E3, big video game show, opens in Los Angeles

It’s that time of year again. Los Angeles plays host to the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, the video game industry’s preeminent showcase for the latest games and hardware starting today.

More than 50,000 attendees are expected to stream through the Los Angeles Convention Center and other venues scattered about town.

Industry watchers say this year’s show is all about games, games and more games.

That’s not necessarily because the new games are so great. It’s because at last year’s event, Microsoft and Sony showcased their brand new competing game-station devices — the Xbox One and the Playstation 4 — that together form the center of gravity for serious gamers and the companies that sell stuff to them.

This year, no such profundity is expected.

But the show should be interesting nonetheless. Virtual reality — think headgear that attempts to immerse you in a separate reality — is gaining traction as makers come up with systems that won’t literally make you lose your lunch, a serious VR drawback up to now. VR hottie Oculus (recently bought by Facebook) will be showing off its Rift system, Sony its Project Morpheus, neither of which will be offered for sale before next year.

Many new games will be announced.

And Tuesday morning, one-time game king Nintendo is holding a streaming news conference to announce continued plans for relevancy.

The expo continues through Thursday.