It’s the one time each year when gamers all across the globe put down their controllers and stop playing video games… so they can read about video games, listen to people talk about video games and watch other people play video games. It sounds wacky, sure, but it’s the Electronic Entertainment Expo (better known as E3), and it’s the year’s biggest event in gaming.

The major forces in the industry, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft and more, will have us hanging on their every word at their colossal press events. The show floor at the Los Angeles Convention Center will be filled with the newest games and technology, with the media and gamers alike scrambling to be the first to get their hands on ‘em.

All week, we’ll be there braving the pandemonium to bring you the latest and greatest. But before we do, here’s a rundown of some of the big stories to be on the lookout for at what’s sure to be a wild week of gaming goodness.

Body Movin’

The story of E3 a few years back was the Wii and its groundbreaking new interface, motion control powered by the Wii Remote. At last year’s E3, both Sony and Microsoft gave us a short glimpse of their takes on motion control, but this time around look for a much larger focus to be on Sony’s PlayStation Move and Microsoft’s Project Natal.

The Move is a bit like the Wii in that it uses a hand-held motion controller to get you into the action. However with the Move, you can get your game on in HD. With the addition of the PlayStation Eye camera and some other technological goodies under the hood, we’re interested to see how the Move will add to the motion control space and set itself apart.

Natal on the other hand takes a completely different approach, with controller-free gaming. With Natal, you are the controller. Powered by a camera that senses your movement in three dimensions and microphones that can sense sound, Natal could introduce some incredibly innovative new play experiences. This might just be the most intriguing story at E3.

Gaming in the Third Dimension

Consumers are just getting their first taste of 3D in the home with 3D televisions and ESPN 3D leading the charge. This year at E3, gaming in 3D will follow, and it is sure to be one of the bigger stories at the show. Sony will probably be showing off more of the PlayStation 3’s 3D gaming capabilities. Meanwhile, it appears Nintendo will be revealing the 3DS, the follow up to the massively successful DS, which promises glasses-free 3D gaming. We can’t wait to check out the 3DS, but we are curious how Nintendo will be able to showcase the 3D effect to the thousands of people present at their press event, and the even larger amounts of people that will be watching online.

Sequels, Prequels and Reboots, Oh My!

We already know about some of the biggest sequels coming down the pipe that we will see at E3. Call of Duty: Black Ops, Killzone 3, Fable 3, LittleBigPlanet 2, DJ Hero 2, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, Gears of War 3. We could do this all day. Others will want to get another advanced look at Halo: Reach, the highly anticipated Halo prequel launching this fall. And don’t forget reboots like EA’s new Medal of Honor, which brings the franchise into the modern day and looks to get back in the firefight with the Call of Duty series.

That just covers the stuff we know will be there. We can only hope for some unseen and unexpected titles as well. Will we see the latest appearance of Zelda? Will we finally find out what’s up with Half Life 2: Episode 3? Will the nachos at the Convention Center snack bar give us indigestion? Only time will tell.

Not Just Gaming

These days, people use their game consoles for way more than just gaming. At last year’s press event, Microsoft took time to show off Facebook and Last.FM additions to Xbox Live, along with a lot of other online functionality that doesn’t fall directly under the gaming umbrella. Expect to see more non-video game related console news at this year’s event. The biggest rumor: Hulu functionality hitting the Xbox 360. We can’t confirm that, so you if it turns out to be wrong, blame this guy.

And Others You Never Saw Coming

Perhaps the biggest allure of E3 isn’t the games and tech we know and suspect are coming, but instead the inevitable “megaton” surprises. Announcements will come out of nowhere; there will be games we never saw coming. So brace yourself and enjoy the ride.

Well, those are our expectations for E3. What are yours? Give us your expert insight. What will the big stories be? What’s going to steal the show? Put your powers of prediction to the test in the comments below.