E3 2014 is almost upon us and so it seems like a better time than any to reflect on the moments that have defined the annual gaming event that has gone through all the ups and downs of the gaming industry. From 1996, E3 has persistently been a battle ground for companies to go head t head to outdo each other with new and exciting announcements, trailers and gameplay demos. Some of these moments were bombshells that reduced the crowd to tears or overwhelming excitement. Some weren’t so great and have been transformed into some of the most well known gaming memes of today. So without further ado, here are the Top 10 Most Memorable E3 Moments!
#10: Battlefield 4 Fail – Microsoft Conference 2013
EA showed two demos for Battlefield 4 at E3 2013, one at their own conference regarding the multiplayer and one at Microsoft’s showing off the campaign. Whilst the multiplayer demo was very well received, the demo at Microsoft’s took a while to get onto its feet after the demo failed to even start. After a sound issue, there was a painful minute or two of pure awkward silence as Patrick Soderlund from DICE had to try and maintain his composure as members of the audience started to bombard him with insults. The situation just got worse especially after Soderlund announced the demo would be postponed, only for him to be forced back onto stage. Fortunately, the demo was eventually fixed but the matter wouldn’t be forgotten so quickly by the viewers.
Why was it memorable? This moment stands out purely because it was just so painful and embarrassing to watch and the heckling only made it worse. This may not be the funniest of moments and I’m sure Soderlund doesn’t exactly remember it well but it just shows how technical difficulties can make a conference so much more memorable. It’s also interesting to note that the same thing happened with a trailer for Crimson Dragon with the sound not working and the only audio being the crowd’s laughter and insults.
#9: Portal 2 on PS3 – Sony Conference 2011
Prior to E3 2011, Valve had teased a ‘surprise’ announcement coming soon so people were expecting something special – possibly the first footage of the recently announced Portal 2. Well, we did get the first trailer for Portal 2 at E3 that was highly praised but the conference where the trailer debuted was a much bigger deal. In the middle of Sony’s conference, head Jack Tretton was suddenly interrupted by none other than GLaDOS – the infamous AI from Portal, activating the mysterious surprise. That very surprise was Gabe Newell walking onto the stage to announce Portal 2 on PS3 and its integration of SteamWorks, making it the best console version of the game. To close, the first trailer and gameplay were debuted.
Why was it memorable? Gabe was known to hate the PS3 in the past, making extremely harsh remarks that in turn became famous quotes and memes. His appearance at Sony’s conference doubled as an apology to the community and Portal 2 on the console would end up being the best ‘I’m sorry’ present that he could have given. Good job, Gabe.
#8: SEGA vs Sony – E3 1995
Even the very first E3 had it’s fair share of memorable moments but the stand out was the intense console war between the SEGA Saturn and the PlayStation. Both systems promised revolutionary 3D graphics and a promising line-up of games to boot – E3 seemed like the ideal convention to settle the battle once and for all. SEGA announced at the show that their planned Fall release for the Saturn was actually a ruse and the system was out that very same day. The impact was massive with press and gamers both shocked and excited to be able to get their hands on the Saturn instantly and at a $399 price point. The PlayStation looked doomed…until Sony followed up with their own shock news. Whilst the PlayStation would release in the Fall, it would do so at a $299 price point – a whole $100 less than their competitor (very similar to a move they pulled at last year’s E3). Not only that but the system would launch with groundbreaking games such as Doom and Ridge Racer.
Why was it memorable? This was the first major console war to be ever held at E3 and man, was it bloody. Times may have changed but the ruthlessness of the companies fighting for your money has not if E3 1995 is anything to look at. As history has told us, Sony ultimately won this fight and is still going today with SEGA having died as a console manufacturer a long time ago but at the time, it really looked like it was anybody’s game.
