E3 2001 (Concept)

The E3 2001 wiki last edited by Marino on 06/18/13 04:13PM View full history

Overview

E3 2001 was even larger than the previous year in terms of size and attendance. Considering that the Los Angeles Lakers were having playoff games right next door in the Staples Center, the crowds and traffic were worse than ever. But that didn't stop the show from being incredible. After a valiant effort with the Dreamcast, Sega had just recently announced that they would no longer be a console manufacturer, choosing instead to become a third party developer. This left Sony temporarily alone, for a short time, at the helm of the console generation. While Sony offered a slew of titles for the PlayStation 2's second year, Nintendo and Microsoft were about to enter the fray with their own offerings in just a few months.

Microsoft's Xbox was headlined by a first-person shooter known as Halo, which ran with an awful framerate on the show floor. Microsoft also brought a lineup of their own sports titles, Team Ninja's Dead or Alive 3, and the announcement of a revolutionary RPG from Peter Molyneux known as Project Ego.

Nintendo came to the show with both fists swinging. Their new console, the GameCube, was on display with titles such as Luigi's Mansion, Wave Race, Eternal Darkness, Animal Crossing, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. But Nintendo also had the new Game Boy Advance on the show floor with hot games like Advance Wars, Super Mario Advance, Mario Kart, Castlevania: Circle of the Moon , and Golden Sun. The GBA was said to be equivalent to a Super Nintendo in your pocket. Nintendo also announced several connectivity plans between the GameCube and GBA that would make for all new types of game experiences.

Sony was the king of the show though, as the PlayStation 2 had quickly become a juggernaut in the industry with its head start on Microsoft and Nintendo. They made excellent use of their advantage by showing such must-have titles as Final Fantasy X, Twisted Metal Black, Dark Cloud, Jak & Daxter, and Grand Theft Auto III, but chief among them was Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, which was then nearing completion and was showcased with yet another stunning video presentation at Konami's booth. Capcom brought with them the debut of a game that quickly became a hot topic of discussion for show goers, Devil May Cry. Almost anyone you ran into at the show was asking if you had seen this new action title.

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.

3DO

Acclaim

Activision

Atlus

Super Dodge Ball Advance

Bethesda Softworks

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Bioware

Blizzard

Capcom

Eidos

Electronic Arts

Fox Interactive

Funcom

Anarchy Online

Infogrames

Interplay

Koei

Dynasty Warriors 3

Konami

LucasArts

Microsoft

Midway

NHL Hitz 2002

Mythic

Dark Age of Camelot

Namco

Nintendo

nVidia

GeForce 3

Rockstar Games

Sega

Sierra

Sony

Sony Online Entertainment

Squaresoft

Tecmo

Dead or Alive 3

THQ

Ubisoft

Universal

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex

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.

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