I think I can speak for everyone at Giant Bomb in saying next week's E3 is the most exciting E3 in years. That's not only because the show is purportedly returning to the ludicrous, larger-than-life spectacle it used to be, but also because it's again early enough in the year--and thus, early enough in the annual marketing cycle--for companies to hold announcements of some of their biggest products until E3 itself. The best E3s are the ones where mindblowing news is breaking faster than you can keep up with it.
Now that E3 may once again be more than a rote exercise, I started thinking back to some of the most exciting things that have happened at the show in past years, and I figured I'd show you (or remind you of) them off and on this week as they come to mind. I can't start with the one I really had in mind, because I left its corresponding DVD at my house today. So there's your hint: It's the only E3 moment I can think of that had an entire retail DVD release devoted to it.
In the meantime, here's what is possibly my second-favorite E3 moment ever: The momentous coming of Reginald Fils-Aime. For a long time, Nintendo's front-facing executive image got by on the quiet, grandfatherly charm of Howard Lincoln. But once Lincoln left the company, Nintendo lost its public spokesman--and followup Peter Main didn't stick around very long to fill the necessary shoes either. And George Harrison, bless his soul, was not quite the stage presence the company needed. (Nor the Beatle, either.)
So E3 2004, Nintendo press conference. Minute one, enter this unknown but towering, imposing guy who seizes control of the Nintendo juggernaut with that one unforgettable phrase.
Five years later, the company seems to be doing pretty well for itself. And while we're on the subject of Nintendo's E3 2004 press conference, remember this madness? Zelda fans sure know how to scream. This one also ranks somewhere in the pantheon of crazy E3 moments.
Aside from Spirit Tracks, think we'll get any other news on the Zelda front this year?