It's official: E3 will never return. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced that the once most important event in the industry is canceled forever, and there are no plans for its return. It's very sad news for all video game fans, as this conference marked the childhood of many and left us with unforgettable moments.
That's why we decided to compile some of the most epic moments from E3, from its inception in 1995 until its last edition in 2021. These are funny, impressive moments that gave us a bit of embarrassment and, overall, will be fondly remembered by millions of gamers.
Peter Moore and his love for tattoos
Xbox had memorable moments and others to forget during its more than 20 years at E3, but undoubtedly, one that stands on the formidable side is Peter Moore, the company's vice president at the time, revealing the release date of Halo 2. He didn't do it wearing a Master Chief suit or with an energy sword; instead, he rolled up his shirt sleeves, showing a tattoo on his bicep with the game's logo and the date, November 9.
This technique drove the audience crazy, so Moore decided to do it again a few years later. At the Xbox conference in 2006, the vice president confirmed that Grand Theft Auto IV would come to the 360, showing his other bicep, where he had the game's logo tattooed. Now we're left wondering if the tattoos were temporary...
Kevin Butler steals the show
From 2009 to 2011, actor and comedian Jerry Lambert appeared in several PlayStation ads playing the role of Kevin Butler, a fictional executive of the company who humorously announced that the PS3 could do everything and was the ideal console for young people. During Sony's E3 2010 conference, Lambert surprised us by appearing as Butler and delighted us with his performance.
Five minutes were enough to make us laugh a lot with a kind of parody of conferences where executives speak nicely to make us buy their product at all costs. Butler and another Sony employee talked about the PlayStation Move, but the actor's comedy routine made us forget what they were presenting. Sadly, the character was discarded, and we never saw him again.
Miyamoto makes a fan cry
Millions of kids love video games, hundreds of thousands want to work on them, hundreds fulfill their dream, but very few do it alongside their hero. This is the story of Davide Soliani, a Ubisoft developer who had the fortune to work with Shigeru Miyamoto on Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. At E3 2017, the Japanese creative presented the project and acknowledged the director's work, giving us a very emotional moment.
When Miyamoto mentioned Soliani, the camera focused on him sitting in his chair with tears in his eyes, deeply moved by Shigeru's words and by having collaborated with him. Shortly after, they interviewed him, and he mentioned that Mario has always been with him, and participating in one of his projects was magical and a dream come true.
In a world where conferences are full of commercials and basic announcements, we appreciate having witnessed such an emotional and genuine moment.
Konami's bear in 2010
We have the theory that Konami has made terrible creative decisions in recent years so that we forget what happened at its E3 conference in 2010. We think it makes sense because it was one of the strangest things we've ever seen. There was everything: a singing group, rappers, professional wrestlers giving each other machetes on stage, uncomfortable looks, incomprehensible speeches, technical problems, and more.
The interactions between developers, translators, and attendees make any of your worst high school presentations masterpieces and worthy of being a TED Talk. The worst part is that they presented titles like Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, and Metal Gear Solid: Rising, but no one remembers because the show seemed like an episode of Impractical Jokers. A very uncomfortable one to watch.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is real
So far, we've talked about situations more or less unrelated to video game announcements. Still, in E3, so many extraordinary things happened that it's easy to forget the trailers. But let's change that. The trailer we will always remember fondly is Final Fantasy VII Remake because, despite dreaming of this remake for years, we never saw it coming. In 2015, we saw the announcement of one of the best games ever with graphics so stunning that we thought it was a movie.
Seeing Cloud, Sephiroth, Aerith, and company with a more realistic and modern look than their original version was beautiful, not to mention hearing their voices. Although in every edition of E3, we saw several revelations that drove the audience crazy, none come close to the noise the fans made when they saw the Final Fantasy VII remake in 2015. We had to wait several years to play it, but it was worth it.
Reggie presents himself to the world
Reggie Fils-Aimé was one of the faces of Nintendo for more than 10 years, and his presentation was epic. After doing tremendous work as vice president of VH1, Reggie became the president of Nintendo of America, and it was at E3 2004 when he appeared for the first time under this leadership. At that moment, we knew that this man meant business because every word he spoke sounded very real and fascinating.
"I'm here to kick ass, I'm here to make names, and I'm here to make games," were his first words, which undoubtedly delighted attendees and Nintendo fans who watched the conference from different parts of the world. Although there were a couple of epic andunforgettable revelations during his speech, Reggie's mere presence served to assure us that the future of the Big N was in good hands.
Keanu Reeves takes our breath away
The first trailer we saw for Cyberpunk 2077 was more than 10 years ago, and for a long time, we heard nothing about it. In 2018, things changed because CD Projekt RED allowed us to see more of the game. The progress was impressive, so there was very little that could increase the hype for its release... or so we thought. In the Xbox conference of 2019, we saw another trailer for the game, but it was its ending that left us astonished.
In the last seconds of this trailer, none other than the famous actor Keanu Reeves appeared, causing those present and gamers worldwide to scream like our moms when they see Chayanne. The icing on the cake was that Reeves appeared on stage, and every time he tried to speak, someone from the audience interrupted him by shouting how much they love him and how incredible he is. This gave us the beautiful moment of "no, YOU are breathtaking" from Keanu Reeves, pointing to the attendees.
PlayStation outshines Xbox
The Xbox conference at E3 2013 was the worst possible presentation for its new console: the Xbox ONE. Some even say that the focus on everything but its video games sentenced the system for the rest of the generation. One of its most controversial points was stating that there would be restrictions on playing used and borrowed titles, which made PlayStation smell blood and show no mercy.
When Sony had its turn to present its new console, it was a slaughter from the first moment. The first nail in the coffin was announcing that the PlayStation 4 would cost $100 USD less than the Xbox ONE; then, there would be no problem playing used titles; finally, the company made a tutorial to show how to lend games, which was an obvious mockery of Xbox. This gave a significant advantage to the PS4 and condemned the reputation of the ONE for a long time, perhaps forever...
$299
That wasn't the first time PlayStation outshone a company at an E3. During its first edition, back in 1995, SEGA presented its new console: the SEGA Saturn, and promoted it as the future of gaming and something unique and unparalleled for only $399 USD. Shortly after, Sony, the new kids in the industry, presented the system with which they entered the gaming business.
Steve Race, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment at the time, simply walked in and said "$299," making people applaud and get excited. Everyone saw it as a moment where PlayStation, despite being newcomers in the competition, raised their hand to participate in the console war as a serious contender. For SEGA, it was the beginning of the end in the hardware realm.
Twilight Princess presentation with Miyamoto
Many people were disappointed with the first glimpse of Wind Waker back in 2001 because they expected a realistic Zelda that would take advantage of the power of the new generation, and instead, they received one with a childish and cartoonish style. Despite the sublime final product, Nintendo listened to its fans and decided that the next installment of the franchise would have a more serious and dark look. Thus, at E3 2004, they presented the long-awaited The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
From the first second of the trailer, people applauded and received the new style of the saga very well, getting excited about everything they saw: a more mature Link, fights on horses, genuinely frightening monsters, and a new mysterious companion. The best part was when, at the end of the trailer, Shigueru Miyamoto appeared with the Master Sword and the Hylian Shield in the most epic way possible, resulting in people completely surrendering to him.
Those were our 10 favorite moments from E3, although, in general, the event left us with so much that you surely remember. Comment on what were the most memorable and favorite moments for you from this expo that, sadly, will never return.
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