E3 2005: Five years later

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Before E3 2010 even begins, let's take a look at the show from five years earlier

In less than 48 hours, Microsoft's E3 2010 press conference will kick off four days of non-stop videogame insanity. We'll be there for the duration, reporting on all the latest news and announcements as fast as our withered fingers will allow, but before we fully dive into that madness, let's take a couple of minutes to look back five years at E3 2005.

Why? Because we still have the pictures. And becauseit's always fun to go "zomg I remember when that game came out."

SONY AT E3 2005

The PlayStation 3 dominated the minds of all who attended E3 2005. It began the second you walked into the LA Convention Center, where a Kong-sized banner teasing Sony's upcoming console dangled like a 1080p carrot over all who passed by. This was also the E3 that began with a mind-shattering Killzone 2 trailer that swore up and down it was gameplay footage. Thus began four years of "BIAS BIAS BIAS!"

The first public glimpse of the PS3 hardware, seen here in a rotating kiosk that held black, white and silver models. Frequently overheard: "What's with the Spider-Man font?"

The infamous "batarang" controller also made its first appearance at E3 2005. Unsurprisingly, Sony dropped this in favor of another Dual Shock. Well, first it was SIXAXIS, then we got Dual Shock 3. And then Move to make up for everyone ditching SIXAXIS. Yeesh.

The PSP was in full force, commanding a large chunk of Sony's show floor. Notice the stairs in the back - the term "booth" barely applies to the E3 of old.

Speaking of "booth," here's about half of Sony's area. Visible games on display are Jak X, 24: The Game, Getting Up and, right there in front, our precious Okami. As you can see, E3 2005 was still all about the PS2.

Another shot of Sony's booth, this time from the floor facing its massive, side-scrolling video screen. Oh and Kingdom Hearts II was there.

No, this isn't a PlayStation Move shot we leaked from the future, it's a five-year-old shot of some dude playing with the Eye Toy. That sure went well.

Next page: Nintendo and Microsoft at E3 2005!

Brett Elston
Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.