E3 was here and Microsoft started their conference off strong with a the very first look at Halo 2. Which stunned audiences and critics alike. Microsoft also announced their large purchase of Vivendi Universal Games for over 108 Million Dollars. This purchase was announced via a trailer.
The room is totally dark. Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon are talking. Crash speaks an incoherent mess that can’t be understood. Spyro responds with “You think we’ll going to find a great game console out here? Crash great game consoles don’t just fall out of the sky.” Just then a cartoonish falling sound is heard. The X-Box logo falls right on top of Crash his legs still visible, like a house falling on a wicked witch. “Well, what do ya know! Great game consoles really do fall out of the sky!” Spyro gleefully responds.
The acquisition not only gave Microsoft the rights to the Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon series, but it also gave them two development studios. Sierra Entertainment known for the King’s Quest, Space Quest and Leisure Suit Harry games, and Blizzard known for Diablo, Starcraft, and Warcraft.
The acquisition had some PC gamers worry about Blizzards upcoming PC game World of Warcraft, but both Blizzard and Microsoft said that current projects wouldn’t be affected by the buyout. Also announced was an upcoming Crash Bandicoot game exclusive to X-Box, but the upcoming Crash Nitro Kart would still release on PS2 and GameCube. Microsoft also announced that Duke Nukem Forever will launch in early 2004.
Sony’s conference was fairly standard, being their usual egotistical selves Sony showed off Jak and Daxter 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, Final Fantasy XI and Grand Turismo 4 and announced Final Fantasy’s Cloud Strife as a Sony exclusive fighter in Soul Calibur 2. But the real surprise was the announcement that Sony would produce their own handheld game system, the PlayStation Portable. With Ken Kutaragi showing off the special Universal Media Disc format the system would use though not much else was said about it.
Finally, it was time for Nintendo’s conference. “And now Nintendo of America President Peter Moore!” A booming announcer spoke Peter Moore comes on stage and begins to talk. “Welcome everybody to Nintendo’s E3 Presentation! We’ve got lots of great games and a few surprises for you this year. So try to keep your jaw on the floor.” The crowd laughs. “Why don’t we start off with showing some great games that are coming up?” Another trailer starts showing off gameplay from Pikmin 2, Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Warioware: Mega Microgame$, Pokémon Colosseum, Super Mario Bros 3: Super Mario Advance 4, Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, Donkey Kong Country, Wario World, Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Diddy Kong Pilot, and NFL 2K3.
“We came into 2003 on some good strong notes. For the GameCube we finally saw the long-awaited release of the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and our remake of the original Sakura Wars has seen very strong sales, and let me tell you it’s a relief to see Sakura Wars selling well because I paid some damn good money for that ad-campaign!” The crowd laughs. “I remember Bill Trinen telling me how bad of an idea it was. It’s a good thing I never listen to him.” The crowd laughs harder. “And speaking of Sakura Wars. Sakura Wars: Is Paris Burning has recently released in Japan on the Nintendo GameCube and it’s coming to the US and Europe later next year.” The crowd cheers.
“The Game Boy Advance is doing great too. We just released the Game Boy Advance SP in North America. It may have taken us over 14 years, but we finally figured out how to put a damn light in the screen.” The crowd laughs. “Pokemania may be over but the sales of the latest entry in the Pokémon series proves to us that Pokémon wasn’t just a fad. It is a dynasty that will surely outlive us all!” The crowd chuckles. “Now for some of you die hard trainers you might be close to filling up your PC Boxes, but don’t worry because we have a solution. Pokémon Box: Ruby and Sapphire is coming to the GameCube later next year. Not only will you be able to store your Pokémon for safe keeping. But you’ll also be able to transfer your Pokémon from Pokémon Gold, Pokémon Silver, and Pokémon Crystal games to Pokémon Box and use them in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.” The crowd cheers.
“Without further ado, I present to you. My friend and superior, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata.” The crowd cheers and Peter Moore walks offstage.
Iwata walks on stage and begins to talk. “Thank you, Peter. He always knows how to butter me up!” The crowd laughs. “At Nintendo our relationship with our third party companies is very important to us. Especially now we have continually worked hard to attract old and new third party companies to the Nintendo GameCube. In the past we have seen Solid Snake from Konami’s Metal Gear Solid appear in Super Smash Brothers and now Link from The Legend of Zelda will appear in Namco’s Soul Calibur 2 exclusively on the Nintendo GameCube. This kind of crossover content is only possible thanks to our strong relationships with the companies that own these game franchises.”
