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Media Notes / E3 in the 1990s and the 2000s

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https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e3_logo.png
The E3 logo, used from 1998 to 2017.note 
This page covers moments of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) from 1995 to 2009.
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    E3 1995 - 2000 
  • As E3 1995 was the first edition of the event, some iconic moments were bound to happen:
    • Sega made an announcement in their keynote address that the Sega Saturn, which was releasing on "Saturnday" (September 2), would be $399. Another surprise announcement was that the console was actually already out at select stores. The announcement shocked and angered retailers, developers, and gamers alike, who were not prepared for the release so early, and it was one of the main contributing factors in the death of the Saturn. Though the system had its fans, a huge lack of games in the first six months meant that Sony had to do very little to catch up to the Saturn's pitiful lead.note  The move was calculated to try to cut into Sony's upcoming PlayStation release by being "first on the street", which had helped Sega get the edge over the Super Nintendo Entertainment System a couple of years earlier. Unfortunately, their keynote was scheduled first.note 
    • Sony, in their own keynote address the same year, also made a startling announcement: $299 for the PlayStation.note 
    • Nintendo announced this year that the Nintendo 64, then known as the Nintendo Ultra 64, would be released the summer of the following year. They also gave extensive publicity to the Virtual Boy, though it ended up being a huge hardware failure.
    • The announcement of Mortal Kombat 3 is remembered for a hilarious, over-the-top presentation that simulated a fight, which was more choreographic than anything else.
  • 1996:
    • Nintendo showed off the Nintendo 64 and a few games (including the anticipated Super Mario 64). They announced that the console would cost $249.95. Additionally, Nintendo unveiled the Game Boy Pocket as well.
    • Sony announced a price drop for the PlayStation from $299 to $199.
    • Sega announced that the Saturn would drop to $199. This was done in order to counter Sony's announcement.
    • The game of the show was Final Fantasy VII, a Role-Playing Game with groundbreaking 3D cinematic production values. The game was famously repurposed for the PlayStation after its initial plans for the Nintendo 64 eroded.
  • 1997, unlike the first two editions, took place in Atlanta, Georgia:
    • The game of the show was Metal Gear Solid, the first 3D game in the Metal Gear series and the Trope Codifier of the Stealth-Based Game genre, with its mixture of 3D stealth gameplay and cinematic production values.
    • One of the most famous chapters of E3's history took place this year, when Quake II was unveiled. Since it was the first Quake game developed without the input of John Romero, who left id Software after some publicized conflicts, Romero himself aimed at stealing their spotlight by showcasing his long-coveted pet project, Daikatana. However, the latter game was running on the engine of the original Quake, while the newer sequel was premiering a more advanced one, so when both games were exposed, Romero and his game were ridiculed. You can learn more here.
    • The remaining anticipated FPS, GoldenEye (1997) for the Nintendo 64, had a complicated showing; this led many journalists to believe that the game wouldn't catch on despite Rare's pedigree. Surprisingly, the game was released later that year to critical acclaim, exceptional sales, and GOTY awards.
    • Several video games which would eventually enter Development Hell were announced or shown in this edition for the first time, such as Paper Mario (then known as Super Mario RPG 2, released eventually in early 2001), Twelve Tales: Conker 64 (early 2001 as well, by then as a heavily revamped game oriented to adults) and most notoriously Duke Nukem Forever (released in 2011, 14 years later).
  • 1998, the only other year when E3 was hosted in Atlanta:
  • From 1999 onwards, the event was held in California (specifically Los Angeles, except in 2007 when it was hosted in Santa Monica instead). E3 1999 itself is remembered positively for giving fans and journalists a first-time tease on what would be the sixth generation of consoles, including the announcements of games that would expand on online play, the public showing of the Dreamcast, further details of the then-upcoming Nintendo GameCube (codenamed Dolphin at the time), and the PlayStation 2. Regarding current-gen software, the first-person genre had a major presence with the showing of Perfect Dark, Quake III: Arena, Team Fortress 2 (which would enter Development Hell to release in 2007, eight years later), Unreal Tournament and a still precarious Daikatana (it was finally released in April 2000, to negative reception). Outside that hot trend, the most talked-about presentations were those of Donkey Kong 64, Dino Crisis and Final Fantasy VIII.
  • 2000:
    • Sony got fans excited with a video trailer for the much-wanted Metal Gear Solid 2. They also dropped the PS2's U.S. release date (October 26) and price ($299). The anticipated Silent Hill 2 and Final Fantasy X were shown as well.
