Get your game face on: E3 is live on YouTube again

Gamers unite — we’ve got global live streaming coverage of the 2012 E3 conference starting June 4 at 9:30am PT. Thanks to the experts at IGN, the live stream will start with presentations from the biggest companies in gaming, then hit the convention center for three days of previews, interviews and hands-on gameplay.

 

Starting June 5, the E3 YouTube Channel will feature our annual Game Trailer Challenge, where you can vote on some of the top game trailers unveiled at the show. Come back June 19 to see your 5 favorite trailers from this year.

If four days of gaming isn’t enough to satiate your appetite, or you can’t catch all the coverage as it happens, check out up-to-the-minute video from IGN and lots of other gamers on YouTube.

Liuba Petkova, YouTube Gaming, recently watched “WipEout 2048 NGP: Wipeout Your Enemies Trailer.”

Create your own video duels with YouTube Slam

Last year we started experimenting with the idea that you could find the next big thing on YouTube. YouTube Slam pits two videos against each other, where you get points for picking the crowd favorite. In just a few months, hundreds of thousands of you cast more than a million votes on Slams we created, and today we’re turning the game controls over to you.

You can now turn any of your playlists into a YouTube Slam. Play solo, share the YouTube link with your friends or even play together in a Google+ Hangout. Here’s how to do it:

1. Make a playlist with the videos you want to include in the Slam (you’ll need at least two videos and they have to be public), or choose a playlist you have already
2. Go to www.youtube.com/slam/create
3. Click the “Create Slam” button next to one of your playlists. It’ll look like this:

When you click “Play Slam” you’ll be taken into your game, and we’ll show the highest scoring videos and players on the leaderboard page of your Slam. Click “View the winners” at any time to check it out.

Want to get your friends involved? You can now play custom or existing Slams live with friends inside a Google+ Hangout by clicking the “Play Slam with your friends” link. You can also share the YouTube Slam link with friends directly to get more people playing. If you feel like the Slam has been settled, you can remove it at any time.



Slam is still a work in progress, and we want to hear your feedback. Let us know what you think in the comments below or by clicking the “Feedback” link on any Slam.

Interested in learning more about the research behind YouTube Slam? Check out our recent Google Research Blog post about gamification of search ranking, or find out about our work on finding funny videos and talented musicians.

Sanketh Shetty, software engineer, recently played a “Tree Cutting Fails” Slam.

Get more into gaming...on the big screen

Interested in watching the latest game reviews? Can’t get past that final level? If you are a gamer like me, there is a video for you on YouTube. From reviews, to cheats, to walkthroughs, you can now experience YouTube like never before on your Xbox 360.

Through the YouTube application on Xbox 360 we are announcing today, you can explore the most popular trending videos, delve into a category to discover something new, get help with your gaming, or search for any video you want. The YouTube you know and love is now on the big screen in your house. Interested in learning more? Watch some of these great videos from our gaming partners.

Sang Kim, Gaming Partner Development, recently watched “Mahalo Video Games Guide: Youtube for Xbox."

Top E3 game trailers based on your votes

This year’s E3 gaming expo produced a fresh crop of new game trailers to pour over, critique and get excited about. For two weeks, you’ve been voting for your favorites on the E3 channel and now the results are in.

The game that you got most excited about? Step forward Saints Row: The Third, whose “power CG” trailer delivered high-impact cinematics and what looks suspiciously like a CG cameo from the ubiquitous Ashton Kutcher. Congratulations to publisher THQ and developer Volition Inc, and check it out here:



Running down the remaining top trailers, we give the nod to:

• Battlefield 3: Operation Metro Multiplayer Gameplay Trailer (E3)
• INVERSION E3 2011 -- Official Trailer
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Reveal Trailer
• Gears of War 3 World Premiere Trailer

You can see all five trailers on the E3 channel until the end of June. For more of what’s hot in gaming, you can see popular videos, gaming channels and more on our gaming browse page, and catch more trailers in our trailers section.

Mark Day, YouTube gaming, recently watched “The Crying PC Gamer.”

Dunk your favorite YouTube star on Prank House

Editor's Note: Today’s guest blogger is Brigham White who, together with Taran Chadha, created the new video reality game Prank House. The app is a live streaming reality show similar to Europe’s Big Brother, with one major twist: viewers can participate in pranks live via the Internet through robotically controlled devices like paintball guns and shockers.

Taran and I both wanted – as in really wanted – to take the internet’s virtual world and make it real, and we were just silly enough to try it. The result is Prank House. Blend Survivor and Halo, and you’re halfway there. On Prank House, you can shoot real people (including some of your favorite YouTube stars) with paintball guns, release angry goats, shock people, play foosball, drop water bombs, and drive remote control cars around a 200 square foot track.

It’s pretty simple: you download a free desktop app from our site, prankhouse.com, and choose a team to support. You then buy tokens to drive different types of pranks, controlled through robotic devices within the “prank house.” It’s your job to help your team through competition in scheduled events.

We officially started Season 1 on October 4 with an impressive lineup of YouTube celebrities. ShayCarl, Charles Trippy and Cory Williams are just a few of the YouTube stars actually living and competing for the title of Top Prankster in a reality show setting in a 10,000 square foot house in California. (Ask yourself – would you have the nerve?) So far, more than 65,000 viewers have tuned in.

We have 10 different rooms in the house that can be viewed 24/7 on 35 live cameras. You as the viewer can interact with – and influence – the outcome of the daily competitions. For example: one morning you might find Charles Trippy and ShayCarl suspended with ropes from the ceiling, swinging back and forth trying to grab the other’s flag. Using the Prank House desktop app, you can shoot the opposing team’s celebrity with a live paintball gun to help your team win. Basically, it’s all a matter of teamwork, and the people in the house are working with their fans and supporters on the Internet to prank the other team and win. It hurts (but only a little), and it’s hellaciously fun. See the trailer below.

Serena Satyasai, Marketing, recently watched “Swing time in the Prank House.”

Video game fans pick their E3 fave

YouTube’s video gamers have spoken. First, they were treated to four days of live streaming from the gaming industry’s annual trade show, E3. The coverage elicited over 30,000 comments on the channel, as enthusiasts gave shout-outs to their favorite games, characters and platforms. They were also able to vote on their favorite E3 game trailer, which turned out to be this:



Congratulations to “Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3: The Video Game”! To see the other trailers in the top three, check out the E3 channel, and don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll get notified when we launch our 2011 coverage -- because it’s never too soon to be thinking about where the gaming industry will take thumb-numbing action next.

Mark Day, Gaming Manager, recently watched “Amazing Fire Animation!”

E3 gaming expo streams live on YouTube

E3 is the video game industry’s annual showcase, and this year we're live streaming all four days of the event, from the Los Angeles Convention Center, courtesy of our gaming partners at IGN.

Tune in to the E3 channel to catch must-see press conferences from the biggest names in gaming, product demos, developer interviews and more:



If you miss any of the action, you can check out playlists of event highlights from IGN, in addition to more hot-from-the-floor E3 reporting from other games-media partners like Machinima. You can make your voice heard, too, with the return of our games trailer challenge, which invites you to vote on some of most-anticipated game trailers unveiled at E3.

The E3 live stream kicks off on Monday at 9:30 10:30 a.m. PT and ends on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT. Check the E3 channel for the latest schedule of events, and don’t forget to check out the game trailer challenge; voting lasts until the 25th of the month.

Mark Day, Games Manager, recently watched "Light Warfare."