“Our strong relationships have born very fruitful endeavors. Please take a look.” Iwata says as a trailer begins.
The crowd cheers as Iwata begins to talk. “Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 and Killer 7 is coming exclusively to Nintendo GameCube. In fact, we have over 5 Capcom games being developed exclusively for Nintendo GameCube.” The crowd cheers. Iwata starts back up. “At Squaresoft we have a remake of the first 2 Final Fantasy titles coming to Game Boy Advance and for the Nintendo GameCube we have an exiting new title to show you. Take a look.” A trailer begins.
“Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is coming exclusively to the Nintendo GameCube. As you can se we have strengthened our relationship with our old third party companies, but we are also on the lookout for new upcoming studios. Wayforward’s Shantae is a surprising hit on Game Boy Advance and now Wayforward is now developing a new entry in the Kid Icarus series for Game Boy Advance.” The crowd cheers. “This next trailer will be a brand-new game from a recently founded development studio. Please take a look.” A trailer starts.
A kid walks up to a lake. “They burned my village to the ground. But I escaped, I survived.” He kneels and stares at his reflection. “My family is gone and there is no one left to guide me. His reflection turns into an adult version of himself. “Will I choose the road that leads to virtue and honor?” The reflection shows scenes of the adult boy preforming heroic acts.
It cuts to a close up of the kids face. “Or take the path of vengeance and destruction?” He morphs into an adult, his eyes go from blue to a vicious yellow, wearing dark clothes and wielding a sword. He slices at the camera.
It cuts to fast paced gameplay as epic music plays.
SAVIOUR
VILLAIN
TYRANT
HERO
The gameplay ends and the title is shown.
FABLE
“FABLE. DESTINY IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT”
FABLE
Lionhead Studios
2004
“Fable is a brand new immersive role-playing game where you choose your own path within the story. You can be preform good deeds and be a hero or you can do bad things and become a villain. We hope you are excited for this great new title exclusive to Nintendo GameCube.” The crowd cheers.
“And now it is time that I give the stage to someone else.” Iwata says as he leaves. Yuji Naka comes on stage with the crowd cheering. “Hello. Welcome to Nintendo E3 presentation. Let me introduce Bill Trinen" Naka said in English. Trinen walked on stage and Yuji Naka begins to speak with Bill translating. “Usually, you expect Mr. Miyamoto to come on stage after Mr. Iwata but this year is Sonic’s year and it’s also a great year for the development teams at Sega. Why don’t we start off with a look at the new Sonic the Hedgehog game!” The crow applauds as the trailer starts.
Twelve Heroes
All New Team Action
One GameCube
Here We Go
It cuts to gameplay of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles with the theme song playing
What goes up must come down
Yet my feet don't touch the ground
See the world spinning upside down
A mighty crash without a sound
TEAM SONIC
It cuts to gameplay of Shadow, Rouge, and a Robot resembling E102-Gamma
I can feel your every rage
Step aside, I'll turn the page
Breaking through your crazy maze
Like a laser beam, my eyes on you
TEAM DARK
It cuts to gameplay of Amy, Cream, and Big
Watch me rule the night away
Watch me save the day
TEAM AMY
It cuts to gameplay of Espio, Charmy, and Vector
Feel my storm is getting close
Headed your way
TEAM CHAOTIX
It cuts back to gameplay of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles
Sonic heroes, Sonic heroes
Bind you, confine you
Defying your reign
Sonic heroes, Sonic heroes
Setting the stage
For a hero’s parade
Sonic Heroes
Sega
Sonic Team
Q1 2004
The crowd cheers and Yuji Naka begins to talk. “So, this is the very first Sonic game specifically made for Nintendo’s home console. It features Sonic and his friends forming these teams and they each have their own story. So you have Sonic, Tails and Knuckles on a team, Amy, Cream, and Big on a team and we even see the return of Espio the Chameleon, Charmy the Bee, and Vector the Crocodile from Knuckles Chaotix. So that’s what Sonic is up to now but what about the past adventures of Sonic? Well, we have another tailer for you, take a look.” Yuji Naka stops talking and another trailer starts.
