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klepidas
25-07-2007, 16:54
The Early Years (1995-1998)

In 1995, the first E3 was put on by the Interactive Digital Software Association (now the Entertainment Software Association). It coincided with the start of a new generation of consoles, with the release of the Sega Saturn, and the announcements of upcoming releases of the Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Virtual Boy and SNK's Neo*Geo CD. Specifications for the Nintendo Ultra 64 (later renamed the N64) were released, but there was no hardware shown. The event ran from May 11 through May 13 in Los Angeles, California. Keynote speakers included Sega of America, Inc. president and CEO Thomas Kalinske; Sony Electronic Publishing Company president Olaf Olafsson; and Nintendo chairman Howard Lincoln.

The event continued to grow and become a common place for the unveiling of new products. In 1996, Nintendo's press conference unveiled the Nintendo 64 and Super Mario 64 in the U.S. The Unreal Engine was shown for the first time by Epic MegaGames, but no actual Unreal gameplay. The event ran from May 16th through May 18th in Los Angeles, California.

From --- through ---, 1997, in Atlanta, Georgia, some of what would become the most popular First-Person Shooter games are unveiled, such as Half-Life and Unreal. Other first person shooters included SiN, Daikatana, Prey, Quake 2, Half-Life, Unreal and Jedi Knight 2.

In 1998, Half-Life made an ultimate appearance at E3, in its final development stage. Duke Nukem Forever, a game that would remain in development hell for several years, is shown for the first time. A Prey trailer was also shown. The event was again held in Atlanta, Georgia



During the Sixth Generation (1999-2001)

1999 saw the dawn of a new generation of consoles. The Dreamcast, the first Sixth Generation Era console, is featured. The event from here on ran in Los Angeles, California.

2000 showcased some of hte createst game icons of the generation. The PlayStation 2 and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty are featured, as is the Xbox and Halo: Combat Evolved. The latter had a poor showing, however it became one of the world's best selling video-games later. The PlayStation 2 would go on to become the world's highest selling console.

The next year, in 2001, the Nintendo GameCube and the Xbox were two new systems featured. They would both be released later in the year. Microsoft held its press conference unveiling their first season of games for the Xbox. Some notable mentions include: Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, Enclave, Jet Set Radio Future, Halo, Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding, Mad Dash, Project Gotham Racing, Project Ego, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Dead or Alive 3, and Gunvalkyrie.

Nintendo also made its first American unveiling of the Nintendo Gamecube in this event. Some notable games include: Luigi's Mansion, Star Wars, Pikmin, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Cel Damage, Eternal Darkness, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Too Human, Super Monkey Ball, and Star Fox Adventures. Nintendo's Game Boy Advance, unveiled at an earlier Spaceworld was almost absent from E3 2001.

This year was also the last E3 appearance of the SEGA Dreamcast. Although it was nearing the end of its small lifespan, it still continued to show support. Some games include Sonic Adventure 2, Floigan Brothers, Ooga Booga, and Bomberman Online.



During the Rise of Online Gaming (2002-2005)

Despite the loss of Sega as a platform holder, the 2002 E3 continued the trend of bigger and bigger shows. Along with unveiling Xbox Live, the Xbox also made a showing at E3 2002, Microsoft hosted numerous games like Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Splinter Cell, Dead to Rights, Unreal Championship, Panzer Dragoon, Ninja Gaiden, and the never to be released B.C..

Nintendo GameCube games previewed on this show included: Super Mario Sunshine, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Metroid Prime, Star Fox Adventures, Timesplitters II, Resident Evil 0, Wario World, Rayman 3, Aggressive Inline, Phantasy Star Online, and 1080 Avalanche. They also unveiled the first major wireless controller, the Wavebird, with Super Mario Sunshine being played with it. Nintendo also supported the Game Boy Advance with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland, Doom II, Nights: Score Attack, Reign of Fire, Egg Mania, BattleBots, and Super Monkey Ball Jr.. They also showed how you can connect with the Nintendo Gamecube for special content, as demonstrated in a co-op mode for the Wind Waker.

The PlayStation 2 also made the headlines with Grand Theft Auto III, a controversial free-roaming game. Other games include Colin McRae Rally 3, Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper, Red Dead Revolver, The Getaway and Kingdom Hearts.

PC game makers also made an appearance, revealing Doom 3 for the first time. Also previewed was Age of Mythology, and Warcraft III.

In, 2003, Half-Life 2 is unveiled, a Halo 2 single player demo using an experimental lighting engine (which was not used in the final game) was shown and the PlayStation Portable is first mentioned. During this E3, exhibitors emphasized the rise of the MMORPG genre.

The last year to focus primarilly on the sixth generation of consoles was 2004. A Halo 2 12 person capture the flag multiplayer demo wass shown taking place on Zanzibar. The PSP and Nintendo DS are featured. The first trailer for the second sixth generation Zelda game, later named The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is shown. F.E.A.R. is unveiled, a teaser trailer being released shortly after. One of the most important game engines of the next generation, the Unreal Engine 3 is demonstrated.

In 2005, the shift in focus continued with Sony debuting the PlayStation 3, albiet in an unplayable form. Many of the games shown for the system were pre-rendered video. The Revolution, (later named Wii) was unveiled along with the Gameboy Micro.



Ε3 2006

This was the first time the E3 convention was aired on television and all future conventions are now slated to air on G4 network.