#7: The Kinect Demos – Various Microsoft Conferences
When it was initially revealed, Kinect (or Project Natal as it was known then) was seen as a technological revolution that would change how we play games forever. Of course, we know that Kinect didn’t exactly turn out that way and Microsoft didn’t exactly help the peripheral’s cause during their various E3 pressers with an embarrassing variety of demos. There are a few ‘highlights’ that spring to mind such as the Kinectimals demo where a young girl plays hide and seek with her…tiger pet? Then of course, the Disneyland Adventures demo when we had two kids flying in a Peter Pan minigame with the whole crowd with their faces buried in their hands at the stupidity of it all. But the ultimate E3 Kinect highlight has to be when Usher of all people rose from the stage to demonstrate Dance Central 3. I’m serious. Weirdly, for the most part Usher wasn’t even really doing anything Dance Central 3 related and instead was more focused on selling more copies of his single.
Why was it memorable? Microsoft conferences of past have been notoriously bad because of Kinect’s presence and these demos make it easy to see why. Child actors and pop stars at a gaming conference do not mix well and the pure embarrassing nature of it all was just hard to watch. Microsoft’s 2013 conference was far better because they decided to focus far more on games and less on awful Kinect showcases that not many people really cared about. Don’t make the same mistake again, Microsoft.
#6: Mr. Caffeine – Ubisoft Conference 2011
Ah, Mr. Caffeine (or should I say Aaron Priceman?). This over-energetic, obnoxious, annoying man crashed and burned Ubisoft’s E3 2011 conference thanks to his awful innuendo-filled jokes, bizarre time travel dance and what is single-handily the worst pronunciation of Tom Clancy’s name you’ll ever hear in your life. The audience didn’t respond to any of his jokes or remarks, bringing another E3 awkward silence as Priceman desperately tried to get them to join in with his ‘Doodly-doodly-do’ chant. No, Mr. Caffeine. Just no. Not even Tom Ka-Lancy’s Ghost Recon could save this one.
Why was it memorable? This is E3 hosting done wrong and it’s just painful to watch all the way. The games themselves distracted from his grating nature but soon enough, we were brought back to be forced to hear more childish and downright unfunny jokes. Luckily, Ubisoft got some sense and have stuck with Aisha Tyler to host their future E3 conferences from now on and while she isn’t without her quirks (girlwood?), you can’t get much worse than this man.
#5: PS4 is DRM-less, $399 – Sony Conference 2013
At E3 2013, Sony were in a relatively sound position. The Xbox One was being humiliated across the internet for it’s draconian DRM policies (this was still in a time when you had to be always online and mandatory installs were part of the system) and it’s $499 price point wasn’t exactly stellar either. However, Sony could have easily got their conference wrong too if they got too cocky with their apparently inevitable success against the Xbox One. Instead, their 2013 conference went down in history as being game-changing as it forced Microsoft to totally rethink their system. Sony hit the nail in the coffin by digging at Microsoft’s policies to the crowd’s delight as they denied any online check-ins and confirmed used game support. Finally, they announced the PS4′s $399 price point, confirming that Microsoft were in serious trouble if they didn’t change.
Why was it memorable? Not only was it hilarious to watch Jack Tretton essentially fight Microsoft and the Xbox One and win in the process was astonishing. The crowd literally went wild for the whole section of the conference and brought about the Xbox 180 that changed the console war all together. We may never see this type of battle again in E3 history and with this type of aggression. If E3′s past has taught us anything, it’s that Sony mean business.
#4: Jamie Kennedy – Activision Conference 2007
Activision don’t do E3 conferences any more and it’s no real surprise why once you see the abomination that was their 2007 conference, hosted by the comedic genius found in such greats like Son of the Mask known as Jamie Kennedy. Whilst Mr. Caffeine was also atrocious and just annoying, Kennedy was on another level of awful. Not only was Kennedy acting like a stoned idiot but he was constantly being heckled and even outdone by people on stage in terms of humour. Kennedy’s ‘jokes’ actually seemed to drain the laughter out of the audience and were plain mean-spirited. The conference is worth watching just to see how bad a host can be – Kennedy proved it can be horrifying.
