E3 is an exciting time of year for gamers. We all know that most of the major players in the industry use the event to reveal and showcase their exciting new games and hardware. E3 2017 should certainly be no exception, with Microsoft set top lift the lid off Xbox Scorpio, Nintendo to showcase its upcoming lineup for Switch, and Sony to detail its PS4 and VR plans moving ahead.
But with that high expectation comes a lot of pressure, and sometimes things can get a little …. well, embarrassing. Turns out you really can try too hard, and instead of “winning” E3, sometimes companies walk away having been facepalmed out of Los Angeles.
There have been many, many embarrassing moments to come out of E3 over the years. Here are the most memorable.
Not sure if Mortal Kombat 3 or Power Rangers
E3 1995
Despite the fact this happened at the very first E3 way back in 1995, there’s absolutely no excusing this comically bad introduction for Mortal Kombat 3. Midway (remember those guys?) was in the midst of rolling out is third coin-op Mortal Kombat game, and even though the series’ popularity had peaked at the time, this on-stage unveiling is shockingly bad.
“I love the game … I can’t play it”
E3 2009
If you were in the audience of Microsoft’s E3 2009 press briefing, you were part of a lucky crowd that got to see Ringo Star and Paul McCartney on stage to celebrate the announcement of The Beatles: Rock Band.
While it was infinitely cool that the duo were present to help unveil the game, it was clear they had absolutely no idea what it was precisely, how to play, or what to even say about it.
We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt because we doubt they’d just sign away one of the most lucrative music licenses on the planet without knowing what it’s going to, but this is a little awkward.
“There’s attractive people running around”
E3 2010
Joel McHale is a special kind of host. He’s one of a few people that can get on stage and have the guts to call out whatever it is he’s supposed to be promoting as stupid and mundane. He did just that while hosting Ubisoft’s E3 2010, during which Battle Tag was revealed.
Mr Caffeine
E3 2011
If you’re going to have someone get on stage to promote your exciting new product, best you make sure they know how to say one of your most important franchises right. The host of Ubisoft’s E3 2011 press conference, nicknamed “Mr Caffeine” because of his erratic behaviour, kepy pronouncing “Tom Clancy” as “Tom Ca-Lancy”, in between making weird flashback noises and lame jokes.
PS3 Boomerang
E3 2005
The PlayStation 3 boomerang controller is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating mistakes to ever come out of the industry. The controller was so bad and was so poorly received by gamers and journalists, Sony completely ditched the design and instead went with a revamped PlayStation 2 DualShock, a design which it has essentially still maintained to this day, some 10+ years later.
Riiiiiiidddggeeee Raccccccerrrr
E3 2006
Kaz Hirai’s enthusiasm for a port of Ridge Racer for PSP came as a surprise to everyone. Did anyone care?
Nintendo Wii Music
E3 2008
Who can forget the erratic drummer during Nintendo’s E3 2008 press conference? The Wii Music demo makes for undoubtedly one of the most hilariously bad presentations ever at E3. Out of beat, irritating and just downright silly, the guy would soon be the face of an ageless gif.
Jamie Kennedy
E3 2007
“We’re at E3, and this place, is the only place, that makes the guys at ComicCon look like Ocean’s 13.”
Hilarious for viewers, embarrassing for Activision.
Rock Revolution Fail
E3 2008
Here’s a word of advice for anyone going on stage to demo a game: practice makes perfect. Rock Revolution‘s product manager had a lot to learn about the game she was at E3 to promote, putting in an abysmal performance on stage and failing in the process.
Konami’s WTF press conference
E3 2010
It’s hard to explain just how bad Konami’s E3 2010 press conference was. Watch it for yourself … if you dare.
PS3 price fail … actually, the whole conference
E3 2006
The PS3 launch price announcement shocked not only those in attendance at Sony’s E3 2006 press conference, but also gamers around the world. The moment the price tag is announced you can hear the crowd gawk in shock.
Actually, the whole press conference was terrible.
“The game is based on battles that actually took place in ancient Japan … So here’s this giant enemy crab.”
https://youtu.be/IH2w2l1JTs4
Wii Vitality Sensor
E3 2009
The Wii Vitality Sensor has to be one of the more perplexing announcements ever made in the history of E3, and it probably explains why we haven’t seen it since. A heartbeat sensor…or…something, the Vitality Sensor essentially disappeared off the map, raising questions as to its validity to begin with. Did Nintendo quickly put this together to offer something along Microsoft’s and Sony’s big announcements in Project Natal (which eventually became Kinect) and Sony’s Move?
The Screaming Woman
Either Bethesda paid someone to be overly enthusiastic during its E3 2016 press conference, or there is a gamer out there more passionate about Bethesda games than anyone else on the planet. Just listen to this video: this is legit, and you can hear this woman screaming throughout the entire press conference.