    • Nintendo showed off their latest Game Boy games and introduced a heavily revamped version of Conker's Bad Fur Day (previously shown in other events including old E3 editions as a family-friendly platformer), a sharp turn for the family-friendly company. Other notable games shown by them were Pokémon Gold and Silver, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask and Banjo-Tooie, very anticipated sequels to popular installments released in prior years. They also showed trailers for Dinosaur Planet and Eternal Darkness, which were originally planned for Nintendo 64 (even being scheduled to be released later in 2000) until they were delayed and then Moved to the Next Console (with the former game also being rebranded as Star Fox Adventures). Lastly, the long-awaited Paper Mario would have its release date announced (though a brief delay occurred some time later).
    • Sega, still a major player, was fighting for survival. They brought in a wide variety of games and had one of the biggest booths that year, showing off the Dreamcast's graphical and network prowess. It was here that they unveiled SegaNet, their network infrastructure.
    • Microsoft had their first ever E3 show this year, promoting the recently-revealed Xbox console and marking their entry into the console wars in the wake of Sega's departure.

    E3 2001 - 2006 
  • 2001:
    • Hardware was the talk of the town — Nintendo and Microsoft were gearing up to launch consoles that year (Nintendo pulling double duty with the Game Boy Advance and GameCube), the Dreamcast and the days of Sega as a console manufacturer were dead, and Sony's PS2 had been a huge hit.
    • Nintendo presented several tech demos for games for the GameCube. One of the demos showed Link and Ganondorf fighting each other with realistic graphics for its time. Within the almost-ready games, the most acclaimed showings were those of Luigi's Mansion, Pikmin (2001) and Super Smash Bros. Melee.
    • Microsoft's press conference on the launch of the Xbox was fraught with technical issues and bad timing — held early, the morning after Sony's late-night party, many attendees were still hung over.
    • Sega had gone software-only by this point. As a result, they showed up in almost everyone's conference. While the Dreamcast had been discontinued by then, they still had a solid lineup of franchises to license out, which they did so with gusto.
    • Having launched the PS2 the year prior (and enjoying success in the process), Sony focused on upcoming software. Among the games shown for this system was Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto III, which would become one of the most influential, popular and controversial games of the sixth generation. Other games shown were Gran Turismo 3, Devil May Cry (Capcom) and Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.
  • 2002:
    • Doom was back in the form of Doom³, a major source of hype for the PC crowd. In fact, PC gaming sprung back in a big way in 2002. Other games of note: Ninja Gaiden, Battlefield 1942, Unreal Championship, and TimeSplitters 2.
    • Sony was high on their horse after having sold over 30 million PS2 consoles so far, numbers that Nintendo and Microsoft would never reach with their respective consoles. With this in mind, they showed more games to keep the boom and hype red hot: Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, Shinobi (Sega) and Kingdom Hearts (Squaresoft).
    • Nintendo showed off advanced trailers and playable demos from their first-party titles, such as Super Mario Sunshine, a finally-ready Eternal Darkness, and an Updated Re-release for Animal Crossing (2001), as well as footage and details for what would later become Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (the versions' names weren't revealed yet at the time, so they were simply nicknamed Pokémon Advance). However, many other games that were shown caused major controversies at the time for different reasons. Namely:
      • Metroid Prime, a long-awaited return of Samus Aran alongside the otherwise well-received reveal of Metroid Fusion, caused concerns among longtime fans due to its first-person perspective and its development being handled by then-beginners Retro Studios. The situation didn't improve until the game's release, when it received universal acclaim and became the highest-rated video game of the sixth generation of consoles.
      • The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, which at the time was still untitled and whose reveal in the previous year's Spaceworld event was already met with fan derision due to its cel-shading visuals which contrasted a tech demo showing realistic graphics in 2001, barely managed to win over fans with its more polished trailer (though critics and reviewers were impressed). The game was met with critical acclaim upon release and won several awards as of the end of the following year, but the preceding controversy greatly affected its sales, which prompted Nintendo to develop a realistic-looking follow-up to the game (which wouldn't be revealed until two years later).
      • Finally, they showed a more polished version of Star Fox Adventures, an action-adventure game with Star Fox characters and a few Rail Shooter segments that were otherwise sidelined in comparison to previous Star Fox entries, and whose story and debuting characters were carried over from the game shown in E3 2000 (Dinosaur Planet). Over time, this also became a Harsher in Hindsight memory for fans of Rare games, because Star Fox Adventures was the last game released on a Nintendo home console before Rare became a division of Xbox Game Studios.
