E3 1998

The 1998 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) took place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia on May 28-30.

Overview

E3 returned to the hot and humid city of Atlanta in 1998. The choice to bring the industry's biggest event to the east coast was not a popular one by many, and what was first intended to be a three year excursion was quickly cut short. Upon arrival to E3 1998, it was announced that the show would return to its original home in Los Angeles in 1999. Unlike the previous year, the entire show was located within the GWCC, removing the much complained about outdoor walk to the nearby Georgia Dome. The year of 1998 is widely considered as one of the greatest years in the history of gaming, and the year's E3 show foreshadowed much of the year's success. One of the major news items to come from E3 1998 was Sega's announcement of the Dreamcast as a result of a partnership with Microsoft and Hitachi. After three years of rough roads with the Saturn, Sega had decided to cut their losses and put all their efforts into a newer, more advanced system. Sega did not have it playable on the show floor, but their Tower of Babel demo had everyone talking.

One game that was the talk of the show was only shown behind closed doors, and that was none other than Duke Nukem Forever. The real highlight of the show though had to be The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The game had been at the previous E3, but it now nearing completion and only a few months away from release in North America. Other top titles of the show included Final Fantasy VIII, which was riding a huge wave of anticipation after the colossal success of Final Fantasy VII the year prior. And then there was Half-Life, which was nearing the end of a long period of development. Metal Gear Solid made another appearance at E3 as well, and Konami's entire booth was designed around Kojima's masterpiece. E3 '98 was also many westerners' first chance to get their hands on a new franchise that had taken Japan by storm, Pokemon.

As for hardware, Nintendo debuted their new handheld, Game Boy Color. They also unveiled the Game Boy Camera and Printer here. This only slightly distracted attendees from the lack of Nintendo's 64DD add-on to the Nintendo 64, which would never be released in the west. Sony announced a new SKU for the PlayStation that would include the new Dual Shock controller.

Show Floor

E3 98 - GWCC 1

E3 98 - GWCC 2

Games of the Show

The games listed below not only include those playable on the show floor, but any game referenced at the show. This would include video presentations, announcements, advertisements, or any other official reference to the game from its developer, publisher, or platform. They are listed mainly according to the publisher of the game, with a few exceptions where the publisher did not attend the show. An example of this would be a hardware company such as Nintendo or nVidia showing a game not developed or published by them. In several situtations, games either changed their title or even their publisher before they were released. For historical accuracy in chronicling E3, such games will be listed with their original names and publishers, and linked to the corresponding page of the final game.

Harmonix

The Axe

Hasbro

Glover

Infogrames

Duck Dodgers
Looney Tunes: Space Race
Mission Impossible
Tasmanian Express

Interplay

Crime Killer
Fallout 2
Heart of Darkness
M.A.X. 2
Messiah
Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury
Wild 9

Kemco

Shadowgate 64
Top Gear Overdrive
Twisted Edge Snowboarding

KOEI

Winback

Konami

Bottom of the 9th '99
Castlevania 3D
Hybrid Heaven
Metal Gear Solid
Poy Poy 2
Silent Hill
Suikoden II

LucasArts

Grim Fandango
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
Star Wars: Force Commander
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

MicroProse

MechWarrior 3
X-com: Interceptor

Microsoft

Age of Empires II

Midway

Biofreaks
Body Harvest
Jackie Chan Stuntmaster
Mortal Kombat 4
NFL Blitz
Off Road Challenge
Wipeout 64

Namco

Pac-Man 3D
Soul Blade
Tales of Destiny
Tekken 2
Tekken 3

Nintendo

Banjo-Kazooie
Bomberman Hero
F-1 World Grand Prix
F-Zero X
Game Boy Camera
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Printer
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Mario RPG
Perfect Dark
Pokemon Blue
Pokemon Red
Twelve Tails: Conker's Quest
Waialae Country Club True Golf Classics

Oddworld Inhabitants

Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus

Psygnosis

Colony Wars: Vengeance
F1 '98
O.D.T.
Psybadek

Red Storm Entertainment

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
Tom Clancy's Takeover

Sega

Burning Rangers
Dreamcast
Enemy Zero
House of the Dead
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Sega Rally 2
Shining Force III

Sierra On-Line

Gabriel Knight 3
Half-Life
King's Quest VIII
NASCAR II
You Don't Know Jack

Sony

Blast Radius
Bomberman World
Bust-A-Groove
Cool Boarders 3
Crash Bandicoot: Warped
Jersey Devil
MediEvil
MLB '99
N2O
NFL GameDay '99
NFL Xtreme
NHL FaceOff '99
Rally Cross
Spyro the Dragon
Syphon Filter
Tiny Tank
Tomba!
Twisted Metal III
Xena: Warrior Princess

