E3 just really can’t be captured in text, and going to Los Angeles just to see the madness with one’s own eyes just isn’t feasible for everyone. Here’s the next best thing, a collection of many of the videos taken by Gamertell staff over the near week of excitement. Watch them all, and it’ll be just like being there. I promise:

A video tour of the THQ display at E3 2011. THQ had a big variety of games at E3, although MMA-style fighting seemed to draw the biggest crowds. A close second was the display and pod for their latest Warhammer 40k game, Space Marine; the video has some people in Space Marine, Chaos Space Marine, more »

Putting an end to the EA Sports MMA franchise probably was not the reason for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s parent company buying rival promotion Strikeforce. Given UFC President Dana White’s less-than-friendly relationship with EA, consider it a side effect that he’s likely enjoying. UFC’s purchase of Strikeforce gives it a near monopoly on the mixed martial arts scene. UFC was the promotion chosen for THQ’s hit Undisputed franchise.

Women have earned a lot of accolades and attention in mixed martial arts. So far, though, the most notable videogame appearance is Gina Carano’s role in the notoriously campy Command and Conquer series cutscenes as an assassin.

That will change when Supremacy MMA hits shelves in June 2011 as Felice “Lil Dog” Herrig and Michele “Diablita” Gutierrez will both appear in the Kung Fu Factory title. It’s interesting that while both EA and THQ’s titles try to deliver a realistic experience, it’s a more arcade title that includes female fighters.

The mixed martial arts (MMA) game genre has gone from nonexistent to crowded in a short time. THQ had a surprise sales hit with UFC Undisputed 2009 and EA has countered with EA Sports MMA.

Developer Kung Fu Factory is working on Supremacy MMA which is going the opposite route of those games which tried to be a bit more realistic. Supremacy takes place in underground fight clubs with extreme levels of violence. It appears similar to what Midway Games did with its Blitz: The League series, which focused on the seedy side of pro football.

EA Sports MMA has tied itself to Strikeforce, a mixed martial arts promotion not quite as popular as the Ultimate Fighting Championship licensed to THQ for its Undisputed games. While UFC has more fans, Strikeforce has been able to argue that it has the best fighter in the world in Fedor Emelianenko. EA Sports could (and has) claimed to have the best fighter in MMA as its cover athlete.

Now that THQ is two games into its Undisputed franchise and EA Sports MMA is coming out in Fall 2010, the market for mixed martial arts games is getting crowded. Supremacy MMA is stepping up to fight without any league licensing or real fighters. Rather, this effort from publisher 505 Games and developer Kung Fu Factory is taking the approach Midway Games took with its Blitz football. No license means no holds barred and no marketing executives needing to approve gameplay. Thus there is no reason in-game fighters can’t snap someone’s arm with a submission or break someone’s neck with a choke hold.

Electronic Arts has announced another big name for its upcoming silmply titled mixed martial arts game, MMA: UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship) superstar Randy Couture.

Couture and his epic feud with Chuck Liddell get a lot of the credit for bringing the relatively new sport to mainstream popularity. At an August 15, 2009, event, Couture confirmed to ESPN that he will appear in the EA representation of mixed martial arts even though he is under contract to UFC. THQ is currently doing UFC games, with its latest effort UFC 2009 Undisputed being pretty well received.