Monday marks the beginning of E3 2015's major press conferences. (Unless, of course, you count Oculus, which had its press conference yesterday.) To help build some anticipation for next week, let's take a look at some of the most memorable press conference moments over the event's history.
E3 2003: Valve Debuts Half-Life 2 and Source
While not revealed at a traditional blockbuster press conference, this is an E3 reveal that truly changed everything. Gabe Newell went to E3 2003 and surprised everyone with the official reveal for Half-Life 2. On top of that, he unveiled the Source engine for the first time, dazzling viewers with its realistic physics, effects, and character models.
Both fans and critics were sold from the beginning, as Half-Life 2 quickly garnered Best Game of E3 2003 honors from various outlets. The rest is history, as Half-Life 2 enjoys its place as the Shacknews Chatty Community's Best PC Game of All-Time.
E3 2004: Nintendo Returns to Hyrule
There was once a day when Nintendo took part in bombastic E3 press conferences. Before settling into its niche Nintendo Direct events, Nintendo had some of its own memorable E3 moments. The biggest of those moments came in 2004 when NOA President Reggie Fils-Aime concluded Nintendo's presentation with one of the company's biggest heroes.
This was the first reveal for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. While the cel-shaded Link of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker had his own fans, many fans had clamored for an aesthetic closer to the all-time classic Ocarina of Time. Their wish was granted when Link came riding in on Epona, paving the way for his GameCube swansong/Wii debut.
Ten years later, Link has still proven to have that mass appeal, as fans rejoiced during E3 2014 when Nintendo showed the first footage for The Legend of Zelda on Wii U, a game that sadly will not be at this year's show.
E3 2009: E3 Meets The Beatles
When the music game genre was at its absolute height, Harmonix played the ultimate trump card by revealing a deal with iconic rock band The Beatles. The Beatles Rock Band first made its appearance at E3 2009 during Microsoft's Press Briefing. A full plastic band took the stage, playing "Day Tripper" and re-creating the classic concert atmosphere as best they could. The display was later followed up by surviving band members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr making a live appearance.
This clip is a reminder of how much fun the plastic instrument era was and makes a good case for its return. Thankfully, over five years later, the platic instrument phenomenon is ready for a revival, with both Rock Band and Guitar Hero ready to return to E3.
E3 2009: Hideo Kojima Takes the Microsoft Stage
For over ten years, Metal Gear Solid had been associated with PlayStation platforms. Solid Snake's story (with the exception of the GameCube's Twin Snakes) had played out on PlayStation for over ten years, so to see franchise creator Hideo Kojima hit the Microsoft stage at E3 2009 was nothing short of stunning.
If minds weren't already blown by that point, his actual announcement was. Kojima announced Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, a spin-off starring Raiden that would be helmed by action game masters Platinum Games. It would focus less on stealth and more on insane, over-the-top violence.
Metal Gear Solid would only spread from there, with Konami announcing almost five years later that the franchise would also hit PC. Big Boss' story is set to continue with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, but that will unfortunately be Kojima's final game with Konami.
E3 2010: Lucha! Lucha! Lucha!
In 2010, Konami held one of the most bizarre press conferences in E3 history. The A/V setups weren't working properly, the games shown were of little interest (and not surprisingly, wound up either being mediocre or outright bad), and there was dancing. There was so much bad dancing.
One of the strangest moments of that press conference saw Slang director Fererico Bayer hype up Lucha Libre AAA 2010: Heroes del Ring by introducing three real-life luchadores. After announcing that they would all compete in matches during each day of the event, everyone started chopping each other. While the wrestling fans ate it up, it was a strange sight for just about anyone else.
E3 2013: Sony Drops the Mic
The new console wars were raring to heat up in 2013, with both Microsoft and Sony ready to step into the next-generation. However, going into E3 2013, consumer faith in Microsoft's gaming department was at an all-time low, amidst news that the Xbox One would feature a restrictive DRM that would not allow users to rent or share games. It was a policy that essentially forced users to buy new games, with those games tied to those consoles. While the idea was stringently anti-consumer, it was guaranteed to be a bonafide money-maker, so the thought was that Sony would soon follow suit.
Instead, Sony went the other way. It concluded its E3 2013 press conference by revealing that the PlayStation 4 would fully support used games, which got a massive ovation from the crowd in attendance. Furthermore, Sony added that the PlayStation 4 would launch at $399, a full $100 lower than the Xbox One. For many, the choice was made, with PlayStation 4 coming out the clear winner of E3.
To further rub salt in Microsoft's wounds, SCE Worldwide President Shuhei Yoshida took part in a special tutorial video for how to share PS4 games, a gag that likely still stings Microsoft to this day.
Of course, there's only so much to cover and so little time. So if there are any big-time press conference moments I missed, be sure to let us know in the comments. Enjoy E3 2015, everyone!
E3 2015: Remembering the best moments of past conferences
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