Ahhh there’s nothing quite like the E3 season. E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo) is an event where all the major and small video game developers come together and make their big announcements. It’s like Christmas morning for video game fans with all the news, announcements, trailers, and all sorts of other things.
Some big time developers will have their own press conference to show what new hardware, software, and big games are coming out. This is done ala in front of a live audience on a stage. With these being live, you are sure to capture some amazing moments, but also some unintentional mishaps and botches as well.
There are many moments where things don’t go exactly as planned but there’s one specific conference showing that always goes back to being a downfall of one major video game innovator, Sony’s 2006 E3 Press Conference.
All you have to do is mention “599 US Dollars”, “Ridge Raaaacerrrr”, or “Giant Enemy Crab” and most gamers will be reminded of the infamous event. This was Sony’s coming out party for their at the time newest system coming out, the PlayStation 3. But why did Sony's next step into the future become a mistake and ended up changing the video game landscape forever? I decided recently to look back at the entire two hour long press conference to see the birthplace of many 2006 internet memes but also some interesting things now seeing it with 15 years of retrospect. Was the 2006 Sony Press Conference really THAT bad? Before I get into the show itself, I think it’s a good idea to understand where Sony was at this time.
Right before E3, Sony was dominating the video game world with the PlayStation 2. The PS2 of course in time would become the best selling system of all time. Yes Microsoft’s Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube were great in their own right but it was like the PS2 was on another level that gamers had never seen before. Sony was on top of the world and now with the next generation coming soon, the hype was real to see what Sony does with the PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 3 was shown the year beforehand at E3 but nothing more. The PS3 was already announced with tons of features such as HD gaming, a hard drive, and it will play the all new disc format in Blu-Rays Now one year later it was time to see what this powerhouse of a system can do.
Before E3 at Tokyo Game Show, a new game was shown for the first time to get people the idea of the power of the PS3. The game was Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Metal Gear Solid was a major hit on the PS1 and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was one of the first games to come out for the PS2, helping in the system sales, After all, it only makes sense to have a major title to get a hot start for your new system and to have that “gotta have it” game that people will buy a new system for.
People were hooked on Hideo Kojima’s epic story driven masterpiece and fans needed to know what happens next in the story. It made sense to have Metal Gear Solid 4 be an early title for the PS3 as an incentive to buy the system much like what Metal Gear Solid 2 did before it. It was announced beforehand that a new trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4 would be at Sony’s E3 conference, giving gamers more a reason to watch the event. Maybe one day I’ll talk about Metal Gear Solid 4 or the Metal Gear Solid series in general, because I got a ton to say about those games, especially 4.
Many will tell you that the downfall, the moment Sony begins its descent from the summit was on *date*. So without further adieu, let’s talk about the press conference itself. Yes, Sony was riding high on video game’s summit, but no one stays on top forever.
It’s also worth noting I won’t be talking about Everything and every game that is shown. There’s just some games I either know really nothing about or have not much to say. Anyway, let’s go!
The press conference started with Kaz Hirai, the president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America in 2006. He makes his introduction and says that they got big plans for their 2 systems, the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable. Kaz then also talks about how they are interested in gimmicks. Possibly a shot at Nintendo that recently showed their Wii and its motion controller, remember this. He then talks about the success of the PS2 and the PSP. Keep in mind that E3 is also a trade show for investors, so seeing them present numbers of the company’s success is common in E3. Of course we’re not here to talk about numbers and how Sony at this time was on top of the gaming world, but we want to see some games and the power of the PS3, but we have to have our appetizer before the main course.
15 minutes into the conference we get into PS3. Seeing how this thing is two hours, this shows that the main focus is going to be why every gamer should but a PS3. We then get more numbers and about the features of the PlayStation.
After Kaz’s introduction, we get Phil Harrison, the president of Sony world studios. We then get an intro of Kazunori Yamauchi who is the man behind the Gran Turismo racing series. He then shows off a prototype titled “Gran Turismo HD”. This makes sense to have the first big game to be shown as Gran Truismo is well known for its realistic graphics and the use of real cars in the game. We then get gameplay of the prototype. The game looks impressive but the GT games have always been eye openers for the system that they are on. There is a lack of music that I think could have made the showcase better but this was more of the graphics doing the talking. GT HD would later become Gran Turismo 5.