It starts completely dark. “A little under 15 Years Ago there was a revolution in video gaming.” Light is shown, revealing outer space. Also Sparch Zarathustra starts to play. A large black object blocking most of the sun is moving, giving light. “But it was more it was more than a revolution.” “It was. A GENESIS!” The large object is revealed to be a Sega Genesis. ‘And now, IT HAS RETURNED!”
The music fades into a rockin’ tune as gameplay from Sonic the Hedgehog, Golden Axe, Phantasy Star II, and Dynamite Headdy is shown.
EXPERIENCE THE BLAST PROCCESSING OF THE SEGA GENESIS ON YOUR NINTENDO GAMECUBE!
Gameplay from Ecco the Dolphin, Castlevania: Bloodlines, Shining Force, and The Revenge of Shinobi is shown.
WITH OVER 50 GAMES TO CHOOSE FROM!
Gameplay from Mega Man: The Wily Wars, ToeJam & Earl, Ristar, and Altered Beast are shown
EVEN INCLUDES GAMES FROM THE SEGA CD AND SEGA 32X
Gameplay from Dragon’s Lair, Knuckles Chaotix, Virtua Fighter, Fatal Fury Special, and Sonic CD is shown.
“It’s the biggest collection of Genesis games this side of the universe!”
“Sega Genesis Mega Collection! Only on Nintendo GameCube!”
Summer 2003
Sega, Sonic Team, Treasure
Games by: Sega, Capcom, Konami, SNK Playmore, Treasure, Taito, Gamefreak
The trailer ends and Yuji Naka starts talking. “So this was originally just going to be a collection of Sonic games, but I realized that the Sega Genesis will be 15 years old next year. So I figured we would expand the scope to include as many Sega Genesis games as possible and with Nintendo’s help we got a number of third party titles from Capcom, Konami, and many others. We did our best to try and give you the full Sega Genesis experience in one complete package. Now I have one more game to show. Take a look.” A trailer starts.
Sega
Cheery music plays as a colorful dots fill a white screen. Various characters are shown with their names.
Amitie
Oshare Bones
Lidelle
Raffina
Ocean Prince
Accord
It cuts to a blue sky as trees come into view from the bottom the title finally appears.
Puyo Puyo Fever
It cuts to gameplay of a standard Puyo Puyo match.
Multiple Gameplay Modes
Including a Story Mode!
More gameplay, Amitie is pulling off a Fever chain.
4 Player Puzzle Action!
Puyo Puyo Fever
Holiday 2003
The trailer ends and Yuji Naka begins to talk “So this is Puyo Puyo Fever. You may have seen this kind of game with other characters like Sonic, but this is the first time that we’ve released Puyo Puyo without using other characters. So, I think maybe we should demonstrate this game and to help me I’m going to have a little one on one battle with Mr. Miyamoto.” The crowd cheers as Miyamoto comes on stage.
So why don’t we get started, you ready Mr. Miyamoto?” Miyamoto responds with a hearty “Yes” in English. Yuji Naka picks Amitie, Miyamoto picks Lidelle and the game begins. Yuji Naka explains the game while he and Miyamoto play “Now the game is very simple it’s like Tetris but instead of blocks these blobs called Puyos fall down and you connect 4 of the same color to clear them and when they disappear any Puyos on top will fall down, so with a little planning you can set up a chain and pop a whole bunch at once. I think Mr. Miyamoto’s might be setting up for something big chain later down the line.” Miyamoto has 3 Blue Puyos and 3 Green Puyos stacked together in a line and is now stacking Red Puyos next to the Green Puyos. Yuji Naka is attempting the same but his set up is interrupted by a him popping some Red Puyos on the other end of his board. Sending some Garbage Puyos to Miyamoto’s board, blocking his chain set up. “Agh!” Miyamoto yelps. “So at its heart Puyo Puyo is a competitive game you see I just sent some Garbage Puyos to Mr. Miyamoto’s side and Garbage Puyo’s will won’t go away until you clear them by popping a Puyo of any color next to them.” Yuji Naka explains as Miyamoto clears his Garbage Puyo’s and sets off his chain. Sending far more Garbage to Yuji Naka’s board. “So, when you set off a chain your character performs a spell and so it’s sort of like a fight between your character and you opponents’ character. I might be in trouble here.” Yuji Naka says as he tried to clear the Garbage Puyos. Meanwhile Miyamoto is quickly pulling off singles when suddenly he enters Fever Rush. “So because I’m trying to concentrate on the game I forgot to explain Fever Rush. Mr. Miyamoto filled up his Fever Meter we both have one and now he gets to try to set off these pre-made chains.” Yuji Naka is explaining Fever Rush when he himself enters Fever Rush. Both Miyamoto’s and Yuji Naka’s Fever Rush end and Garbage falls. Miyamoto wins as Yuji Naka’s board fills with Puyos. Yuji Naka and Shigeru Miyamoto bow to each other. “I just want the record to show that I would’ve won if I wasn’t trying to explain the game.” Yuji Naka says. The crowd laughs. “Sure” Miyamoto says in English.
