by a couple days of news conferences, and trailed by a week of coverage as writers return from Los Angeles and empty out their notebooks. We'll be doing plenty of that ourselves beginning tomorrow. Looking back, it was a hell of a newsy E3, especially for one that hit 50,000 registered attendees for the first time in 10 years. Bethesda Softworks kicked it off with a first-ever keynote jampacked with goodies, from a baller IRL Pip-Boy to a Fallout base-building game you can play right now. Sony uncorked a wish-fulfillment extravaganza that featured Shenmue 3 (sorta), Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and The Last Guardian. Microsoft splashed the pot with a backward compatibility program for Xbox One. EA showcased Mass Effect: Andromeda, put a launch date on Mirror's Edge Catalyst, and offered this unexpectedly sexy moment (OK, that's a joke.) Ubisoft had tricks up its sleeve, too with a South Park RPG sequel and For Honor, a bloody multiplayer swordfighter. That was Monday. Tuesday was mainly a swamp of why-bother keynotes, particularly the PC Gaming Show, though Nintendo at least shelled out for some slick Muppets. But if you want to recap all the news conferences you can see Bethesda's, Microsoft's, Electronic Arts', Ubisoft's, Sony's, Nintendo's and Square Enix's in eight minutes or less, each. It's tough picking five stories to describe a week packed to the gills with news, but we'll try anyway. Welcome to Press Start, a recap of the week in games and gaming culture to get you ready for the one ahead.