  • 2003:
    • Valve Software showed up with Half-Life 2, which was the darling of the show. Doom 3 wasn't MIA, but it wasn't as big as it was last year.
    • Microsoft ended their conference with a movie for Halo 2, the first sequel in a now-iconic series for them.
    • Sony showed off Gran Turismo 4 and ended their press conference with the announcement of the PlayStation Portable, blindsiding Nintendo as their first real competitor in the portable gaming market since Sega released the Game Gear. We all know how it ended up, but at the time, it was a hell of an opening volley.
    • Nintendo had a less-than-stellar E3. Their big focus was on the GameCube/Game Boy Advance connection, which was neat, but hardly as flashy or interesting as the PSP was by itself. The only notable game shown by them that was truly of interest for journalists and fans was Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, which became yet another polarizing game in the GameCube lineup (in this case because of its dual driver gameplay, garnering some review controversies from IGN and GameSpot upon release). This candid shot◊ of IGN's journalists sums up the overall crowd reaction.
    • Nokia premiered the N-Gage. It was predicted to go nowhere, a prediction it rather swiftly fulfilled.
    • Konami showed a brief teaser of the then-following Metal Gear game, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Interestingly, the game was planned to come out for the Playstation 3, but because that system wouldn't be released until three years later the game was rerouted for the PS2 instead.
  • 2004:
    • After Sony fired the opening volley in 2003, Nintendo responded with force in the form of the Nintendo DS. The graphics weren't as good as the PSP's, but it had Nintendo's solid hardware and games behind it, and the touchscreen feature got many people hooked. They also showed off a gorgeous and realistic-looking trailer for the next Zelda game, turning public opinion on the company around by a large margin, especially after their pretty bad 2003. Compare this candid shot◊ of IGN's journalists watching the Twilight Princess trailer to the above shot from 2003. Other notable games shown included Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (which, thanks to the huge success of its previously-controversial predecessor, was looked forward to more positively), Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Star Fox: Assault, Geist (this one was first shown in the previous E3, but here it was shown in an improved form) and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. Lastly, it was also the public debut of Nintendo of America's new marketing head, Reggie Fils-Aimé, who quickly became a well-known personality amongst the Nintendo fanbase.
      "My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass, I'm about taking names, and we're about making games."
    • Sony brought along the PSP, but it wasn't playable just yet - except for a prototype that Kaz Hirai had with him on screen. They also introduced the very first God of War. For the PS2, the standout was Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, which was nearing completion and would be released in November that year, to critical acclaim.
    • Microsoft's big show was Halo 2, and for good reason, given what it introduced to the series.
    • Electronic Arts was very much a rising star by this point, having grown steadily in size over the past few years. The Sims hit it big, and they had The Sims 2 to show off this year.
  • 2005:
    • All three big console companies showed off their new editions this year, with the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360, and the not-yet-finalized Wii (codenamed Revolution at the time) making their debuts.
    • Microsoft had been teasing the Xbox 360 for a while, so it was less of a surprise. Most of the big features had been known.
    • Sony showed off the PS3 with a wonderful sizzle reel and boasting technical specs superior to Microsoft's. The gauntlet had been thrown.
    • Nintendo only showed off the console itself - the controller was MIA, but Nintendo promised backwards compatibility and announced what would become the Virtual Console, along with the beginning of development of the untitled next game in the Super Smash Bros. series (an announcement that surprised series director Masahiro Sakurai, as Nintendo had not yet contacted him for the job). They also gave a major spotlight to Nintendo DS games that would take advantage of its online features, such as Mario Kart DS and Metroid Prime: Hunters.
  • 2006:
    • Sony's E3 2006 press conference was infamous for the following reasons:
      • The PR who discussed the PS3 mentioned how the system was powerful enough for Real-Time Weapon Changenote  and showed Genji: Days of the Blade, “an action game, which [was] based on Japanese history”. This was immediately followed by gameplay of a battle with a Giant Enemy Crab where you could flip it over to Attack Its Weak Point for massive damage. In just a few sentences, he named three trope pages and an index.
      • No one applauded when the original Ridge Racer was shown running on the PSP via emulation, causing the spokesperson, Kaz Hirai, to shout "RIIIIIDGE RAAAAACERRRR!!!" This became a very popular meme across the Internet, as well as prime ammo for a troll to use in a Flame War.
