E3 2013: Microsoft and Sony gear up for the new generation

The interactive entertainment industry descends on Los Angeles for four days of consoles, games - and very loud noise

Last year's E3 drew tens of thousands of video game industry professionals, investor analysts, retailers and journalists from more than 100 countries. Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Picture for a second being locked in a teenage boy's bedroom for three days – except this bedroom is occupied by 30,000 teenage boys and they're listening to loud and terrible rock music. You are imagining E3, the world's largest video game exhibition.