s I watched this year's E3 press conferences, it was impossible not to compare them to those from years' past. So many memories of excitement, shock and embarrassment came to mind.
A lot of us have a childhood fondness for Nintendo and it's probably for this reason that the company managed to elicit such strong feelings from myself and many other gamers with its presentations.
When I think of exciting, fan-pleasing reveals I instantly think back to Nintendo's conference from 2004. Having already wowed viewers with the first details for the then-revolutionary DS, Nintendo saved one last bombshell until the very end &#*212; a superbly crafted trailer for a new Legend of Zelda title that would eventually be named Twilight Princess. Played to a track from Basil Poledouris' epic score from Conan the Barbarian conference attendees were almost in a frenzy, greeting a sword and shield-bearing Shigeru Miyamoto with a rapturous applause.
From such highs to such lows. In subsequent years, Nintendo's conferences began to focus more on its increasingly "casual" user base, much to the chagrin of what seemed like entire games industry. The absolute rock bottom moment was probably the 2008's demo of Wii Music. Presented as a live "performance," it featured four overly enthusiastic Nintendo staffers and Miyamoto making an horrendous attempt to play the classic Super Mario Brothers theme. Watching this was, and still is, like being stabbed in the eardrums (and the heart, for that matter) by lots of tiny daggers.
But there are many other good and bad moments from press conferences past. What are your most memorable?
That's a good one Mike, though somewhat bittersweet considering that whole sequence was cut from the game. But it did serve to get us all stoked for the game.
Probably my best Microsoft memory was last year's conference overall. It kicked off with a great live performance from The Beatles Rock Band, bought out Paul and Ringo and a bunch of other celebs, and finished with the mind-blowing announcement of Natal/Kinect.
I do feel a little bit hoodwinked after having seen and heard what their hands-free device is really capable of in the past week, but - like the Halo 2 reveal - it served to get everyone excited at the time.
I know — however those episodes serve as lessons in promising what can't be delivered, they're still moments that we can relive.
Mike I was there the year of the Halo 2 announcement and I would have to agree with you. Being in the room for that presentation was one of the most exciting moments in E3 history for me as well. Also the fact that it was a real live demo of the game and no two recording of it were the same. I went through the line twice to see it and it was worth it.
I never knew that, Chris — I assumed it was simply a trailer, but a comparison between an official version and bootleg recording clearly shows differences.
That only increases my adulation of the thing. What a promotional piece!
Listening to Kaz Hirai attempt to justify the PS3's $600 price tag back in 2006 would certainly be a low point for E3 press conferences...
A latecomer to gaming as a lifestyle, I think 2004 was the first E3 I actually paid any attention to, and furthermore that Halo 2 demonstration jumped immediately to my mind as well.
James, MS didn't end their conference with Natal, they ended it with a surprise: Final Fantasy coming to the 360. That one had me stoked for quite awhile, though in retrospect, what with the quality of the game and all...
Worst moment? Gotta be Sony. Can't think of a specific moment in time but whenever it became clear that the PS3 wouldn't be about games for several years after its launch.
@Ed That's a smart choice too. Another good AND bad one was the amazing-looking original trailer for Killzone 2 from 2005, which sparked a fierce "was it/was it not pre-rendered" debate. I wonder if the final producted ever lived up to that.
@Adam FF XIII for 360 was announced at MS' 2008 presser, but we saw first Xbox game play at their 2009 one.
@James You know, I honestly combined the two in my head. That's a very scary indication of either how quickly time is beginning to move for me or how quickly my memory is deteriorating.
No contest — even though I saw it a year later, and return to it today almost a decade on, Bungie's Halo 2 demonstration still moves me to buy and play the game depicted on the screen. This old video of the audience's rapture is an accompanying favorite.
Worst? Sony, this year. Let's hope it's an unbreakable record!