2. Sony 2006
Oh Sony, you really screwed yourself with the PS3. It’s insane how the tables have turned now, but back in 2006 the Xbox 360 had just released and Sony still had yet to release their new console. The console had a rough start right from its announcement with a $600 price point in the United States and a controller that had motion controls implemented into it with no rumble features. The console was also incredibly ugly and bulky, featuring a font that looked like the Sam Rami Spider-Man film logos (which were also made by Sony). It felt bizarre, lazy, and incredibly pricey. It’s basically almost exactly what Microsoft did in 2013 with the Xbox One.
It doesn’t stop there though. Kaz Hirai awkwardly tries to excite the crowd for Ridge Racer, something I don’t think even the legendary Mr. Caffeine could do. They then go forward to show of gimmicks like using your PSP as a rear-view mirror when playing a racing game on PS3, and a presenter even says his game features “real time weapon switching”. A feature I didn’t even know was a feature. That same presenter also mentions the game features real life battles from ancient Japan, moments later a giant crab leaps on screen and the player must fight it… I don’t think there were giant monster crabs in these battles or any battle in history for that matter. It was all around an incredibly cringe-worthy conference that makes us look back and scratch our heads with how they managed to pull off the PS4’s reveal so successfully.
1. Microsoft 2013
We have finally reached the granddaddy of all terrible conferences. I personally have always played on Xbox and have always enjoyed Xbox so I was honestly terrified when I watched this conference. From the actual reveal of the Xbox One the month before E3 where they focused on TV and sports and Skype to the trainwreck that is the 2013 E3 presser, it makes you wonder what Microsoft’s marketing team was thinking.
The conference was a disaster from the price reveal to the demos that had tons of technical difficulties. A poor presenter from EA came out on stage to show off some gameplay of Battlefield 4 on Xbox One but was greeted to technical difficulties and had to awkwardly stand on stage for what felt like hours for the audience and more than likely the presenter himself. The audience taunted him and when he tried to walk off stage, he was pushed back out by people behind the stage. The demo eventually played but it is a moment most of us who were watching will never forget. That wasn’t the end of it though, a trailer for Crimson Dragon also played with no sound whatsoever and the audience made their own sounds and noises throughout the ENTIRE trailer.
The last thing that I will mention about the disastrous show is the strong focus on Kinect, the now pretty much dead feature that was a requirement for the Xbox One at launch. Microsoft basically said the console wasn’t very good without the Kinect so it came bundled with each and every console for close to a year. What’s strange though is that one of their launch titles for Xbox One, Ryse: Son of Rome was originally revealed a few years ago as a Kinect only title and the new version shown at the 2013 show was a game that barely used Kinect aside from some voice commands. The only cool Kinect game they had was now a game you could play with a controller… that must say something right? Not to mention, many developers like Harmonix invested into the Kinect knowing every Xbox One would have a Kinect so they could hopefully sell some unique Kinect only titles. A year later, right before Harmonix’s Kinect only title released Microsoft said that Kinect was no longer a requirement and could be bought separately from the Xbox One. I could go on about the terrible messaging to consumers with “online only” features, and the now former head of Xbox Don Mattrick telling people in the military who don’t have access to the internet that they could play Xbox 360 instead of Xbox One. Not a good year for Xbox.
There you have it, five of the worst moments at E3. Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below. Obviously going on stage in front of millions is a scary thing, so we aren't making fun of anyone or trying to hurt anyone's feelings. It happens to the best of us, sometimes it's just best to laugh at ourselves once in a while though!
We are sure there will be a lot more terrible moments at this year’s E3, so be sure to watch all of our coverage next week to stay up to date on all the news and hopefully awkward moments.
4. Mr. Caffeine
Where do we start with Mr. Caffeine… Well let’s start out by saying after this Ubisoft press conference he was never seen ever again. Literally, I haven’t seen this man after his appearance. I think Ubisoft executed him after he embarrassed the whole company in front of millions. For those unfamiliar with the legendary Mr. Caffeine, he was the host of Ubisoft’s 2011 E3 presser and he made abysmal 90’s references and wasn’t even able to pronounce Tom Clancy’s name properly. The legend himself would make awkward jokes and criticise himself by calling himself a “cheap date”. The crowd would awkwardly laugh quietly at his jokes just to make him feel good but deep down we all knew how terrible he was.
The best part about Mr. Caffeine is, no one knows who he actually is. Is he an employee? A man found on the streets? No one knows. He is a persona created by Ubisoft’s marketing team. A legend. We thank you for the good times Mr. Caffeine, and may you rest in peace. [Disclaimer: We don’t actually know if he’s dead.]
3. Konami’s 2010 press conference
This entry is probably the funniest on the list. If it weren’t for the sad things that happened in the other two upcoming entries, this would totally take the number one spot. This whole press conference was filled with awkward moments like wrestlers awkwardly slapping each other up in a room full of games journalists, a man staring deep into another man’s soul, and a game director who constantly feels the need for an applause and will stop the conference in order to fill his ego. Konami isn’t really known for being smart, just look at nearly everything they did in 2015. It is a beautiful disaster that unfolds in front of your eyes. It may be the funniest things I have ever seen happen at E3. There’s also an amazing demo of a dancing game live on stage, and words can’t describe how glorious that is.
E3 is a joyous time for gamers. We get so many glorious reveals, awesome gameplay demos, and we see developers and presenters absolutely embarrass themselves in hilarious fashion. Typically most people look forward to the games, and while those are great and all I personally look forward to the new ways people can embarrass themselves. With E3 already upon us, we here at GameZone have brought you a list of some of the moments that made us cringe the most during our favorite gaming event.
5. Aisha Tyler
Aisha Tyler seems like a lovely lady, and we aren’t here to trash her or call her a fake gamer. She seems like she genuinely enjoys video games and like she can have a good time but dear God has she had her fair share of bad moments. The one that sticks out the most has to be at E3 2015 when she goes into the crowd to talk to a cosplayer dressed up as Jacob Frye from Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. The two talk about their favorite memes, and if that wasn’t bad enough Aisha tries to pitch a meme to the crowd with the cosplayer and it’s just an awkward moment where no one knows what anyone is talking about. Moments later, Jason Derulo starts to perform on stage and when he goes into the audience he tries to get Aisha to dance and she awkwardly rejects. Aisha is returning once again this year, so we should have many more moments to cringe over on Monday.