Sony Interactive Studios America

Cyberstrike 2
EverQuest

Squaresoft

Brave Fencer Musashi
Bushido Blade 2
Final Fantasy VIII
Parasite Eve
Xenogears

Take 2 Interactive

Space Station Silicon Valley

Tecmo

Dead or Alive
Deception II
Gallop Racer
Monster Rancher

THQ

Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling
Devil Dice
G Darius
Quest 64
Rugrats
Shao Lin
WCW/nWo Revenge
WCW/nWo Thunder

Tiger

Game.com

Titus Software

Roadsters
Superman 64

Ubisoft

All-Star Tennis '99
Buck Bumble
Rayman 2
Tonic Trouble

Virgin Interactive

Thrill Kill

Working Designs

Alundra
Elemental Gearbolt
LUNAR: Silver Star Story
Magical Ray Earth

Game Critics Awards

The Game Critics Awards are decided by an independent group of North American media outlets. They have selected the most promising games of each Electronic Entertainment Expo since 1998, and have thus become recognized as the most respected "Best of" awards that come out of the annual show. Games qualify for nomination by having hands-on playable versions of the game at the show. For more information, see the Game Critics Awards page.

Most Promising New Game (Best of Show)
Homeworld (Sierra / Relic)

Most Promising New Peripheral
Microsoft Sidewinder Freestyle Pro (Microsoft)

Best Game, PC
Half-Life (Sierra / Valve)

Best Game, Console
Metal Gear Solid (Konami)

Best Action Game
Half Life (Sierra / Valve)

Best Adventure Game
Grim Fandango (LucasArts)

Best Real-Time Strategy Game
Homeworld (Sierra / Relic)

Best Turn-Based Strategy Game
Alpha Centauri (EA / Firaxis)

Best Combat Simulation Game
Fighter Legends (Jane's)

Best Non-Combat Simulation Game
Railroad Tycoon 2 (Gathering of Developers / Pop Top)

Best Fighting Game
Tekken 3 (Namco)

Best Racing Game
Need For Speed 3 (EA)

Best Sports Game
John Madden Football 99 (EA)

Best RPG Game
Baldur's Gate (Interplay / Bioware)

Best Online Only Game
EverQuest (Sony / 989 Studios)

Best Puzzle/Trivia Game
Sentinel Returns (Psygnosis / Hookstone)

Best Booth at the E3 Show
Electronic Arts

Best Party at the E3 Show
Babylon 5

SWAG

E3 1998 SWAG (49 images)

Exhibitors

3D Joe Corporation
3D Labs, Inc.
3Dfx Interactive, Inc.
The 3DO Company
3VR, Inc.

Abacus Software, Inc.
About Time Inc.
Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences
Access Software
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc.
Accolade, Inc.
ACT LABS Ltd.
Action Media B.V.
Action Zone LLC
Active Boeki K.K.
Activision, Inc.
Adventus Inc.
Akella
Alias/Wavefront
Alliance Inventory Management
Alpha Software
Aludra Software
AMD
Americ Disc Inc.
America Online
American Multimedia, Inc.
AnimaTek International, Inc.
ARC Media Inc.
ASCII Entertainment Software, Inc.
Atlus Company, Ltd.
Australian Trade Commission
Avalon Hill Game Co.
Avery Dennison

Bandai Digital Entertainment Corp.
Beam International
Behaviour Interactive
BFD Productions
Big Fun
Binarystar Enterprise Inc.
Blizzard Entertainment
Blue Byte Software Inc.
BradyGames
Brainstorm Marketing
Brighter Child INteractive LLC
Brilliant Digital Entertainment
Broderbund Software
Bungie Software

Cakewalk
Cambridge Educational
CAPCOM
Cavedog Entertainment
CDV Software GmbH
Cendant Software
CFMEACTIM French Pavilion
CGDA Computer Game Developer Association
CH Products
CHaman
Channel M
Chips & Bits, Inc.
CMP Media
Comfy Interactive Movies
Computing Services & Software Associates
CONCEPT-ACTION MULTIMEDIA
Cosmi Corporation
Crave Entertainment
Creative Edge Software
Creative Labs, Inc.
Creative Wonders/The Learning Company
Criterion Studios
Crusaders Studios, Inc.
Cryo Interactive Entertainment
Crystal Dynamics, Inc.
Curtco Freedom Group
CyberACTIVE Publishing
CyberStuff Corp

