E3 after-hours party: Geeks on a bull
We can't work all the time, you know. Those of us at this year's E3--reporters, analysts, game developers, and so on--have been more or less running back and forth between meetings and events at various hotels around the Santa Monica coast, wishing we were sitting on the beach rather than being tragically forced to try out new Xbox games that aren't on the market yet. (Woe is us.) But that all changes after about 6 p.m., when a whole host of software companies make us feel better by throwing parties and treating us to free food and an open bar.
One of the E3-related shindigs on Wednesday night was the Bethesda Softworks party at a delightfully cheesy Sunset Boulevard joint known as the Saddle Ranch Chop House.
It was a good half-hour drive out of the way, and there were plenty of other game companies that threw parties that night, but this one had a mechanical bull. (Not sure about where you're from, but on my home turf, ride-the-bull attractions are pretty rare. I think there's a total of two of them on the entire island of Manhattan.) Check out what happens when a bunch of geeks invade a bar that looks like it fell out of Disney World's Frontierland...and try to conquer a piece of "interactive entertainment" that doesn't involve a console or a joystick.
As you can see from the extensive footage above, the average E3 attendee does not appear to be particularly good at bull riding. Maybe the Wii Balance Board could help with that.
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline. 
