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It's here! Or at least it's very, very close. E3 2013, the biggest video game trade show of the year, begins in earnest tomorrow, June 11. But for several companies, the show really starts today with a series of big press conferences -- and you can watch it all happen live right here:

Nintendo at E3 2012 (Credit: Getty Images)E3, the annual video game extravaganza, has mostly been a closed gate. Industry insiders can attend, as can media and retail partners, but the heart of the industry, the gamer, has been forced to watch from afar.

The Entertainment Software Association hasn't changed its official policy on the show, but that's not stopping E3 2013 from breaking out of its cage this year.

Every major press event will be televised and/or streamed online. Some publishers are bypassing the media entirely. And, for the first time, the world at large is going to get the chance to try out some of the same brand new video games people on the show floor are testing.

(Credit: Microsoft)Ever since Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One, the world’s been abuzz over conflicting information about whether you'd have to keep the console connected to the Internet, exactly how intrusive the new, improved Kinect would be, and the fate of used games.

With E3 2013 looming, Microsoft has finally given clearer answers to those questions -- though they're not going to make everyone happy.

In a wide ranging series of posts last Thursday, the company confronted the issues that have been dogging it for the past two weeks. Here's what we can now confirm:

LeBron, not in the mood for games (Credit: Getty Images)Kobe got a couple in the late 90s and another one in 2009. Jordan shared one with Bird in 1988, but got his own in 2010. Bird actually had one way back in 1983, then split one with Magic in 2011.

But despite being the best basketball player on the planet for years now, LeBron James still hasn't been on the cover of a video game.

That changes this fall when LeBron graces the cover of NBA 2K14, due out October 1 for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, and PS4 (sorry, Wii U owners – no b-ball for you.) This marks not only the first time James will appear on the cover of a 2K game, but the first time the four-time league MVP has ever appeared on the cover of a sports video game.

Our favorite video illusionist is at it again.

Having plied his magic on objects as diverse as chairs, pushpins, and dry ice, Youtube genius 'Brusspup' now turns his formidable skills to sand. Plain, ordinary sand. Only, of course, with this guy, nothing is ever plain or ordinary. Check out his latest creation:

Sutherland and Snake (Credit: Getty Images/Konami)Jack Bauer has a new gig.

Konami, in a pre-E3 press conference Thursday, surprised gamers with word that Kiefer Sutherland will be the new voice of long-running video game action star Solid Snake in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

"We’re taking on some very heavy subjects such as race and revenge. I wanted Snake to have a more subdued performance expressed through subtle facial movements and tone of voice rather than words," creator Hideo Kojima said.

"Furthermore, the game takes place in 1984 when Snake is 49 years old. Therefore, we needed someone who could genuinely convey both the facial and vocal qualities of a man in his late 40s. It's different from anything we've done before."

The Last of Us (Credit: Sony)The end of the world is near! Especially if you’re into pop culture.

A parade of apocalypses is storming theaters this year in an effort to turn the end of humanity into the beginning of lucrative franchises. Tom Cruise (“Oblivion”), Will Smith (“After Earth”), Brad Pitt (“World War Z”) and Matt Damon (“Elysium”) are in on the act, as are jokesters Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen (“This is the End”) and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (“The World’s End”). Optimism isn’t exactly hot in Hollywood right now.

But while moviegoers can spend their last days with good-looking celebs, gamers will be spending theirs with one of the best-looking video games ever created.

Developed by Uncharted developer Naughty Dog, post-apocalyptic survival game The Last of Us (due out June 14) has been on “must-watch” lists since its tremendous debut at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards. Already the winner of numerous pre-release honors from countless outlets (us included), the PlayStation 3 exclusive is about as hyped as games come. Should we really be this excited about our final days?

(Credit: Blizzard)

While plenty of us thought it would never come to pass, it appears the World of Warcraft movie is actually happening.

Shooting on the feature is set to begin next year, which would keep it on track for its planned summer 2015 release.

"First quarter 2014 we’re going to shoot that movie,” producer Charles Roven told SlashFilm. "We’re moving forward, obviously. Legendary is making that film."