      • The reveal that the 60GB console would cost $599.
    • Nintendo showed the Wii, this time alongside the signature motion controller and the Nunchuk, along with several new games in development for the system (such as Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl). It was one of their strongest E3 performances overall in history, especially because the Smash trailer not only included new characters like Wario and Pit (the latter’s first video game appearance in 15 years), but also revealed the series' first Guest Fighter ever (Solid Snake of Metal Gear fame). It was also revealed that the long-awaited The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess would see a Multi-Platform release for both the GameCube and Wii.

    E3 2007 - 2008 
  • Overall, E3 2007 was scaled down heavily, moving from LA to Santa Monica and cutting attendance down to about 10,000 people total. This move was in response to several complaints over the large number of attendees and large expense for exhibiting companies, which locked some of them out entirely due to cost:
    • Jamie Kennedy hosted Activision's press conference. It was a complete disaster as he was apparently drunk, heckled the crowd and some of the guests, and was upstaged by a developer at one point. Adding insult to injury, someone in the crowd could clearly be heard saying that the developer was funnier than Kennedy.
    • Nintendo showed more advanced trailers of the games shown in the previous year that had yet to be released, alongside the reveal of Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit. This E3 also saw the birth of one of the most popular Nintendo memes, during the Wii Fit demonstration when Reggie stated that "My body is ready."
    • Sony showed off PlayStation Home, LittleBigPlanet, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, and inFAMOUS.
    • Microsoft, in an interesting move, showed off only games that would be releasing in the calendar year. This included the first Rock Band, Mass Effect, and Halo 3, among other anticipated titles.
    • In important third-party news, the Assassin's Creed franchise made its debut this year.
  • While no longer in Santa Monica, E3 2008 was still pretty small, and the attendance lowered to a paltry 5000. Due to the toned down nature of E3, everyone started saving most of their good stuff for their own conferences, PAX, or the Tokyo Game Show. This was disastrous as many fans and publishers were unhappy with the results:
    • Microsoft's event showed many casual-friendly features, such as avatars, which looked similar to Nintendo's Miis, minigames in the forms of fly swatting or dancing, etc. Since Microsoft had, up until this point, mostly marketed to core games, this didn't go over well with their existing fanbase, who complained that Microsoft was trying to copy Nintendo's Wii. When Final Fantasy XIII was announced to be released for the Xbox 360, it shocked everybody. After the announcement, Sony fans cried foul and claimed that Square Enix were sellouts. It didn't help when Microsoft boasted that most of its third-party games used to be with Sony.
    • Sony actually had a decent conference. They used Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet to help their presenter through the financial segments and sales numbers, and showed off a strong library: Resistance 2, Killzone 2, inFAMOUS, and a debut for God of War III, with a closing trailer for a 256-person shooter titled MAG.
    • Nintendo's event was, at best, controversial. Fans who expected announcements of big name games like Mario and Zelda were met with disappointment as Nintendo revealed more casual friendly games like Wii Sports Resort and Wii Music (which had a demonstration that was ridiculed for its absurdity). This caused a huge Flame War between fans who claimed Nintendo abandoned the hardcore gamer and fans who believed that Nintendo would have the good games coming eventually. During Nintendo's event, marketing VP Cammie Dunaway told a personal story on how she broke her wrist during a vacation with her kids. The broken wrist story became a fad on forums. A similar fad also began to pop up when Cammie joked to Reggie Fils-Aimé about liking the full throttle when he tested a jet ski game. Everyone started to hate Cammie, feeling that she represented all the horrible qualities of casual gamers. Cammie did improve in E3 2009 where she mostly ditched her cheesy act and focused more on the facts and what Nintendo wants in the future, but people still haven't forgiven her. It got so bad at that time that the Wii board on GameFAQs exploded in fury, resulting in numerous topics about how Nintendo was a backstabber, literally lasting for days on end. Hilarity does not◊ even begin to describe this.◊
    • Among the third-party expositions, Konami's was among the best, though with a noticeable hiccup. They showed a final trailer about Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (which was released shortly afterwards to widespread acclaim) as well as trailers for Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Silent Hill: Homecoming and the sequel to Elebits. However, they also did a demonstration of Rock Revolution that was ridiculed due to poor performance.
  • After 2008, much of E3's format was restored to how it was before the failed overhauls from its subsequent two editions.

    E3 2009 

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