Since it’s a slow news day (potential “Zone of Enders” sequel aside), I thought I’d take a look ahead towards this years E3 conference by going back.

You see, E3 has had a lot of problems over the years. Developers drop out, games disappear, Jamie Kennedy makes an appearance…they even got rid of the booth babes. Against it all, though, sometimes a moment can emerge from the show that wades through all the trouble and dodges the press leaks to emerge from the other side as a real surprise. Here are a few.

Introducing Killzone 2….Sort Of

The big reveal trailer has been E3’s trump card for many years. “Metal Gear Solid 2“, “Halo 2“, lots of other 2’s…they’re usually a pretty big deal. Over the years, game developers have turned the video game trailer into an art, which often translates to the trailer being better than the game.

There is no greater example of this than the infamous “Killzone 2” trailer. Spearheaded by the unveiling of the Playstation 3, Sony’s 2005 conference was a runaway success, and “Killzone 2” was the highlight. The first “Killzone” was a shoddy attempt at Sony trying to make a “Halo Killer”, and was a mediocre success. The footage shown for the sequel, however, was so dramatic and technologically mind blowing that it would have stood out amongst the packed line up on its own. However, the hype was bolstered by Sony’s insistence that what people were seeing was in fact real time.

Of course that would turn out to be a big fat lie. “Killzone 2” was a good looking game, but it was nowhere near the trailer in any respect. Why this ultimately hurt Sony by taking the focus away from its otherwise amazing conference, for a brief time the debate over the trailers authenticity was all anyone could talk about.

The Original Shocker

It was E3 1995, the very first E3, and Sega CEO Tom Kalinske took the stage and told everyone that due to unprecedented demand (Disclaimer: real demand may not have been unprecedented) Sega would no longer be meeting its originally promised September 2nd North American release date. Instead they would push the release date up and anyone interested could buy the system that very day for a retail price of $399. It was a bombshell in the industry without precedent before or peer sense.

Of course in classic Sega tradition, just when it looks like they’ve taken the world by storm, a rival comes in and parts the clouds. In this case it was Sony’s Steve Race who took the stage and simply said “$299” and walked off. The message was clear. Sony’s system was going to cheaper, have more developer support, and better launch titles. All fans had to do was wait for it. The Saturn meanwhile angered retailers who suddenly had to sell a lot of Saturns without a chance to promote, and had an unspectacular launch that kicked off a mediocre system.

Still, it was a shock.

Microsoft Nabs Grand Theft Auto

In 2001 “Grand Theft Auto III’s” exclusive release on the Playstation 2 helped Sony survive the ordeal of Microsoft and Nintendo launching their new systems right in the heart of the holidays. While the Xbox and PC would see a port in the next six months, the fact that Sony would get exclusive rights to the series on launch day for future installments insured that Xbox fans would essentially miss out on the definitive franchise of its generation.

That feeling of dread would only be matched by the sheer joy Xbox 360 fans experienced when Peter Moore took the stage at E3 2006, and revealed a “Grand Theft Auto IV” tattoo on his arm (repeating a trick used for the prior “Halo 2” release) and announced that when GTA was released, it would be available on the 360 immediately.

Even though the Xbox 360 enjoyed strong sales figures and customer loyalty thanks to its early release and online capabilities, if Microsoft had never gained the rights to GTA, they would have felt the impact. More importantly than the game itself though is the significance of this announcement heralding a new age where third party developers didn’t claim loyalty to one system or the other.

Nintendo Pleases the Fanboys

Nintendo had caught a lot of flak for “Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker”. Even though the game itself would turn out to be stunningly good, there were still a large number of Nintendo diehards who felt that a game that looked so cartoony could never be called a proper sequel to “Ocarina of Time” and “Majora’s Mask”. And since Nintendo took so long to develop it’s flagship titles, gamers everywhere worried they would never get a “proper” Zelda game on the gamecube.

But at the tail end of Nintendo’s 2004 E3 conference, Nintendo released a trailer for what would eventually become “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess”. The footage was stunning. It had epic music, incredible design and, most importantly at the time, a graphical style that looked like a true evolution to Link’s classic N64 adventures. By the time that Shigeru Miyamoto himself took the stage complete with Links sword and shield, the crowd was going wild.

Of course time would reveal that most people preferred “Wind Waker” to “Twilight Princess” as far as overall games go, but at the time this was the biggest announcement in Nintendo’s E3 history. The explosion of applause the game garnered, not to mention reports that some people were actually crying at the footage, created an atmosphere no game unveiling has equaled.

Sony’s Conference From Hell

We come full circle. While the 2005 E3 show, featuring “Killzone 2”, was a runaway publicity success for Sony, 2006 seemed aimed to destroy any good will they generated a year prior.

It’s hard to say what the lowpoint was. It could have been the absurd launch price, the embarrassment of having several of the game demos not work or be nearly uncontrollable, a keynote speech by CEO Kazuo Hirai that was later contradicted by the entire rest of the presentation, or maybe even just the monotonous and bored speech of every presenter who all seemed to realize what a train wreck the show was becoming, but seemed powerless to stop it.

Actually the two leading candidates would have to be a truly awful presentation for “Genji: Days of the Blade” that claimed the game was based off of authentic Japanese battles, only to transition immediately to footage of a giant crab attacking the main character, or Kazuo himself announcing a new “Ridge Racer” PSP game by loudly proclaiming “It’s Riiiiiiidge Racer!” in a voice that resembled a failed audition for an arcade fighting game announcer. Both of these incidents had internet meme’s start up from them, oddly enough making them the only part of the conference fans got genuine enjoyment from.

E3 is filled with a shameful history of embarrassing moments. Considering the long term ramifications this one had on Sony and the PS3 though, its may have to be the worst. What was so shocking about it is how a company that was coming off of one of the greatest game systems of all time, could put together such an underwhelming presentation for the system that would be defining their financial future in the coming years.