In past explosions, game console Now, for the first time, the infamous 2006 E3 press conference can be viewed in HD.
For younger readers, you may not realize how important E3 used to be, or how silly and rough around the edges. Those who remember, though, might remember PlayStation’s E3 2006 press conference, where the console maker revealed the console’s bafflingly high launch price — and now, thanks to video game documentary maker Noclip, we can watch the entire event in 1080p. To remind you how much the PS3 cost back in 2006, the 20GB version of the console (imagine requiring such a small amount of space) was an eye-watering $500. For context, adjusted for inflation, the price will be just over $750, a full $250 more than what the PS5 costs now.
No matter how bad the response was to emphasize this price point, especially since the cheapest version of the Xbox 360 sold for $300, it was a more reasonable entry point for those looking to buy a (at the time) next-gen console. While pricing was undoubtedly the worst part of Sony’s press conference, by the standards we’ve come to expect from today’s demo, that wasn’t the only thing that made it laughable.
The press conference also included classic works such as “Riiiiidge Racer!” The delivery is so incredible that you have to wonder if that’s what killed the series. Sure, there’s the “giant enemy crab” part, which takes a long time to show the damn thing, but at least you know you can hit its weak spot for massive damage.
While the whole thing is kind of silly (and way too long, nearly two hours), the history that Noclip has documented is pretty cool. The whole channel is really worth a look, as the team is slowly adding more and more videos of trailers, sessions, and closed-door demos that many of you have never seen, or at least not of this high quality.
