E3 is officially, permanently dead. After 26 events spread across nearly 29 years, the Entertainment Software Association has confirmed that it's no longer going to run what was once the biggest show in gaming. For decades, E3 was the nexus of gaming news, the place where publishers and developers big and small would gather to announce their games and demonstrate them to the media, the industry, and the world.
The annual show gathered attention like nothing else in gaming, from the early days where fans had to read about the news in magazines to the era of low-quality trailer downloads and finally into the age where every press conference was broadcast in its full high definition glory for everyone to see. With the world watching, E3 hosted some of the most famous – and infamous – moments in the history of the gaming industry, and there's no better time to look back than right now, as we mourn the convention's passing.
These are the top moments from each and every one of the 26 E3s – though admittedly I'm using a pretty broad definition of "moment" for the show's early years, when we generally got our news from the show days, weeks, or even months after the fact. In the '90s, it had become clear that the limited space at the annual Consumer Electronics Show was no longer sufficient to host the gaming industry, so the Interactive Digital Software Association (later to become the ESA) started its own trade show exclusively for the game industry. Over the years, the show would morph from an industry event we read about in magazines to one where the biggest publishers put on massive gala showcases intended for the general audience. Even in those early days, however, some executives had an eye for showmanship.
E3 1995 – "$299"
It would take several years for E3 to become the media extravaganza we'd eventually know it to be, but there's a legendary tale to be told from this first show. Sega used the nascent conference to announce that its Saturn console would be priced at $399 in the US. Hours later, Sony held a keynote to detail its upcoming entry into the video game market with the PlayStation. Sony executive Steve Race took the stage, uttered "$299," and walked away to raucous applause. This pricing strategy might not be the only reason PlayStation became a runaway success, but Sony's confidence in its new platform certainly aided its appeal for a new generation of gamers.
E3 1996 – Price cut wars
The second E3 would also be the site of a war over price announcements. Early in the show, Nintendo revealed the details of the US release for the N64, which was set to launch for $249. Once again, Sony came in with the undercut, this time to $199. It didn't take long for Sega and Nintendo both to follow suit. The Saturn was cut to $199 and the N64 eventually launched at that same price.
E3 1997 – Games, games, games
After failing to secure the Los Angeles Convention Center, the show's organizers moved the whole event to the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. E3 1997 didn't have much in the way of bombastic, singular moments, but it did have one of the greatest lineups in gaming history. Various publishers were at the show with soon-to-be legendary titles like Half-Life, GoldenEye 007, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy 7, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Starcraft, and most importantly of all, John Romero's Daikatana. (OK, so maybe that last one didn't really work out.)
E3 1998 – E3 becomes E3
Judged purely on the titles that launched in the year, 1998 was one of the best times in gaming history, and E3 1998 had an incredible lineup – but it's also the time the show started getting a bit extra. Nintendo brought on the B-52s to play at its E3 party. Sony similarly brought in the Foo Fighters for its shindig. By one account, during that show Dave Grohl told a bunch of Sony executives to "take off those damn suits and ties and shake your booty!" That moment is maybe not going down in the annals of gaming history, but it's pretty representative of just how big E3 had already gotten by this point.
E3 1999 – The next generation
E3 had gone Hollywood, so it's only appropriate that it would return to the LA Convention Center in 1999, the venue that would continue to host it for pretty much the entire rest of its existence. There was a shadow over this show, since it took place less than a month after the Columbine High School massacre, which had prompted renewed criticism of violence in video games – criticism that was pretty directly addressed at events like Nintendo's press conference, where marketing EVP Peter Main noted the industry's responsibility to effectively communicate age ratings on game packages. The big products on display were the Dreamcast, the PlayStation 2 (then simply known as the Next Generation PlayStation), and the GameCube (then the Dolphin), which would all help mark a new era in gaming.
2000 – The Metal Gear Solid 2 trailer gives us our first full Kojima moment
It certainly wasn't impossible to get ahold of game trailers back in 2000, but the limited internet capabilities of the era meant that most publishers didn't necessarily have a whole lot of incentive to create flashy preview videos. Then along came Hideo Kojima. The Metal Gear director's proclivity for hyper-dramatic, extensive trailers started here, with a nearly 10-minute long video previewing the story, gameplay systems, and visual effects of MGS2, all of which were downright mind-blowing in 2000. Konami played the trailer every hour on a giant screen outside its E3 booth.
