Not directly E3-related, but it was there anyway:

FFXI looks really good. When I first heard that it was online-only, I was deeply saddened. "End of an Era" proclamations and such. But reading a relatively in-depth look at how it works (the IGNinsider writeup) makes me a lot more optimistic, and maybe even a little anticipatory. It sounds like they did a pretty good job of "creating a world" where instead of interacting with NPCs, shopkeepers, etc., you just interact with other people. Which also means that you can take it and play it in a number of substantially different ways. Effectively locking away good chunks of the world until you advance is a pretty good incentive to do so, and presumably you'll also be able to rise in power and influence as you go on. I'm looking forward to it.

They're still going to get a good chunk of cash out of me (HDD + game + $10/month online fee), but I think it'll be worth it.

Alex