What makes this prototype interesting is that there are bikes in the game, something that was not in the final version of GT5. Polyphony Digital (the developer of the Gran Turismo series) released another racing game, Tourist Trophy, That was a bike racing game under the GT 4 engine. So it’s kind of neat to see the two game styles being fused together at one point but bikes were scrapped in the final version of what would become Gran Turismo 5.
GT 1 and 4 is then shown to get an idea how far not only has Gran Turismo gone, but how the graphics of gaming have evolved. Like I said, having this be a showcase of what the PS3 can do is understandable as it shows the power of PlayStation 3.
So far so good for the conference, however that would change. The next game that’s shown is called The Eye of Judgment. A game that uses the Playstation Eyetoy camera and you can put cards on a field and make a monster in the game. It’s not a bad concept but when he moves the card while saying the monster moves in real time, it kind of works weird. Remember when they were not interested in gimmicks?
We now have Kaz Hirai coming back out to talk about the online infrastructure. This is where looking back in retrospect gets pretty interesting as new things are talked about such as a store and the new idea of DLC. The PS3 would also have gaming profiles and so much more.
Then Kaz goes back to the PSP and gamers can download games to play classic PS1 games on to the memory stick. Kaz then puts a ton of hype on the PS1 game the game is about to be Shown. Then one of the greatest gaming memes is born. Kaz’s “It’s Ridge Racer… RIIIIDGE RACERRRR”. While we are on the subject of memes, we got a doozy of a game coming next. Genji, an action game set in old Japan, and no not the Genji from Overwatch.
Genji is shown and as the game loads, it is stated that the game has battles based on legendary real Japanese battles. One moment the player uses a special move and there’s quite a bit of a frame drop. The game has real time weapon changes and character changes. Nothing too mind blowing but then we get a “giant enemy crab” boss that shows up. You know, from the famous Japanese battle. He then “attacks its weak point for massive damage”. This would of course spawn more memes.
So we’ve had two cases: Ridge Racer and Giant Enemy Crab back to back, so no doubt some awkward yet funny moments.
The next thing shown is a Formula 1 racer where they show that the PSP can be used as a rear mirror. A cool concept but not really practical as you would be always looking down at the PSP and not looking up at the screen where the action is.
“We’re not interested in gimmicks”.
After that we get another showcase of new games, such as Afrika a game where you are a photographer in an African safari (man what is it with me and picture games as of late?), Everybody’s Golf (Hot Shots Golf in the US), and Eight Days, a very impressive looking action game that would end up being put on hold and then never released/cancelled. Looking back at this it kind of looks like the “gameplay is a pre-rendered cutscene with a heads up display but that’s just speculation at best. If not then it’s a shame it never came out because it looks good for a PS3 game, especially an early one.
One more game they showed is the next game by Naughty Dog, who just got done with their series of Jak games and of course, the people behind Crash Bandicoot. It ends up being a platformer plus action like game and there is no title shown at the end of the trailer. The game would end up being Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and would end up being a massive IP for Sony.
Next we get a special presentation for Insomniac games as they show off Resistance: Fall of Man, a FPS. At this point Halo for Microsoft’s Xbox was their ace in the hole and to call it a major player in the FPS would be an understatement. Sony needed that big FPS game to call their own and they hoped Resistance would fit the bill.
Resistance is such an interesting case because I remember people hyping the hell out of the trilogy but nowadays I hear NO ONE ever talk about it besides “Oh yeah I remember Resistance.” It tried to be a competitor to Halo but just came up short.
We then get another showcase of games, the only two worth noting is Tekken 6 and Sonic The Hedgehog 2006. One ended up being a good but not great fighting game in my opinion in Tekken 6. It’s good but I prefer 5 more. The other would end up being one of the greatest gaming disasters of all time and would ruin Sonic’s reputation that still exists 15 years later.
Next we get Kaz returning to introduce Larry Probst, the Chairman of EA (Electronic Arts). It’s not E3 without a great deal of sports. They show off what they can do with the new power of the PS3 and to make sports games more real. After All this would have been at the height of the Madden NFL games, its golden age if you will, so I can see why some fans would enjoy this.
