5 tech demos that were miles better than Milo

Features
By published

Screw the creepy Kinect kid, these demos really knew how to show of their consoles' innards

Shoichiro Irimajiri's face (Dreamcast)

The former Sega president had the privilege of having his mug modelled in then glorious 128-bit graphics. In between morphing into a golf ball and doing his best impersonation of the T-1000, Irimajiri's giant disembodied head attacks a city, before seemingly blasting off into space. Now that's the way to sell your new console to teenage boys everywhere. Show them a render of a middle-aged man's head. That's some sexy shit right there.

Mario 128 (Gamecube)

Before Mario Sunshine delighted/disappointed gamers everywhere (choose as appropriate) many thought this demo, unveiled at Space World in 2000, was the sequel to Mario 64. Sadly, the Mario clones were ditched for FLUDD, though it was rumoured that a game was going to be made out of the demo for years. In 2006 Miyamoto finally crushed those rumours, stating the inspiration behind the demo had gone into elements of Super Mario Galaxy. Cutely, the shadow Mario clones in Galaxy 2 are a clear homage to the intriguing 128 project.

Milo (Project Natal)

We couldn't end without giving the creepy kid-grooming simulator a least one more mention before it's forever cast into obscurity. Before Kinect, before Skittles and before the most staged fake conversations ever, Milo was making everyone feel uncomfortable with his dead eyes at Microsoft's 2009 E3 conference. It truly was a simpler time. Rest in peace Milo. We're sure your rotten soul is in Xbox cast-off heaven.

Any other impressive tech demos we've missed. Inform us in the comments section, y'all.

June 29, 2010

David Meikleham
David Meikleham
Google AMP Stories Editor

David has worked for Future under many guises, including for GamesRadar+ and the Official Xbox Magazine. He is currently the Google Stories Editor for GamesRadar and PC Gamer, which sees him making daily video Stories content for both websites. David also regularly writes features, guides, and reviews for both brands too.