Davidson & Associates, Inc.
DeLorme Mapping Company
Denon Active Media
Digital Addiction
Digital Media International
Dimension Publishing
Disc Makers
discreet monsters
Disney INteractive
DOC'S, A division of Arist Interactive LLC
Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation
Dreamworks Interactive
DWANGO/Interactive Visual Systems Corporation
Dynamix

Eidos Interactive
El-Ko Interactive Inc.
Electro Source, LLC
Electronic Arts
Ellis Enterprises, Inc.
ELSPA (UK) Ltd.
Empire Interactive
Encore Software
Entertainment Marketing Group, Inc./On the Strip Network
Entertainment Software Ratings Board
Erbe Software S.A.
ESEL International Co. Ltd.
ESPN Digital Games (Radical Entertainment)
Eureka Software

Federal Disk Manufacturing
Fire International Ltd
Fors
Fox Interactive
France Edition
Fujitsu Interactive, Inc.
Full Throttle

G-VOX
Game Developer Magazine
Game Informer Magazine
Game Source International
GameFan Magazine
Gametech Company Ltd.
GameTronics
Gathering of Developers
Globalink
Golf Manager Enterprises/GT Interactive
Good Hope Electronic Company Ltd.
Grand View Products
GraphicCorp
Gravis of Kensington Technical Group
Greenleaf Technologies Corporation
Gremlin Interactive Ltd.
Grolier INteractive
GT Interactive Software
Guillemot International

H a
H3D Entertainment
Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.
Hasbro Interactive
Head Games Publishing
Her Interactive
Hercules Computer Technology, Inc.
Hicom Co. Ltd.
Highcom GmbH
Home Entertainment Suppliers Pty Ltd.
Homestyles/GT Interactive
Honey Bee Industrial International Ltd.
HOT-B USA Inc.
Houghton Mifflin Interactive
Humongous Entertainment
Hyperlock

I-Design
IBM Consumer Software
IDG Games Media Group
IEMA
Imagine Media Inc.
Immersion Corporation
Impact Interactive Publishing
IMSI
Infogrames Entertainment/Ocean
Ingram Micro
Inner Workings
Innovation
Instant Access
Intel Corporation
InterAct Accessories Inc.
InterAct Multimedia Products
Interactive Magic
Intergraph Computer Systems
International Periodical Distributors
International Purchase Systems (IPS)
Interplay Productions
ITU Research

Jack of All Games, Inc.
Jackin Optical Technology Ltd.
Jaleco USA Inc.
Joytech Europe
Jupiter Communications

KEMCO
KESMAI Corporation
Knowledge Adventure
Konami of America, Inc.
Korea PC Game Development (KOGA)
Korean Multimedia Content Center
Kutoka Interactive

The Learning Company, Inc.
LEGO Media International
LEGO Mindstorms
Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products
License!
Lionhead Studios
The Logic Factory
Logitech
Lucas Learning
LucasArts Entertainment Company

MacDaddy Entertainment, Inc.
Macmillan Digital Publishing
Macmillan Software
Macrovision Corporation
Mad Catz, Inc.
Mad Genius Software Ltd.
Magicom Multimedia
Mars Publishing
Masco Distributors
Matrox Graphics
Mattel Media
McGraw-Hill Home Interactive
Media Group
MediaX
Megamedia
Merit Q
MGM Interactive
Micro Central
MICROBOSS Software GmbH
Microfolie's Edition
Microforum
Microids
Micronics Computers/Orchid Technology
MicroProse, Inc.
Microsoft
Microware Distributing, Inc.
Midway Home Entertainment
Milia
Millennium Interactive Games & Gifts
Millennium Publications
Miller Freeman
Mindscape
Mixx Entertainment
Monolith Productions
Motion Analysis Corporation
The MOtion Factory
MPG Net Inc. (GameHub)
mplayer.com
Multitude Inc.

N-TK (Entertainment Technology, Inc./Memorex Software)
Naki International
Namco Hometek, Inc.
NARM
National Geographic Interactive
Navarre Corporation
Neato, LLC
New Media Generation, Inc.
NewKidCo
NewTek
Niceway International LTD
Nichimen Graphics
Nimbus Information Systems
Nintendo of America, Inc.
Notting Hill Electronic Publishers
NovaLogic, Inc.
Novamatic
NTT Software Corporation
Nuby
Nyko Technologies, Inc.