Yuji Naka begins to talk. “So, moving on. Earlier this year we revealed a special Hard Disk Drive add-on for the Nintendo GameCube that we’ve been working on at Sega and it’s close to being released. This peripheral is designed to expand on what Nintendo Netcast can do. One game that uses this peripheral is the Sega Genesis Mega Collection. If you have Hard Disk Drive connected to your GameCube and connect to Nintendo Netcast then there’s an in-game store where you can buy additional Sega Genesis game to download and add to your collection. So, for whatever reason you somehow find that your favorite Genesis game isn’t already on the Sega Genesis Mega Collection then don’t worry, because we’ll be adding more Sega Genesis games over time. In the past the Sega Genesis itself actually had a similar device to the Hard Disk Drive to download games through the internet.” A picture of the Sega Channel accessory is shown on screen. “So this is kind of like a spiritual successor in a way.”
Yuki Naka continues. ”And for games that require multiple discs you can download the extra discs onto the Hard Disk Drive so you only need the first disc to play it with, no more switching discs! When you buy the GameCube Hard Disk Drive you get an HDD with 20 Gigabytes but if you need more then we’re also going to sell 40 Gigabyte Hard Drives. Although, you can put any 3.5” Inch Hard Disk Drive in the system but we recommend you only use official Hard Disk Drives sold by Nintendo. Now, here’s Mr. Miyamoto to talk about another peripheral for the GameCube.”
Miyamoto begins to talk with Bill Trinen translating. “Thanks Mr. Naka. We at Nintendo are also very close to releasing the Gameboy Player accessory. You’ll soon be able to play all your Game Boy Advance games on your Nintendo GameCube. It even has built in online functionality so if you have your GameCube connected to the internet then you’ll also be able to use the online functionalities of various Game Boy games while using the Gameboy Player. It should be arriving in the North America later this year and early next year in Europe.”
Miyamoto continues talking. “Now I know that with both the Gameboy Player and the GameCube HDD coming out so close to each other so we’ve prepared something for you players who are serious about getting everything the GameCube has to offer.” A grayish blue GameCube is shown on screen.
Yuji Naka begins to talk. “This is the Nintendo Hyper GameCube, a new model of the Nintendo GameCube designed by Sega and Nintendo. It comes with both the Gameboy Player and the GameCube Hard Disk Drive and we’re planning to release a separate TV Remote for the Nintendo Hyper GameCube so if you want to playback DVDs on you can. You’re definitely getting the most bang for your buck with this newer model because once it hits the shelves later this year, it’s going to retail for 149.99 and the standard Nintendo GameCube is also getting a price drop to 99.99 on the same day the Hyper GameCube launches.” The crowd cheers.
Yuji Naka continues to talk. “Alright I think that’s everything I have to say so I’ll give the floor to Miyamoto now.” “Thank You Mr. Naka” Miyamoto thanks his colleague and begin to talk. “So how about I start off with the latest entry into the Mario Kart series.” A trailer begins.
Mario and pals are driving their karts. The karts have a driver and a rider, Luigi is riding with Mario, Daisy is riding with Peach, Diddy Kong is riding with Donkey Kong. Luigi throws a shell at Bowser with Bowser Jr. riding. Mario and Luigi pass them to take the lead when suddenly another kart bumps into them. Revealing none other than Sonic driving with Tails riding!
“So you think you can beat me in a race? Fat Chance!” Sonic arrogantly says. Mario just gives Sonic a grin of confidence. Then suddenly…
A blue shell come from behind them! Mario, Sonic, Luigi, and Tails give a look of shock before the blue shell hit them creating a huge explosion. Emerging from the aftermath is…
“Guh-Huh” Banjo driving with Kazooie riding!
