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E3 is 20 years old today

S

shinobi602

Member
aaAnQPj.jpg


The first Electronic Entertainment Expo ran from May 11th to May 13th, 1995 in Los Angeles with just over 38,000 attendees. Keynote speakers included Sega of America, Inc. President and CEO Thomas Kalinske; Sony Electronic Publishing president Olaf Olafsson; and Nintendo of America chairman Howard Lincoln. Feels like not that long ago...here's to many more. Anyone have any wild stories to share?


And of course, nostalgia incoming:

 
M

MightyHedgehog

Member
E3 in the '90s was pretty incredible, but that was also back when the console industry and its relative variety of output was, too, at least compared to today. Surprised it's still quite so relevant today with the costs involved and so many current developers barely able to afford the idea of even exhibiting.
 
J

jonno394

Member
I don't know when I first became aware of E3, think it was around 1997. As a Nintendo fan I was more aware of the Spaceworld shows.

Glad that E3 didn't die like many were predicting a few years back, especially after it was scaled back. Long may it continue!
 
T

Trago

Member
Three console makers no longer who no longer making hardware. What a shame.

Any reason why the expo stopped being held in May and moved to June?
 
Jawmuncher

Jawmuncher

Member
So is this the equivalent of having a birthday with the actual party scheduled for later? Would have been cool had they did th show today.
 
O

OnionPowder

Member
I remember watching E3 on G4 for the first time back in 2004 or 2005. Ever since 2008 I've watched every press conference.

Jawmuncher said:
So is this the equivalent of having a birthday with the actual party scheduled for later? Would have been cool had they did th show today.
Click to expand...

May E3 was the bomb
 
P

Philippo

Member
Cheers, this year's also looks to be incredible.

Can't wait for a PS4 "299$" announcement
although reactions for 399 were equally epic
 
MrCunningham

MrCunningham

Member
BY2K said:
299 was at the first E3 ever?

Quite a way to start.
Click to expand...

$299 was the beginning of the end for Sega as a console manufacture. This announcement shook Sega to their core and it caused them to release the Saturn earlier than expected to retail at a lower price point than they originally announced. Releasing their console early actually angered a lot of retailer outlets for reasons that I forget. But many didn't even stock Saturn's at the earlier than expected launch, and it only hurt Sega's retail presence.

Sega was in such a cluster fuck state (and they still are), and now they aren't even appearing at 2015 on the 20th anniversary of the show.



shinobi602 said:
Click to expand...

The most fascinating thing about the Jaguar show was the VR headset, which was a pretty cool piece of tech for 1995. Cut to video here: https://youtu.be/fC9ZJWHFjhc?t=737

jagheadsetlarge.jpg


20 years later, and VR is back.
 
M

Markitron

Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
First time I heard of E3 was the July 97 issue of N64 magazine, they wouldn't stop raving about Goldeneye.
 
P

paragonpro

Banned
The first e3 I ever watched was 2005 on G4, and I've been watching it every year since then. I still remember that twilight princess trailer, seeing it live was an absolute privelidge. Also the halo 3 first teaser is embedded in my mind as a huge e3 moment.
 
S

Steejee

Member
I went to the 2006 and 2007 E3s, which was one hell of a pair to go to, back when I worked for IGN. 2006 was loud, crass, crowded. I had a producer or developer badge rather than a Media badge and was able to get into the Wii area before the rest of the media the final day.

2007 was the Santa Monica one where the exhibit floor was at Santa Monica airport and all the publishers had hotel rooms scattered about. I actually liked aspects of the 2007 one - if nothing else the exhibit floor was easy to get around in, wasn't headache inducing loud , and put everything in one compact location.

That being said, I'm glad E3 edged back towards the big party side somewhat, but I don't know if I'd ever want to attend again.
 
Laws00

Laws00

Member
i remember reading about this stuff in old gamepro and gameplayers mags.

when i was younger, this stuff just flew by me like whatever

ps1, meh. sega saturn meh.

i wanted to play donkey kong country 2 lol
 
T

The Albatross

Member
Used to love the old date because it always fell on my birthday, or, when I was in college, on the week that we'd get out of school. Was the best. I got press passes to E3 in 2006, but it was also the same week that I was graduating from college, so I couldn't go. I still have the invitation letter in a filing cabinet somewhere.
 
C

Cimarron

Member
1995? That's it? I swear E3 was around way longer than that? What convention must I be mixing them up with that was during the early 90's?
 
MrCunningham

MrCunningham

Member
Cimarron said:
1995? That's it? I swear E3 was around way longer than that? What convention must I be mixing them up with that was during the early 90's?
Click to expand...

Summer and Winter CES were the most well known gaming convention shows before E3 1995. But CES was never really aimed at gaming specifically, as it was a general consumer electronic show.
 
CaptainofIndustry

CaptainofIndustry

Member
Wow. That's insane. I actually had video cassettes of E3 coverage in the 90's. Not sure if it was the first or 2nd year. I ordered them through some company with an ad in one of the gaming magazines. I remember watching footage of Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot over and over again.
 
D

Dragon1893

Member
Still remember it clearly, looking at the pics in the magazines and thinking that I'd give anything to be there.
We really take everything we have today for granted.
The coverage we get now thanks to the internet, my 14 year old self would've killed for it.
 
S

Spieler Eins

Member
And 10 years since I've started watching the streams, I just realised. After the Twilight Princess reveal one year earlier, I knew I couldn't miss this shit ever again.
 
M

MightyHedgehog

Member
Wildstar75 said:
My first e3 was in hotlanta in 1998. It was amazing! I will never forget!
Click to expand...

For all of the bitching about the heat and humidity as well as the venue and its accommodations, that was a pretty good one. Half-Life demos on loop with Gabe manning the booth and Max Payne showing off that amazing bullet time demo. Kenji Eno walking the exhibits (promoting Enemy Zero, I think?), Silent Hill having no one notice it despite it having one hell of a creepy demo (with the schoolhouse 'skinned' babies pre-final) in a crowded and loud showfloor environment, and MGS1 looking amazing. Plus Gillian Anderson signing and the Foo Fighters concert.
 
I

IntelliHeath

As in "Heathcliff"
Happy 20th Birthday, E3! Hopefully E3 would still be around for next 10 years.

Also I would like to share a picture from E3 1995.

JWv62G3.png


Mother 3 incoming for this year's E3?
 
D

DarkKyo

Member
The Virtual Boy interview was pretty cringe-inducing due to what the system turned out to be.
"It's a true 3D immersion..."
"As soon as you do that you're in a 3-dimensional world all of your own."
 
A

Adam M

Member
That 299 was so funny. Would be cool to hear announcements like this without foreplay :D
Is there any chance for PS4 price drop?
 
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