E3: The good stuff

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A look back at the 12 showcases that shaped gaming

The tide turns towards Sony

Held in Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center and Georgia Dome, the third E3 not only marked a change of venue but also a power shift in terms of who dominated the show floor. While Nintendo had pretty much hogged the attention at the two previous events, the overwhelming number of PlayStation titles meant that Sony well and truly stole the show.

With no new hardware in the offing, it really was all about the games and Sony's impressive lineup of console war-winning exclusives simply couldn't be avoided: real-life Lara Croft model, Rhona Mitra, was on display to pimp Tomb Raider II, Konami's Metal Gear Solid was voted game of the show despite only being present in the form of a 12 minute video, and Final Fantasy VII (then traditionally a Nintendo series) convinced many that Sony's box was the only choice.

Nintendo's much talked-about 64DD expansion system was nowhere to be seen and the line-up of N64 titles looked positively skinny compared to PlayStation's glut of games. Though it's now now owned by Microsoft, developer Rare then flew the Nintendo flag highwith Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Quest (which would eventually become Twelve Tales: Conker 64), while Nintendo's own Star Fox 64 demonstrated the vibrating delights of the N64 Rumble Pak.

Matt Cundy
Matt Cundy
I don't have the energy to really hate anything properly. Most things I think are OK or inoffensively average. I do love quite a lot of stuff as well, though.