E3 2009: Playing Rock Band with McLovin and rocking DJ Hero with Jay-Z
(Credit:
Dan Ackerman)
What's the best way to get the word out about your upcoming video game? If you're displaying your wares at E3, it's a time-honored tradition to hire a few celebrities to, if not downright endorse it, then at least to stand near your product and mention it a few times.
We saw this at Microsoft's press conference, featuring Paul and Ringo, along with Steven Spielberg and Tony Hawk; and later at Ubisoft's press event, with guest appearances by James Cameron and Pele (yes, the soccer player).
Microsoft's evening press event, featuring The Beatles: Rock Band, plus playable demos of Halo: ODST and Left 4 Dead 2, continued the celebrity theme. We got a chance to play "Back in the USSR" and "Taxman," but the real excitement started when we left the stage and were replaced by the unlikely combo of Dhani Harrison and Christopher "McLovin" Mintz-Plasse.
Later that evening, Activision brought out the big guns in support of the Guitar Hero family of games, which is now expanding to include the turntable-based DJ Hero game (more on that later this week) -- namely Eminem and Jay-Z. Check out the gallery below to see what game industry types get up to when they're not actually playing, making, or writing about games.
Bonus footage: McLovin's Beatles: Rock Band session goes horribly wrong, highlighting the dangers of public video game demonstrations (note: there's a little strong language from the audience in this video).
New York native Dan Ackerman, a former radio DJ turned journalist, has written about technology and music for publications including Spin, Blender, The Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. He hosts the weekly Digital City podcast and the New York edition of Editors' Office Hours. Dan's new album, Tales Out of Night School, is available now. E-mail Dan. 
