The E3 of today is one of glitz and glamour. It's a huge production for all parties involved.
Celebrities make appearances. Orchestras play live during publisher press conferences. There are lights, cameras, live streams and more. Thousands upon thousands of dollars are spent to make each game company's consoles and games look as great as possible.
It's a far cry from the original E3 in 1995. More than two decades ago, E3 was just getting on its feet. Finally free from being overlooked at CES, video games at long last had a show all to themselves.
The two videos below are the result. At the first E3, there were two console reveals: Sony with the original PlayStation and Sega with its Sega Saturn console. How each company chose to unveil them couldn't have been more different.
Following a sizzle reel on all the various technology Sony had pioneered over the years, including televisions and VCRs, video games were revealed to be Sony's latest technological front. The time of the 16-bit era was dying, Sony discussed in a PowerPoint presentation, and it was time for new, more powerful 32-bit machines to take over.
It was at this first E3 that one of the show's most legendary moments took place. Sony Computer Entertainment President Steve Race took the podium for a "brief presentation" in regard to the PlayStation, only to utter one word: $299, in regard to the PlayStation's launch price. He then proceeded to casually walk off amid a cheering crowd.
Talk about dropping the mic. Sega, on the other hand, took an experimental approach. With its Sega Saturn reveal trailer, the company focused less on the actual console and the games it could play and more on bizarre imagery that looked like it came straight from an acid trip. A girl with rings around her head. A disembodied head (maybe he's a genie?). A super cool '90s kid.
It's weird. Really weird. While the Sega Saturn proved to be a solid console, it would also mark the begin of Sega's decline. After the Sega Saturn would come Sega's Dreamcast console, the company's final video game machine.
Sony, on the other hand, was just getting started. Aided by the console's cheaper price tag, the first PlayStation proved to be a success for Sony. The company's next console, the PlayStation 2, is still revered as one of the greatest game consoles of all time, with a massive game library filled with classics that players still love today.
My, how times change. The game industry has grown leaps and bounds since 1995. It's hard to picture anything like the two videos above happening at E3 in this day and age. The industry is far more mature now, though it still has a ways to go. Watching these videos makes clear just how far the industry has come in two decades. No doubt, it will continue to grow in the decades to come.
