Sony’s Biggest E3 Announcements Ever
The general consensus among gaming media and fans alike is that E3 2009 could be Sony’s biggest showing in the history of the PlayStation brand. Rumors, leaks, and a massive pre-E3 media event have helped fuel the hype for what is set to be quite an amazing show.
PlayStation LifeStyle has the great pleasure of seeing this first hand, and will work tirelessly to bring you all possible coverage of the PlayStation brand, no matter how big or small the news.
Before E3 begins, and Sony takes the gaming world by storm, we are bringing you a trip down memory lane by giving you a recap of Sony’s biggest E3 showings of the past. This way, you can see exactly what Sony’s showing at E3 2009 is up against, and you can be the judge of whether or not this will be Sony’s best year ever!
E3 1995
SEGA, after having two poorly-received hardware offerings with the SEGA CD and 32X, needed to impress the crowd at the very first E3. SEGA had previously announced the SEGA Saturn before the show which had a scheduled release date of September 2, 1995. However at the SEGA Keynote, it was announced that the SEGA Saturn was secretly shipped to retailers the night before, and was now on sale for $399. A move that left retailers unhappy, and gamers without many launch titles to choose from.
This, shortly after, was completely overshadowed by Sony. Olaf Olafsson (who named this guy?) took the stage at Sony’s keynote and announced the release date for the Sony PlayStation. The real shocker, and what could have been the death blow to Sega before the PlayStation was even released, was the announcement that it would release for the price of $299. Also shown during E3 were what soon became PlayStation franchise mainstays: Ridge Racer, Tekken, and WipEout. This marked the beginning of Sony’s reign over the gaming industry.
E3 2000
History repeated itself a bit with E3 2000. The Sega Dreamcast had been released in North America the prior year and was off to a rough start. Its CD-based software medium constrained the visions of many developers.
While the PS2 had already been announced in Japan previously, there hadn’t been a release date set for the American market. Sony took the opportunity to do so at E3 2000, and set the big day for October 26 of the same year. Although this time around, Sony’s console was priced higher than SEGA’s by $100; it offered DVD playback, as well as DVD-ROM as the software medium, allowing for larger games. The inclusion of the DVD player may have been Sony’s most genius idea yet. It helped introduce the PS2 into the homes of anyone interested in DVD players, as it offered a decent quality DVD player, along with PlayStation brand gaming for around the price of your average DVD player at the time.
E3 2000 wasn’t all about hardware, in fact it was the software that really stole the show. One title in particular had fans and media floored. That title was Metal Gear Solid 2, the follow up to the fan favorite Metal Gear Solid on the original PlayStation (now known as the PSOne). The sheer detail of MGS2 is what impressed the crowd, and it really showed of what the PS2 was capable of. While MGS2 didn’t make the PS2’s launch, Sony had plenty of other titles to show, 51 of which were scheduled to be available by Christmas of 2000.
E3 2003
Kaz Harai takes the stage at Sony’s Keynote during E3 ‘03, and had plenty of major announcements to discuss. He started off with the announcement of a revised PS2 in the works. The revision boasted progressive DVD playback, a built in IR port for use with a remote, reduced fan noise, and would be bundled with a Network Adapter.
Sony continued to strut its planned online strategy, which was a direct response to the undeniable success of Xbox Live. Games that were shown included Final Fantasy XI, SOCOM II, and pledged support from EA Sports’ future lineup.
Of course Sony wasn’t done there. Dr. Richard Marx then took the stage and demonstrated the PS EyeToy. The EyeToy was a USB web cam that allowed for interaction with images on screen by moving your body and appendages; no controller was needed.
Lastly, Sony announced its plans to take on Nintendo and its stronghold over the handheld gaming market with the PlayStation Portable. No Hardware or Software was shown, or demoed, but the announcement was big enough to shock gamers.
E3 2005
The PlayStation 2 was in its prime; a large amount of AAA games were shown. The current king of consoles was easily overshadowed by the announcement of its successor, the PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 3 was debuted, boasting some of the most impressive specs ever seen by console gamers. Specs at the time included the cell processor, 1080p High Definition gaming, 3 Ethernet ports, 2 HDMI outputs, 6 USB ports (4 front, 2 rear), Wifi, Bluetooth 2.0, and a built-in Blu-Ray drive.
Even with the massive listed specs, the thing that generated the most buzz was the new controller. The new controller wasn’t yet another iteration of the Dualshock, it was a boomerang-shaped controller. Jokes galore hit the internet about how if you were angry after losing in a game, you couldn’t throw the controller, as it might come back and hit you.
There was no actual software, however there was plenty of technical demos ready to go that were running on PCs that had specs similar to that of what the PlayStation 3 would have. PlayStation staples such as Devil may Cry, and Tekken were shown (ironically, both went multiplatform). The biggest splash came from the confirmation of Metal Gear Solid 4 being in the works, and the showing of a technical demo of Final Fantasy VII. This immediately sparked excitement from the crowd, as fans thought a FFVII remake was in the works. However, that wasn’t true, as Square quickly make it clear that it was a tech demo only.
E3 2006
Not all E3 announcements are good announcements, despite how large they may be. In 2006, Sony announced the price of the now “gimped” (originally the PS3 was to have 2 HDMI outputs, 6 USB ports, 3 ethernet ports, and more) PS3, which was set to $599. Although there was a less-expensive 20GB model announced, which was even more gimped with its removal of wifi, card readers, and a lower-capacity internal hard drive, the price shocked the world. Both Sony’s previous consoles had been released for $299, and history had shown that expensive consoles never fared well.
