Back in 2007, I went to E3 for the first time and it was a horrible show. I could have seen more new video games standing in the Best Buy game isle than were on display that year. Thankfully, E3 went back to the much larger format for 2009 that it used years ago and it seems the show was a success again.

According to the Entertainment Software Association, the group that puts on the E3 Expo each year, 2009 was a success. The show had over 41,000 attendees from 78 different countries and had 216 exhibitors. The best news was that the booth babes were back at the show this year.

Here’s an interesting story. The guys over at Joystiq spotted a pair of Classic Controller Pros for the Wii at Nintendo’s E3 booth. What’s unusual about this is that it still hasn’t been announced for release outside of Japan.

Nintendo reps at the booth apparently know nothing, or they just weren’t saying anything about a planned release. There’s also no official word on the E3 press site. Yet the controllers were there in all their Wii-white glory.

Sony just announced the PSP Go! at E3. Haz Kirai joked that it had two names: The “worst kept secret at E3.” and the PSP Go! As expected, the slider has a 3.8-inch LCD, built-in Bluetooth and 16GB of internal storage.

It’s also 50 percent smaller and 40 percent lighter than the original PSP. When you lose a UMD drive, you’re bound to shed some pounds, right? With no UMD drive, the games will load through the Memory Stick Micro slot or over the PlayStation Network. Sony says that the classic PSP will still be supported and loved on. Are you shedding a tear for the UMD? Be honest.

One of the more interesting announcements from Nintendo today, was Satoru Iwata announcing the latest health-related peripheral for the Wii. The Wii Vitality Sensor. The purpose of the device is a little confusing and we aren’t sure just how it will be implemented in a game, but here’s the deal.

The device is basically a biorhythm sensor that connects to your finger and transmits your heart rate to the Wii. How will that be used in gameplay? We have no idea. Our guess is that this is more for the Wii Fit Plus.

Nintendo has announced Wii Fit Plus. The new fitness software is planned for release this fall in two versions: bundled with the Wii Balance Board and as a stand-alone. Apparently, the new Wii Fit “moves in an added direction” beyond the original, letting users “create a specific workout program that’s perfect” for them. Six new strength and yoga activities can be tailored to your own tastes, depending on what goals you have. There’s also a revamped interface focused on creating seamless routines of 20, 30, 40 minutes.

Plus will also introduce 15 new minigames, like juggling, skateboarding and a game called “perfect 10″ were players move their hips to select numbers that add up to 10. It was dubbed, “Brain Age for your backside,”.

Nintendo just announced the New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The title will feature multiplayer-friendly gameplay, supporting up to 4 players for some local action. The emphasis is on co-operative play, while maintaining the classic Super Mario look and feel.

You’ll find all the usual warp pipes, hidden areas, and plenty of coins. But there’s some new stuff too, like the Propeller suit, where Mario and others have a propeller attached to their heads. Shake the Wiimote and players can fly in the air.

Everyone at the ‘Brick is super excited about Microsoft’s Project Natal real time motion-capture accessory for the Xbox 360, but it’s going to be a while before we can actually play it. Until we can, this is the teaser video that was shown during this morning’s keynote.

The keynote promo video shows off many planned uses for the new peripheral, like voice and face recognition, video chatting, and all kinds of gameplay options where you can use your entire body. Color us impressed.

Today E3 was seriously rocked by Beatles Rock Band as they unleashed the awesomness that is the fab four upon the world. Turns out that you will be able to perform multiple vocals (harmonies). Harmonix showed off what you can expect in the game.

The Beatles: Rock Band will be released simultaneously for XBox 360, PS3 and the Wii in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other territories. The trailer above is pretty awesome for Beatles fans.

We’ll here it is. Photos of the new PSP have arrived. The PSP Go improves upon it’s predecessor by making games available via wireless download or on Memory Stick Micro cards. No more UMD!

The device will feature 16GB of on-board flash memory for storage of downloadable games, movies and music from the Playstation Network. The controller slides out from under the screen to maximize screen size while keeping the console light and small. There’s Bluetooth and WiFi as well.

Ars Technica has a “very well-informed mole” that says that the rumored flash-based PSP Go! will be announced at E3. Then, later it will be sold right alongside the current model. As for the PS3 Slim, it’s real. And slim. But we don’t expect an announcement next week. We aren’t sure when.

Just a regurgitation of rumors we’ve already heard? Ars seems confident about the info. Either their mole is right or dead wrong. Their source says that the new PSP will be lighter and smaller possibly even cheaper. The PS3 Slim is just Sony doing what they do. They always miniaturize their consoles.

I always wanted to go to E3 when it was a monster event with all the games and girls you could shake a controller at. In 2007, I finally got a chance to go and that was the first year of the much smaller show. It sucked and I was disappointed. This year E3 is supposed to be big again, wish I could go.

GameSpot will be there though and the company has picked its most anticipated games of the show, and the deck is stacked. Among the anticipated titles are Assassins Creed II, Dante’s Inferno, God of War III, Heavy Rain, Forza Motorsport 3, Deus Ex 3, and many more.

Hot on the heels of that white US DualShock 3 this morning, there’s word that a revised PS3 is in the works. Rumor is that it’s the long-rumored slimmed-down redesign of the current console, not just a change in color or storage.

It makes sense as it would be cheaper to make and it might even include the rumored motion-sensing hardware. That would help sales.

Sony’s E3 press event is just over one month away. The rumors are already flying. We told you about PSP’s overhaul, but now Variety is reporting that the PlayStation 3 motion sensing controller will be appearing on stage.

Word is that third-party developers have already been asked to implement the functionality into their upcoming games. You guys interested in the PS-Wii?

Rumors of a major PSP hardware redesign have repeatedly surfaced over the last several months. There have been claims that the UMD disc drive is gone, and others pointing to a second analog stick and sliding screen. 1up cites some sources directly involved with the new system and says that Sony will unveil their revamped PSP at this year’s E3 conference in June.

Here’s the breakdown. The UMD is gone, replaced with options for 8GB or 16GB of built-in flash memory. Three rumored names include PSP Slide, PSP Flip, and PSP Go!. That last borrows from Sony’s Go! brand and has us thinking there might be a built-in camera. The same D-pad, analog nub, and face button configuration, but they now slide out from the bottom of the unit.

Video games are a big business with top-tier video game sales often outdoing the hottest films box office take. When the video game industry started getting large back in 1995 the inaugural E3 or Electronic Entertainment Expo was launched.

For most of its life E3 was associated with massive booths, tons of games, game geeks everywhere and hoards of booth babes. Then in 2007, E3 changed for the worse. Only journalists could get in and even then journalists had to be invited by a game firm showing at the show.