Mario Kart: Double Dash!
Nintendo
Characters: Nintendo / Sega / Rareware
Miyamoto begins to talk “So I have a friend I brought someone with me today. Please welcome Takayuki Kawagoe!” The crowd cheers as Takayuki Kawagoe walks on stage. “Now last E3 I had Mr. Kawagoe with me and we announced that Mr. Kawagoe and his team were developing a new Star Fox game and this year we actually have video for you.” A trailer begins to play.
Nintendo
Sega
It cuts to the Great Fox flying in space for a minute before cutting into the cockpit. “Message from General Pepper. Priority One.” ROB 64 says. “On screen!” Fox commands. General Pepper shows up in the center of the room via hologram. “General Pepper here. Scientists from Corneria were exploring a far-off region of the Lylat System before we lost communication with them. Attempts to contact them have failed and the reconnaissance team we sent to investigate has gone missing. I want you to investigate this predicament immediately. Pepper Out!” The General’s transmission ends.
“You heard the General! Let’s move out!” Fox says with gusto.
Sirens blare as Team Starfox runs down a hall. The camera zooming in on each member individually.
Slippy Toad – Engineering
Peppy Hare – Navigations
Falco Lombardi – Weaponry
Fox McCloud – Leader of StarFox
The team enter their Arwings. ROB 64 is heard over the transmitter. “Approaching destination initiating Arwing launch.”
It cuts to outside the Great Fox in orbit of a planet as the Arwings burst out from the front bay.
It cuts to the planet’s surface, wrecked ships litter the ground. “What happened here?” Slippy says. “Dunno but judging by what I can see these ships didn’t just crash on their own. There was a fight.” Falco answers. “Who could have done this?” Fox says. “More like what could have done this. We’re so far out in Lylat System” Peppy murmurs. Suddenly laser shots are heard. “AGH! I’M TAKING DAMAGE!” Slippy cries out. “Don’t worry Slippy! I got 'em!” Falco says, performing tactical maneuvers towards Slippy. Falco finds there’s nothing chasing Slippy. “What the heck!” Falco says. “No ship could be that fast!” Falco says before he stars taking hits. “Someone’s on my tail!” Falco yelps. “It’s ok I got them…in my sights?” Fox pauses a brief moment before finishing his sentence, because all he sees is lasers appearing out of nowhere shooting Falco. “What the Heck!” Fox shouts.
“So, you managed to discover me? I wondered if a more capable group would come looking for their comrades.” A mysterious voice calls out. “Who are you? WHAT are you?” Peppy says. A ship slowly appears from nowhere. The ship is oddly designed compared to anything previously seen in a Star Fox game. The ship’s pilot revealed to be an anthropomorphic dragon. “I am Reznap, and you are about to DIE!” Reznap’s ship fires a bomb towards the camera exploding. The explosion transitions into pure blackness.
Star Fox: Uncharted Space
Holiday 2003
The trailer ends and Takayuki Kawagoe begins to talk with Bill Trinen translating. “So that was Star Fox: Uncharted Space. So after the defeat of Andross, Team Starfox finds themselves battling a strange force from far beyond the Lylat System. Not only have we improved upon the gameplay in Starfox 64, but we’re also planning to have a robust multiplayer mode for the game. It’s been an honor to work with Mr. Miyamoto on this, he’s very passionate about Star Fox and I’m really excited how the game’s turning out. So, I hope you’ll try the game out on the show floor tomorrow.” The crowd cheers.
The rest of the presentation is similar to OTL. Miyamoto shows off gameplay of Four Swords for the GameCube and revealing it will have online features. Hideo Kojima shows up and talks about the unprecedented reception to Snake’s appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Hideo Kojima shows a trailer for Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, a remake of the original Metal Gear Solid. Pac-Man creator Tooru Iwatani shows up and Miyamoto gushes about how much he likes Pac-Man. Miyamoto demonstrates Pac-Man Vs. with Shigeru Miyamoto, Takayuki Kawagoe, Yuji Naka, Hideo Kojima playing as Ghosts and Tooru Iwatani playing as Pac-Man. The presentation wraps up with a final video of all the games shown.
Miyamoto and the other game devs leave and Iwata comes back on stage. “We hope you enjoyed Nintendo’s E3 2003 Presentation. Thank You.” Iwata leaves the stage.
