Just what is E3? Simply put, the four-day Electronic Entertainment Expo is video game’s Mecca, the biggest annual trade show in the industry and an event historically resulting in earth-shattering console announcements, product launches and disheartened fanboy bitching for months on end.
This year the Los Angeles Convention Center hosts E3 2010 from June 14th to 17th, with expected announcements including Nintendo’s 3DS handheld follow-up, full launch details of Playstation Move and Project Natal motion control platforms and a much-whispered new Legend of Zelda Wii reveal.
Beyond those details the internet is all abuzz over a rumoured Goldeneye 007 Wii remake, Half-Life developer’s Valve’s “surprise” title, and the former Infinity Ward founders (Call of Duty:Modern Warfare) first game announcement following their controversial departure from publishers Activision. Many also believe Sony and Microsoft have each got a PSP2 and Xbox 360 Slim announcement in the works.
With so much speculation and excitement surrounding next week’s events, we at JOE will be posting all the big news as soon as it’s announced and keeping you all one step ahead of tomorrow’s water cooler chatter. In the meantime we’ve scoured YouTube to find the best and worst moments of E3 past, from giant enemy crabs to grown men screaming in unison at the sight of a man with a plastic shield. History has shown E3 has only one rule – expect the unexpected.
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Sony’s embarrassing E3 2006 Press Conference
In today’s reasonably-priced PS3 Slim world, it’s difficult to imagine that just a few years ago Sony were losing market share at an enormous rate following the console’s launch. One of the reasons for this was Sony’s 2006 E3 press conference, in which they stunned the world with an extravagant price point of $599 – a jaw-dropping announcement for all the wrong reasons.
What’s more, the conference was a cavalcade of embarrassing quotes and product showcases, with catchphrases such as “giant enemy crab” becoming hugely popular internet memes. Things got off to a horrible start when CEO of Sony Entertainment America “Kaz” Hirai announced a new Ridge Racer PSP title to a muted response. Spotting the tepid reception, Kaz then repeated the announcement with an overly-earnest “Riiiiidger Raaaacer!”, spawning an internet catchphrase in the process.
With an enthusiasm-sapping price announcement and an awful host, it couldn’t have got much worse – but it really did. Demonstrating Genji 2, an action game “based on Japanese history”, producer Bill Ritch was confronted with giant enemy crabs just moments after making the statement. Producer Ritch also trumpeted innovative game play from his title, such a “real-time weapon-change” and the ability to “attack your opponent’s weak points for massive damage” – long-established basics in any genre.
Though four years have passed since Sony’s faithful conference, references to “giant enemy crabs” and “massive damage” have mockingly popped up in a half-dozen games since, from Pokemon Diamond/Pearl to Scribblenauts and Borderlands.
Legend of Zelda stuns E3-goers in 2004
By anyone’s standards, Nintendo were having a great E3 press conference, recieving plaudits for their just-revealed Nintendo DS handheld platform. Just when everyone thought the show had ended on a great note, the Japanese giants had “one more game” to show the assembled crowd. Seconds later they had turned grown men into screaming fanboys, with a completely unexpected Legend of Zelda reveal.
A year before, with the 2003 release of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Nintendo had adopted a controversial, childish art style for the first time in the fabled series history. Though the game was a tremendous hit, many hardcore gamers felt the developers had turned on the last bastion of “mature” franchises and cannabalised their creation in the process. As the curtains were ready to be pulled at their E3 2004 conference, Nintendo had one last trick up their sleeve.
Returning to the familiar art style and showcasing game play innovations such as horseback combat, the game that would become The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess received a rapturous reception that is considered by many fans their favourite moment in Nintendo history. When the trailer had finished Zelda and Mario series creator Shigeru Miyamoto appeared onstage swinging a sword and shield to revel in the applause. In typical Zelda-style, the game itself didn’t reach release for another 30 months but its announcement still sends a shiver down any gamer’s spine.
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Next: Final Fantasy joins Xbox in 2008>
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Sony gives up Final Fantasy-exclusivity to rivals Microsoft
In similar circumstances to Nintendo’s 2004 conference, Microsoft was trundling along with a solid but unspectacular 2008 show. With minutes left on the clock however Square Enix President Youichi Wada was introduced and ran through some of his company’s latest Xbox-only exclusives. After leaving for a few minutes Wada surprisingly returned for “one more big announcement”.
With a trailer deliberately leaving no signs of characters or action, stunning landscapes filled the expo’s screen before the camera panned to Lightning, heroine of the previously Playstation 3-exclusive Final Fantasy XIII. The crowd was shell-shocked.
With the PS3’s comparatively high price-point in 2008, the main jewel in Sony’s crown was their exclusive titles. Beginning with Microsoft’s Grand Theft Auto IV announcement the year before (released the same day on both consoles), Sony’s “exclusives” were slipping through their grasp.
The importance of Microsoft’s 2008 coup has been massive. In the six months since Final Fantasy XIII‘s November launch – which was initially only in Japan – 5.5 million copies of the title to Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 owners.
Next: Nintendo’s turn to embarrass themselves>
Nintendo appall gamers worldwide in 2008
They say in show business there’s nothing more important than knowing your audience. Following the monstrous success of casual gaming phenomenon’s such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit, longstanding Nintendo fans were feeling left out of the cold come E3 2008. Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aime had done much to alleviate their core fanbase beforehand by promising a “hardcore title reveal” at E3, with fans wondering if hibernating fanboy favourites Starfox or F-Zero would return.
Their enthusiasm turned to vitriol within minutes as the “hardcore” title was shown to be Animal Crossing: Wild World. Looking like a near-identical retelling of a game the company had advertised towards teenage girls for its DS version the year before, Reggie hadn’t quite fulfilled his promise, to put it mildly.
To further compound Nintendo’s nanny-baiting “exapanded audience” approach, CEO Reggie continued the conference with the much-buzzed unveiling of Wii Music (featured above). With only the game’s title known before the show, fans wondered if Nintendo was ready to challenge music gaming behemoths Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Instead with got five muppets onstage running through Pop Goes the Weasel and other nursery rhymes. Just look at the state of that mohawked guy “playing the drums”. Look at him.
Next: Project Natal’s stunning boy-grooming sim>
Project Natal offers innovation and boy-grooming in 2009
Easily the highlight of E3 2009 and sure to be the talk of this year’s event, Microsoft’s controller-free motion sensor left a big impression last summer in LA. Following a cheesy but impressive montage of Project Natal’s implementation, Fable creator Peter Molyneux’s Milo demonstration presented what may be the future of entertainment, even if not everyone ultimately saw it that way.
Presenting a woman speaking to Milo, a young boy who appeared to have built up a friendship with her, the videoed demo moved beyond simple interactions to genuinely jaw-dropping moments. Audible gasps followed Natal’s on-board camera generating the woman’s reflection within a pond in the game, or when she passed a drawing “through” the television to Milo himself, who recognised the shapes contained.
Post-conference, many journalists moaned that their behind-closed-doors experience was fraught with bugs in comparison to its seamless E3 demo, whilst Newswipe host Charlie Brooker jokingly claimed that playing with Milo may make an adult gamer “look and feel like a paedophile”. For better or worse Milo should be making another appearance in the coming days for E3 2010 – hopefully after a hefty dose of puberty.
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