The Electronic Entertainment Expo--or more commonly known as E3--has been an annual tradition within the gaming industry for nearly 30 years. Many press conferences have happened in the 26 different E3s that have taken place throughout the years, and even more games have been revealed during them. 2021 marks the first time that the event will take place digitally, but all the hallmarks that make E3 what it is will still remain mostly the same for the viewers at home; Nintendo, Microsoft-Bethesda, Square Enix, and more are set to take the virtual stage to show gamers the best they've got to offer for this brand new console generation.

Not every E3 is a show-stopping hype-fest, though. There have been plenty of years where the titans of the press conferences either have nothing to show, or too many failures to show for their efforts. Notorious instances such as PlayStation's E3 2006 event ($599 US Dollars!) or Microsoft's 2013 showcase (TV TV TV!) have gone down in history for their catastrophically bad press conferences.

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For all the bad, however, there has been an equal amount of amazing E3s, ones that truly make us realize why we love video games, and why we love to see these grand reveals on stage every year. PlayStation once took aim at Xbox by dedicating a portion of its E3 2013 conference to show how easy it would be to share used games with friends, during a time where it was thought the Xbox One wouldn't allow you to play used games on another console. A couple of years later, PlayStation would also stun watchers by revealing Shenmue III and Final Fantasy VII Remake in a one-two punch that had the crowd roaring with joy.

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In a mere matter of hours, the latest E3 news will be upon us. So while we wait, prepare our E3 bingo cards, eagerly hold onto our hype train tickets in suspense, and sit anxiously in our chairs, let's reminisce about the most exciting and most hated E3 moments. What E3 conference is your all-time favorite? Which one had you cringing until the very end?

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

YOU ATTACK ITS WEAK POINT FOR MASSIVE DAMAGE.

Dunno about favorite though to be honest, most E3s I've watched are just...disappointing lol

 

[MaxToTheMax]

Is there any answer other than Nintendo’s 2008 event? It is the worst and also the best at the same time lol

 

[Lightyose]

E3 2020 is the worst.

I do think an E3 with Breath of the Wild is my current pick for best E3.

 

[Jiehfeng]

I think narrowing it down to one E3 would be a disservice to the glory of all the E3's and their awkward moments combined, as it gives the very impression that that's what any E3 is about. Altogether it makes E3 just so much more entertaining, for the wrong reasons of course.

Though if I had to pick, the old Konami one comes to mind and the whole Wii Music seizure.

EDIT: For anyone who hasn't:

 

[Lacius]

Is there any answer other than Nintendo’s 2008 event? It is the worst and also the best at the same time lol

Nintendo's 2008 event was the worst.

 

[Deleted User]

I can't say that I've ever been invested enough to watch any E3 to make a judgement, but it seems even the worst ones gain infamy, which is somewhat of a good thing, at least for the Memes.

So Win-Win, I guess ...

 

[x65943]

The most memorable for me have been the ones with skits, so I'll never forget the robot chicken and muppet Nintendo presentations



That said, the most disappointing were the wiiu years - I just wanted some Zelda games, is that so much to ask for? ;A;

 

[Deleted member 323844]

2005 was vaporware all over the place, both from Sony and Microsoft. It was a fun disaster.

The best.. I'd say any SCES was way better than any E3. Those weird 1993-94 SCES with Jaguar and 3DO are among my favourites. I don't remember any especially great E3.

 

[SG854]

Wanna come over and play my Wii?
Doodldoodldoodldoodldoo

 

[limpbiz411]

Sony's Giant enemy crab presentation.

 

[Deleted member 532471]

Worst has to be that EA presentation where they were trying to hype up the PS3 WITH LIES

"IN PS2 CHARACTERS COULD ONLY MOVE IN EIGHT DIRECTIONS, BUT NOW, THEY CAN MOVE FULL 360 DEGREES!!"

Few times in my life I cringed as hard as I did when I saw that presentation
They were playing like NBA or something and they had a ps2ish build of it that they really modded for the characters to move in 8 directions like a nes game, it was really hard to watch.
For sure that was like, the kind of trick they use on investors...

 

[godreborn]

$599 US dollars.

 

[beermonkey]

Most EA presentations. Sit through a ton of sports stuff (don't get me wrong I love FIFA.) Only to have nothing at all redeeming at the end. Any presentation with announcements that fall flat but obviously have staff/plants in the audience clapping and shouting (Seen this in loads of live presentations.)
Favourite was watching reactions of the game trailers guys (now easy allies) when breath of the wild was shown. I love E3 with all its querks. So looking forward to this weekend.

 

[DinohScene]

E3 of the last decade has been disappointing.

Tbf I couldn't care watching it for the past few years, just read the tl;dr here on temp and continued playing videogames.

 

[Seliph]

Peggle 3 plz

 

[raxadian]

No gamer actually watches E3 they just get the resume later, unless they have no life or are paid to make the resume.

 

[BitMasterPlus]

Digital only E3 probs the worst.

 

[Darth Meteos]

Nintendo, E3 2017 was memorable as hell.

 

[modgeezer]

I've only been to a 3 but my favorite was 2001. It was my first chance to try Xbox and Gamecube and PS2 was in its 2nd year.