E3 2001 – Xbox turns up, but it doesn't turn on
Sony had successfully broken into the console market with the PlayStation a half-decade earlier, but many were skeptical that another contender – in this case, Microsoft's Xbox – would be able to do the same. Microsoft did not make a strong case for Xbox up front. After a press conference where the console itself wouldn't even turn on, on the show floor the company demoed Halo with a dismal frame rate that effectively buried all the qualities that would eventually make the game an FPS classic. Xbox and Halo eventually turned out all right, but that's no thanks to the first impressions.
E3 2002 – Doom 3 looks like the future
It had been eight years since the release of Doom 2. id Software was already known for pushing the state of gaming technology forward in a major way, and the next entry in the Doom series was sure to be a visual showpiece. Doom 3 did not disappoint – at least, not as an E3 demo. Here was a new Doom game that took the series into grim horror territory, featuring moody lightning unlike anything anyone had seen before. Ironically, that's pretty much the reason the release version of Doom 3 ended up being the biggest also-ran of the series, but for a shining moment here at E3 it looked like the future of gaming.
E3 2003 – Halo 2 makes an impossible promise
Halo, of course, recovered from its disastrous showing at E3 2001, and ended up becoming both the top reason to own an Xbox and the best shooter ever released on consoles to that point. The Halo 2 demo showcased at E3 2002 made it look like Bungie was amping up the first game to an impossible degree, with more cinematic moments and much bigger scale combat. The reality is that it was impossible, and while Halo 2 turned out mostly great, it never matched the promise of this early demo. That's an E3 story that would sadly end up becoming pretty common.
E3 2004 – "I'm about kicking ass, I'm about taking names, and we're about making games"
With rare exceptions, E3 press conferences were up to this point dry affairs. Primarily intended as business recaps for media and investors, these presentations didn't have the bombast and showmanship that we'd eventually come to associate with E3. Then, a new Nintendo of America president took the stage to say "My name is Reggie. I'm about kicking ass, I'm about taking names, and we're about making games." The show that followed was one for the ages, with highlights of major GameCube releases like Metroid Prime 2 and Resident Evil 4, the reveal of the Nintendo DS, and the famous, hyper-dramatic "blades will bleed" trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which culminated with Shigeru Miyamoto appearing on stage armed with sword and shield. The stakes for E3 press conferences had officially been raised.
E3 2005 – The Killzone 2 trailer
Halo 2 might've seen an egregious downgrade from E3 video to release, but at least that initial demo showcased what the developers were working on for the original console. When Sony first started talking up the PlayStation 3, the most impressive piece was a trailer for Killzone 2. The video looked far too good to be true, and that's because it was. While Sony presented the footage on stage as if it were an accurate indicator of PS3 graphics, years later developer Guerrilla would explain that this video was actually made to imagine "what a first-person shooter game could look like for the next generation. It was meant for internal use only, to be a visionary piece."
E3 2006 – "$599"
By 2006, broadband internet was starting to become more widely available, YouTube had taken its first baby steps into the world, and it was getting easier for hardcore gaming fans to download press conference footage and bring the E3 experience home. It was the worst possible time for Sony to put on a show as bad as their E3 2006 press conference. Sure, pricing the PlayStation 3 at "five-hundred ninety-nine US dollars" was a bad idea no matter how many people saw the initial announcement, but the internet's unending mockery of moments throughout this presentation would haunt Sony for years. Heck, we're still making "giant enemy crab" and "Riiiiiiiiiiidge Racer!" jokes to this day. If you want to fully relive the magic, an HD 1080p archive of the full press conference was uploaded online earlier this year.
E3 2007 – E3 is dead
"Is E3 dying?" has been a pretty common question in the last decade, but the question really started to be asked in 2007, when the event was dramatically downsized to become the 'E3 Media and Business Summit.' The show floor moved to a hangar in the Santa Monica Airport, attendance was limited, and many of the most notable demos happened behind closed doors at area hotels. A few moments out of various press conferences became legendary – this is when Reggie uttered the words "my body is ready" and Jamie Kennedy gave the worst comedy routine in human history on Activision's behalf – but maybe the most telling moment was the E3 funeral hosted by the short-lived publisher Gamecock. Ironically, Gamecock and its edgelord ways died just a year later while E3 would live for more than a decade to come, but the seed of doubt for the event's future had been planted.