Why was it memorable? It was a trainwreck never before seen in E3 history. Jamie Kennedy showed his comedic worth with his special style of humour that no-one could ever enjoy. Only those who felt sorry for the obviously out of it Kennedy laughed in pity and it was a true low for an E3 conference. Never again, never again.
#3: Twilight Princess Reveal – Nintendo Conference 2004
The greatest Nintendo E3 moment had to be the reveal of Zelda: Twilight Princess, heralding a new darker era of Zelda that had vibes of Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. The epic debut trailer and gameplay were already enough to get the crowd hyped and on their feet but the icing on the cake was Shigeru Miyamoto himself, appearing on stage with the iconic sword and shield. Not only was it incredible to see the godfather of Nintendo on stage donning Link’s gear but the incredible first look at Twilight Princess promised another outstanding Zelda title to come in the future. At the time, the audience would not know that this was the game to sell the Wii but the initial announcement was enough to secure it as one of the greatest E3 moments.
Why was it memorable? A new Zelda is always highly anticipated and Twilight Princess’ surprise appearance did not disappoint. The game would later be released to immense praise and Miyamoto’s appearance would be referenced at Skyward Sword’s announcement later in E3 2010. With a new Zelda being announced at E3 2014, let’s hope it can reach the heights of this epic reveal.
#2: PlayStation 3 Reveal Goes Wrong – Sony Conference 2006
Whilst Sony got it right with PS4 in E3 2013, they did the exact opposite in 2006 with the PS3, alienating fans and severely weakening it against the Xbox 360, which was already released. The game demos were far less than impressive with the motion Sixaxis controls looking like a pointless gimmick and the infamous Genji demo that coined the phrases ‘giant enemy crab’ (despite it apparently being based on real Japanese battles) and ‘massive damage’. Then of course, we had Kaz Hirai screaming ‘RIIIIIDGGGE RACERRRRR’, which no one really laughed at in the conference. The awful conference was all topped off by the jaw-dropping price point of $599, a price that was quickly changed once Sony realised how insane it was. It was the worst possible way to debut and sell your system to press and consumers but luckily it seems that times have changed and Sony have learnt their lesson.
Why was it memorable? People were in such disbelief after the conference that Sony could get it so wrong and tarnish the PlayStation brand in such a way that PS3 was initially a flop. Sony managed to regain its fanbase with a rethink and killer exclusives like Uncharted and LittleBigPlanet but the memories of that day will always remain in E3 history.
#1: The ENTIRE Konami E3 Conference – Konami Conference 2010
Never before has there been a conference so bizarre, so insane and just so mad as Konami’s in 2010. The conference has become legendary, spawning countless memes, remixes and references that if you’ve never seen it before, you’re missing out on one of the biggest Internet gaming jokes of all time. Whether it’s the odd Tak Fuji with the game Ninety Nine Nights II and its ‘ONE MILLION TROOPS’, the hilarious luchador fight, the deathly eyes of a spokesman for Silent Hill or the painful dancing for Dance Masters. In this conference, literally everything that could go wrong did but it was so deliciously strange that it wasn’t necessarily seen as bad, just really weird. It’s unlikely we will see another conference quite like this ever again but at least Konami gave us the pleasure of hosting at least one.
Why was it memorable? It was so strange and stupid that you had no choice to laugh along with the audience at the ridiculousness of it all. This is the No. 1 E3 moment as it wasn’t exactly a good thing for Konami but it didn’t leave people in disgust or make them angry like some of the other moments on this list. Instead, it was something so unique and amazing that people have come to respect it as the greatest E3 conference of all time. Enjoy it and don’t question why it exists. It just does.
E3 2014 is happening all of the week starting Monday 9th June! Stay tuned to Throwing Digital Sheep for all of the conference news, the announcements, the trailers and much more!