In a blast from the past, PlayStation’s now pretty infamous 2006 E3 press conference is available to check out in HD for the first time.
For the younger reader, you might not realise how big a deal E3 once was, and how silly and rough around the edges it could be. Those of you that do remember, though, can probably remember PlayStation’s 2006 E3 press conference where the console maker revealed the bafflingly high launch price of the console – and now, thanks to video game documentary makers Noclip, we can watch the entire thing in 1080p. To remind you what the price of the PS3 was back in 2006, the 20GB version of the console (imagine needing that little space) was an eye-watering $500. For context, adjusted for inflation that would be a little over $750, a whole $250 more than what the PS5 costs now.
It cannot be overstated how poorly that price point was received, especially because the Xbox 360’s cheapest version launched at $300, a much more reasonable entry point for those looking to pick up a (at the time) next-gen console. While the pricing was easily the worst part of the press conference for Sony, it wasn’t the only thing that makes it pretty laughable by the kind of standards we expect from presentations today.
The conference also included classics like “Riiiiiidge Racer!” a delivery so unconvincing that you have to worry if that’s what killed the series. Of course, there’s also the “giant enemy crab” section that takes way too long to even show off the damn thing, but at least you know you can attack its weak point for massive damage.
While the whole thing is a bit goofy (and way too long at almost two hours), it’s an incredibly cool bit of history that Noclip is documenting. It’s really worth checking out the entire channel, as the team is slowly adding more and more videos of trailers, conferences, and behind closed doors presentations that many of you will have never seen, or at the very least not in such high quality.