E3 2008 – Nintendo's worst concert
This was the year that Final Fantasy went multiplatform, with FF13 making a shock debut at the Xbox press conference that would feel like a betrayal to numerous PlayStation loyalists. But nobody remembers that today because console wars are dumb and have never mattered. No, the real moment of E3 2008 was the Wii Music performance at Nintendo's press conference. Motion controls had never looked less fun than they did here, and in front of an audience of hardcore gamers who were already afraid Nintendo had gone too far in capturing the casual market, the performance fell completely flat. At least it was an opportunity for us all to get to know DJ Ravidrums.
E3 2009 – "Well BAM, there it is"
If you thought the era when motion-controlled gaming dominated E3 would end as we hit the midpoint of the Wii's life, don't worry – Microsoft was still here to horrifically misjudge the E3 audience, even as the show returned to its original, big-scale format. By 2009, it seemed pretty clear that most of the people watching E3 press conferences were hardcore gaming fans who would feel alienated by lengthy demos for new motion control accessories. Yet Kinect still ended up being the show-closing main event for the Microsoft press conference. It certainly didn't help that the onstage demo didn't even work right, with the motion-mirroring tech leaving an onscreen avatar twisted into a pretzel. And look, I'm sorry, but nobody has ever wanted to see the bottom of an avatar's shoe.
E3 2010 – THAT Konami show
There are bad press conferences, and then there's the 2010 Konami E3 presentation. There are so many impossibly awkward moments, it's tough to narrow it down to the most iconic bits – "one million troops," the impromptu match between Mexican wrestling legends, the Silent Hill staredown, the overly enthusiastic dance number, and the headless man joke all combined to create an event the likes of which we hadn't seen before or (mercifully) since.
E3 2011 – Mr. Caffeine
Where to begin with Mr. Caffeine? In this list, presented right after the Konami showcase, Mr. Caffeine almost looks… normal. But it's the "almost" that gets you here. Ubisoft's E3 2011 conference had an awkward energy brought about by one pro presenter continuing to give the show every ounce of energy he could muster, even as all the banter sucked and all jokes fell flat. Honestly, I have to salute Mr. Caffeine. May we all aspire to his level of self-confidence. (The rest of us should try for fewer dick jokes, though.)
E3 2012 – The Last of Us
For years, each E3 had been remembered primarily for its worst moments, but by and large the 2012 show was pretty good. Publishers finally seemed to understand their audience, and allowed likable hosts to present bombastic, impressive gameplay demos throughout – and there was no demo more impressive than the one for The Last of Us. That demo felt like the ultimate fulfillment for gaming's long chase of cinematic prestige, a surefire sign that gaming had finally grown up. Except, you know, for the raucous exaltation a show packed full of hardcore PlayStation fans showed when Joel blew that one guy's head off.
E3 2013 – PS4 wins the console war before it even starts
While Sony's missteps with the PS3 had helped make Microsoft's Xbox 360 the generation's clear leader, those fortunes reversed in a big way as both companies unveiled their next generation plans at E3 2013. Xbox One led off the show with a controversial DRM scheme that would see all game purchases – even retail ones – locked to the original purchaser's console, effectively killing the idea of used games entirely. Sony quickly took advantage of public sentiment, highlighting how the PS4 would require no online authentication checks and would let you sell and trade physical games just as you could in previous generations. The Xbox One's DRM system was publicly scrapped by the next week, but even today Microsoft is still struggling to make up the ground its console lost in that moment.
E3 2014 – Zelda goes open world
The reveal of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was about as low-key as it could possibly be. Producer Eiji Aonuma spoke about recapturing the feeling of open-ended exploration from the original NES game, and escaping the conventions that had come to define the series. All the while, a wide shot of a hill in Hyrule offered infinite promise in the background. A brief trailer showed off Link's new look and suggested a 2015 release. It's really only with the benefit of hindsight that it's become clear just how significant this reveal was. While Breath of the Wild wouldn't end up launching until 2017, it managed to live up to Aonuma's grand ideas and then some.