The next big game shown was Final Fantasy XIII. Final Fantasy was a juggernaut for the Sony PlayStation with VII, VIII, and IX, and X was not bad on the PS2 either. XI went for a more MMO style and XII was more of an action style RPG. XIII looked like it was going to be a return to basics and people still saw Final Fantasy as a huge deal. The game would come out in two versions, Final Fantasy XIII and VS Final Fantasy XIII, VS YEARS later would be reworked and would become Final Fantasy XV.
After the long wait, we at last get a new trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The trailer does it’s job as it’s eluting to Solid Snake’s final mission. The game looks phenomenal and is no doubt going to be a big deal for the PS3. People will buy a PS3 to see the conclusion to Hideo Kojima’s masterpiece.
Next we get a demonstration of the controller, it mostly looks like the PS2 controller. There was a prototype controller shown last year (as seen above) but it was scrapped for a more traditional controller, after all don’t fix what isn't broken. A few features were already known about the controller such as it being wireless and having multiple people on the same system at once. However there was one more trick the controller had up its sleeve that was received with mix results.
They demonstrate that the controller has motion features, as in things move as you move with the controller. Nintendo before hand showed off their motion controller for the Wii and as that was impressive, with the PS3 doing it there was a sense of Sony hanging on the coattails of Nintendo. Just seemed less “Look at what the PS3 controller can do!” and more “See Nintendo, we can do motion controls too!”. I remember fans not digging it as it just seems like Sony was just ripping off Nintendo. It doesn't help the “We’re not interested in gimmicks” comment beforehand really doesn't help Sony’s case.
It is noted that the controller is lighter than the PS2 controller but there is a catch. What would later become known as the Sixaxis had no rumble feature. The PlayStation 3 would get the Dualshock 3 controller that would have rumble but that would come out a little bit after the launch window. Speaking of the launch window, it’s time we find out how much this behemoth of a system is going to cost. And that’s where things take a nosedive.
We get the game plan for the PS3 for its release and then we at last get the price… $599 in the US. This was an extremely hard sell as at this time an expensive new system was around the 300-400 range tops. This was half the price of the PS1 and PS2 before it, also half the price of the competitor of the PS3, the Xbox 360. Not to mention the Nintendo Wii would be out for $250 but it was also a much weaker system. Then the conference ends but with the very steep price to close the show out really left a sour aftertaste in gamer’s mouths. People wanted the PlayStation 3 but that was a VERY hard sell at that price point. It’s like Sony was so confident with them being on top that they could get away with such an outlandish price tag. The great recession of 2006 was also happening during this time too, so it’s not like people had more money to burn on a video game system.
PlayStation 3 priced at $499 for 20BG, and $599 for 60GB.
After this, I knew plenty that were no way going to drop that price tag on a PS3 at launch and would likely wait for a price drop. Many of Sony’s faithful did drop the cash to have the most powerful system for the time, however there were plenty of gamers that wanted the next generation of gaming but at half the price with the Xbox 360. After that it felt like the PS3 that was still a great system was always in the show of the Xbox 360’s success. What was once a company that was on the summit after selling the most successful system of all time was now tumbling down the mountain.
Looking at this in retrospect, I felt like there were a few things Sony could have done to prevent this. The obvious one being not selling the thing for $599, but they could have launched it with a major game. Yes games like Metal Gear Solid 4 were coming but not at launch. There really wasn't anything mind blowing coming out day one for the system.
I also think you should have ended the conference with a big game and not that steep price tag. It’s like they honestly thought most gamers would spend that much for a new system and that the catch being the price would not matter. Otherwise why on Earth would you end your showing of a new system with the most negative thing about it? I would have ended the conference with maybe the Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer, or something to have fans leave the room on a happy note. Everything sounded great but then when the price was announced, it just took the wind out of the sails. If you are going to release a system at that price, you needed a showing that knocked it out of the park and needed pretty much a perfect showing. With Ridge Racers, Giant Enemy Crabs, and $599, it’s safe to say Sony failed to do that.
The PS3 would not be a total failure but like I said, it felt like the Xbox 360 got the early lead and never really got behind after that. PS3 was always playing catch up. The PlayStation 3 was still a great system and people love it, but boy did it have a rocky start from a gaming company that looked like at that time could do no wrong. No one stays on top forever and the 2006 Sony E3 Press Conference was the start of Sony’s decent and is something they still feel the impact from to this day.
Thank you for reading.