There was the argument that you get what you pay for, and Sony’s newest console was surely a beast. While that was indeed true, the massive price tag scared away many long time PlayStation fans over to the other HD console on the market, the Xbox 360. The price tag was the target of media outlets, which soon started questioning Sony’s motives about the console, claiming it was more about Blu-Ray penetration than making another successful gaming console. To this day, the PlayStation 3 is the most expensive console. Anyone can see that because of this, the sales have been less than Sony (perhaps foolishly) hoped for in comparison to the ridiculously fast-selling PlayStation 2.
E3 2009
You have seen our predictions. You have heard the rumors of a redesigned PSP, and a slimmed down PS3. You know the massive lineup of games that are scheduled to be at E3. You know that Sony always has more games that are currently unannounced, and that E3 is prime time to unleash them. Because of those facts, it does seem to be that 2009 will be Sony’s best showing ever. Stay tuned to PlayStation LifeStyle for all of your E3 coverage!
24 Responses to “Sony’s Biggest E3 Announcements Ever”
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May 28th, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Best. Article. E3VAR.
Thanks sev for this great write-up. I’ll try to make sure more people take a look at it. And thanks for linking to my games line-up – http://playstationlifestyle.net/2009/05/22/playstation-at-e3-2009-the-games/ – article, I’ve been keeping it updated to indicate exclusives and changes in E3 plans!
woo 3 ethernet ports on original ps3!
May 28th, 2009 at 12:07 PM
nice read.. i do believe this year is the year of the PS3.. not like how Kaz Harai claimed last year was. The PS3 has alot to offer in terms of games, software upgrade aka firmware and has a solid online play and new games coming out muti platform or not. No one can say anymore that the PS3 lacks games. which was always a big subject way after tying the 360, now its surpassed it. Sony has been supporting nonstop the PSP especially with the PSPGO coming up. i remember last year everyone made fun of the PSP because it lacked games, than suddenly everyone wanted to develop for the PSP. Developers cant say anymore “the PS3 is to complicated to make games for” that era ENDED.
I enjoy your articles Anthony. You actually write something substantial in them. Not just a quick: “hey look guys”.
05/28/2009 at 12:16 PM
I appreciate that comment very much. While I do have to do the “Hey Look Guys” type articles also, I always try to write some deep, thought provoking editorials as well.
This one took me hours to research, so it’s quite a pleasure to see that it’s appreciated.
Thank you.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:51 PM
hey man great article.. was a great read even if i had to do it on my blackberry
May 28th, 2009 at 1:13 PM
ive read this article twice now and i can say i dont have much to add lol. it was thorough and great. i want to see this bbc reporter’s jaw dropper and that “fresh” new ps3 title. thanks sev, the ps3 should kill this e3!
May 28th, 2009 at 1:26 PM
Very well done, Sev. Nice write up!
May 28th, 2009 at 1:31 PM
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May 28th, 2009 at 1:43 PM
Yeah great article. I really enjoyed it.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:44 PM
I truly think this article is a very good piece of information, nice to read. Congrats
May 28th, 2009 at 2:07 PM
the time you put into this article shows anthony, now I’m really looking forward to your E3 coverage!
May 28th, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Beautifully written.
I actually have butterflies in my stomach for this years E3. I cannot wait!
May 28th, 2009 at 2:44 PM
Good read. I am extremely excited about this years E3 I just hope they get a different keynote speaker than the guy they had last year. I think he was the SCEA boss and that is why he gave the speech but he was very very bland on stage. There’s a reason companies hire marketers and public speakers, it’s cause they work. So if Sony can’t find someone within the company to enthusiastically get up on stage push thier product then maybe they should look into hiring someone. Just think the curtains go up and it’s Billy Mays here for the Playstation 3!!!
May 28th, 2009 at 2:49 PM
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May 28th, 2009 at 2:55 PM
Great article Sev. I can’t wait for this years E3!
May 28th, 2009 at 2:57 PM
Gee, I hated this article… NOT!
No, this was a very well presented article which I’ll end up reading a few more times- at least! Great retrospective look at E3 also.
5/5
May 28th, 2009 at 2:57 PM
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May 28th, 2009 at 4:38 PM
Steve Race was the guy that deserves the credit for the “$299″ line at the first E3. Olaf Olafsson was just the talking head for Sony that read from their prepared script for the show and introduced Mr. Race.
May 28th, 2009 at 6:03 PM
Nice read. If everything we think will be announced then this will surely be a big show, I don’t know if it will be bigger than 2000, or if we are just so hyped up for it.
May 28th, 2009 at 6:06 PM
That is an outstanding article.
May 28th, 2009 at 6:21 PM
awesome article.
May 28th, 2009 at 6:44 PM
@Jaxx377 that would be pretty interesting Billy Mayes for a Sony press conference.
very interesting indeed
Nice article It just added more butterflies to my stomach from the ones i already had from hearing all the rumors
CANT WAIT E3 09 here i come
May 28th, 2009 at 10:32 PM
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May 30th, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Love the article.
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:45 AM
After seeing that post about the BBC’s blah-blah-blah… I’m betting Sony announces the PS3 Slim!
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Great article. I hope we are not over-hyped for what is coming. Sony press conference is in an hour, so we’ll know soon.