E3 2015 – Sony makes dreams come true
For years, Final Fantasy 7 fans had been desperate for a remake. With how much gaming tech had progressed, a new version of the game could surely bring Cloud, Sephiroth, and the whole story to life in a way that far exceeded the original's low-poly models and charmingly goofy dialog. But the idea of Final Fantasy 7 Remake seemed like it'd be forever relegated to the realm of a "wouldn't it be cool if." Until, suddenly, it was made real on the Sony stage. This conference also hosted other games that at times seemed impossible, like Shenmue 3 and The Last Guardian, but there was no announcement bigger than the new FF7.
E3 2016 – Kojima returns to reveal Death Stranding
The messy breakup between Hideo Kojima and Konami was the biggest gaming news story of 2015, and while we pretty quickly learned that Kojima had set up a new studio and was working with Sony on… something, we had no idea what that something was. Then, finally, at E3 2016, we got the reveal trailer for Death Stranding – and we still had no idea what it was. Honestly, even after all these years I'm still not sure I know what Death Stranding is, but the image of a nude Norman Reedus cradling a baby on an oil-soaked beach remains one of the most audacious visuals in gaming history.
E3 2017 – Miyamoto makes the Mario + Rabbids director cry
E3 2017 was the first time in the event's history that it was officially opened to the public – to some, a long overdue decision, and to others, an indication that nobody quite knew what to do with the show. The press conferences were as flashy and slick as ever, but that's why one very human moment stood out so much. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle director Davide Soliani was moved to tears by seeing his game presented by Shigeru Miyamoto on the Ubisoft stage. Building a rare collaboration with Nintendo's most iconic character and seeing the results come to life at E3, it's easy to see how the weight of the moment hit so hard.
E3 2018 – "Everyone is here!"
By 2018, it felt as if Nintendo barely needed E3. Its E3 press conferences had long since morphed into Nintendo Direct presentations, delivering big blasts of well-presented news multiple times a year. If you've ever cared about Smash Bros., you probably remember the trailer for Ultimate that boldly declared "everyone is here," confirming that every fighter in the history of the series was reuniting for one mega game. Did you remember that it happened at E3? I sure didn't, and I can't help but feel that's pretty indicative of where E3's relevance had landed by 2018.
E3 2019 – "You're breathtaking!"
Back when Cyberpunk 2077 was first announced in 2012, the gaming world had little reason to care. At the time, developer CD Projekt Red was known for fiddly PC RPGs with big ambitions and serious flaws. By 2019, things had changed. The Witcher 3 had turned out to be a modern classic, and E3 2018 had given Cyberpunk 2077 one of the coolest trailers ever produced. In some respects, seeing another cinematic trailer for Cyberpunk the next year was a bit of a disappointment – but seeing Keanu Reeves take the stage made it all worthwhile. It's arguably the first time it's ever looked like a celebrity ever actually wanted to be on stage at E3, and the easy charisma of Keanu's "you're breathtaking!" audience interaction forever endeared him to the gaming world.
E3 2021 – E3 is dead
E3 2020 was canceled, as were effectively all major gatherings across the world in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. While E3 returned in 2021, it was an online-only event, and the usual collection of press conferences from major publishers were also broadcasting in association with Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest. By then, it was clear to pretty much everyone that E3 no longer had a reason to exist.
Everyone, that is, except the ESA, which kept trying to rebuild the show despite repeatedly canceling it. The ESA cited COVID concerns as a reason for not holding an in-person event in 2022, but canceled even the idea of an online E3 months before it was meant to happen. The ESA then partnered with ReedPop, the group that organizes PAX, to reboot for 2023, but E3 2023 was canceled when it "simply did not garner the sustained interest necessary to execute it in a way that would showcase the size, strength, and impact of our industry."
After the 2023 cancellation, the ESA still insisted that E3 would make a comeback. Until, suddenly, the organization acknowledged that "after more than two decades of E3, each one bigger than the last, the time has come to say goodbye." Some observers had been suggesting that E3 was dead since as far back as 2007, but that prognostication has finally come true. Through all the good and the bad the show has given us over the years, I'm going to miss it.
E3 helped us learn about some of the best games of all time. Rest in peace, old friend.