GTA IV on Xbox 360 from “day one”, announced at the Microsoft pre-E3 press conference.The 2006 E3 show focused on the upcoming releases of Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii, along with the next wave of games for the Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, PSP, and mobile phones. Several websites such as the Washington Post noted in retrospect that Nintendo clearly dominated and stole the show. They cite as an example the lines; which were approximately half an hour long to play the PlayStation 3 and up to four and a half hours long to play the Wii.[citation needed]

Microsoft
Just minutes walk from the Nintendo event, Microsoft - its conference at the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard - announced its plans for its current system, the Xbox 360. Although there was first confusion, Microsoft later confirmed that at the time of the show there was no deal to have ‘episodic content’ exclusive to the Xbox 360. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, spoke of plans to integrate several Microsoft services into one entity with Live Anywhere. This service will allow multiplayer games and communication possible between Xbox 360 and the upcoming Windows Vista operating system for the PC. Microsoft also announced a significant expansion of its Xbox Live arcade service, promising many more arcade favorites in the near future.
Upcoming games for the Xbox 360 announced include Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto IV, Hitman: Blood Money, The Sopranos, Fable 2, Gears of War, and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Nintendo
A staff member playing on a Wii, Nintendo's next-generation console.On Tuesday, Nintendo held their pre-E3 press conference at the Hollywood and Highland Centre. The firm announced the US launch date for the Nintendo DS Lite. Nintendo decided not to announce the price for the Wii during E3, stating they preferred to announce it closer to the aimed date in Q4 2006.
Upcoming games displayed for the Wii announced include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Super Mario Galaxy , Sonic and the Secret of the Rings, Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, Fire Emblem: The Goddess of Dawn, Red Steel, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Project H.A.M.M.E.R., and Excite Truck.
Upcoming games for the Nintendo DS announced included Final Fantasy III, New Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Children of Mana, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, Yoshi's Island 2, Star Fox Command, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Disney's American Dragon: Jake Long, Attack of the Dark Dragon, Diddy Kong Racing DS and Mario Hoops 3-on-3.
Upcoming games for the Game Boy Advance announced include Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team, and Disney's American Dragon: Jake Long, Rise of the Huntsclan.
Upcoming games for the Nintendo GameCube announced include Super Paper Mario, DK Bongo Blast, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Baten Kaitos 2.


Sony
Sony stand on the show floorOn Monday evening, Sony Computer Entertainment held their pre-E3 press conference at the Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City. The company announced the prices of two versions its upcoming PlayStation 3 console, the release dates were previously confirmed. The company said they will release the console in 20GB and 60GB versions. Sony also revealed the Sixaxis controller which now featured motion sensing. Sony did not fare well at this E3 with many showcases of games being mocked such as Genji 2 with its 'Giant enemy crab' and 'real time weapon change' and Kaz Hirai's quote 'Riiiiiiiiiiiidge Racer!!!!!!!'
Upcoming games displayed for the PlayStation 3 announced include Grand Theft Auto IV, Warhawk, Eyedentify, Final Fantasy XIII, MotorStorm, Vision Gran Turismo later named Gran Turismo HD, and Genji: Days of the Blade.
Upcoming games for the PSP announced include Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Killzone: Liberation, Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, LocoRoco, Monster Hunter Freedom, Gangs of London, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, Sonic Rivals, Silent Hill: Origins (working title) and Lemmings.



Ε3 2007

On July 31, 2006, it was announced that the expo would be downsized and reconstructed. On October 13, 2006, the new format was detailed. Essentially, the E3 "Trade Show" was replaced with a much lower-key and hard to access series of events known as the E3 Media and Business Summit. It focused on press events and small meetings rather than the large, hectic environment of previous years.[1] The summit was in Santa Monica, 11-13 July.
E3 logo.

Nintendo
Nintendo announced and demoed three new peripherals: Wii Balance Board, Wii Zapper and Wii Wheel. Wii Balance Board will come packaged with Wii Fit and involves families coming to exercise together. The Wii Wheel will be packaged with the newly announced Mario Kart Wii (tentative title). The Wii Zapper will come packaged with its own software at a low cost. Nintendo dated Super Smash Brothers Brawl for December 3rd, 2007 and Super Mario Galaxy for November 12, 2007. Metroid Prime 3 demoed in near-complete form. De Blob demoed. Soul Calibur Legends trailer shown. Nitrobike unveiled. Contra 4 demoed.

Microsoft
Microsoft announced that Disney movies would be coming to Xbox 360 Live Marketplace. Gears of War is announced to be coming to the PC. New trailers were shown for Halo 3 and Halo Wars. Even a Halo-themed Xbox 360 was announced. Civilization Revolution details given. Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, and Assassin's Creed for Xbox 360 were demoed. Crysis for the PC was demoed. Fallout 3 details were given. It was also announced that the Xbox 360 Elite would be coming to Europe on August 24 for £329.99 in England. Xbox Live Video Marketplace will also be coming to the European Xbox Live service in late 2007. Surprisingly, there was no new information given on the upcoming Banjo-Kazooie 3, which was given a teaser trailer in some time in 2006. Gamers anticipate more information about it for E3 2008.

Sony
Sony announced that the 60 gigabyte Playstation 3 would be getting a $100 price cut and a new 80 gigabyte Playstation would be coming packaged with Motorstorm for $600 before E3 had started. An announcement made during E3 said that the price cut will be made so Sony can clear all existing stock with the 60 GB PS3 and discontinue it (in America) when the 80 GB PS3 is released. Many are opposed to this decision. A slimmer, more compact version of the Playstation Portable was announced and demoed. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Gran Turismo 5, Resident Evil 5, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed trailers were shown. Heavenly Sword, Killzone 2, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and Burnout Paradise were demoed. Silent Hill 5 was announced with a short teaser trailer.



Πηγή: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_E3