Ocean of America Inc.
The OGR Network
Onyx Soft, Inc.
OPTEC Company, Ltd.
OptiDisc (UK) Ltd.
Opus Educational Software

P.F. Magic
Palladium Interactive
Panasonic Interactive Media Co.
Patch Products, Inc.
Phantagram Ltd.
Phantom Reality, Inc.
Pioneer Distributors, Inc.
Pioneer Entertainment
Pioneer New Media Technologies, Inc.
Prianha Interactive Publishing
PlanetWeb
Pride Interactive Media Accessories (A Division of UFE Inc.)
Prima Publishing
Psygnosis Ltd.
Purple Moon

QUALCOMM, Inc.
Quantum 3D, Inc.
QuickShot Technology, Inc.

Rage Software
Ravensburger Interactive Media
Reality Quest Corporation
RealmX.com
Red Lemon Studios
Red Orb Entertainment
Red Storm Entertainment, Inc.
Rendition, Inc.
Retail Price Week
Roadshow Interactive
Rocelco Inc.
Rolling Stone
RomTech Inc.
Royal Electronics Inc.

S.I. Jacobsen Manufacturing Company
S & I Marking Inc.
S3 Incorporated
Saitek Industries Ltd.
Sanyo Verbatim CD Company
SAS / BAZOOKA
SC & T International, Inc.
School Zone Publishing Company
Scottish Enterprise - Scottish Games Alliance
SEGA of America
SegaSoft Networks, Inc.
SGRL
Sierra On-Line
Silicon Fish Productions
Simon & Schuster Interactive
SKC
SkyKing Freight & Logistic Services
Smarty Pants Publishing
Socratic Technologies
SofSource, Inc.
SoftKat, Inc.
Software 2000
Software Solutions
Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Sony Interactive Studios America
Sound Source Interactive
The Source Magazine
SouthPeak Interactive
SPIN Magazine
Sprint Software
Squaresoft, Inc.
SSI Macmillan Distribution
ST LABS
Strata Distributing, Inc.
Strategic Marketing Partners
Strategic Simulations Inc.
Suncom Technologies Inc.
SUNSOFT
SVG Distribution

Take 2 Interactive Software Europe
TalonSoft, Inc.
Tech Data
Technos Hungary
Tecmo Inc.
Telefilm Canada
Telstra Corporation Ltd.
Tension Envelope Corporation
THQ Inc.
ThrustMaster, Inc.
Tiger Electronics, Inc.
Tigerex Enterprise Company, Ltd.
Tips & Tricks Magazine
Titus Software Corporation
Torus Games
Toushea Multimedia
Transparent Language Inc.
Turtle Beach Systems

Ubi Soft Entertainment
United Game Soruce
United Interactive
Univenture CD Packaging & Systems
Universal Studios Digital Arts

Vibe Magazine
Victory Multimedia
Video Computer SPA
Video System USA, Inc.
Virgin Interactive Entertainment
Virtual Knowledge
VIS Interactive PLC
Visual Sciences Ltd.
VM Labs, Inc.
Voxar Ltd
Voyetra Technologies/Turtle Beach Systems
VR-1 Inc.
VTechSoft, Inc.

Warehouse23
Wave Systems Corporation
Web Entertainment Bi-Weekly
Webster Publishing
The West Side Group
Westwood Studios
WIT (World International Trading)
Wizards of the Coast
Working Designs
WOrld Net
WorldPlay Entertainment

Xaos Tools, Inc.

Z-Products
Z-Best Audio & Video
Zane Publishing
Ziff-Davis Inc.
Zoi World Corporation
Zykon

Name	Platforms	Developer
Game Boy Camera	GBC	Game Freak, Inc.
Thrill Kill	PS1	Paradox Development
Sensible Soccer 2000	PS1	Sensible Software
Shao Lin
Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury	PC	Interplay Entertainment Corp.
Constructor 2	PC, PS1	System 3 Software, Ltd.
Fox Sports Soccer '99	PC, PS1	Gremlin Interactive Ltd.
Fox Sports Tennis '99	PC, PS1	Gremlin Interactive Ltd.
Duke Nukem Trilogy	PSP, DS	Apogee Software, Ltd.
Fox Sports Hockey '99	PC, PS1	Gremlin Interactive Ltd.

Concept Name:	E3 1998
Appears in:	204 games
First appearance:
Aliases	E3 '98 Electronic Entertainment Expo 1998