Sony’s PlayStation 3 is entering its eighth year on the market, and while the once-chunky console has already been supplanted by the PlayStation 4 as Sony’s flagship gaming machine, there’s still plenty of life in the old dog yet. However, the system has seen the best years of its life done and dusted, and as it enters its twilight years, PSU.com decided to look back at some of the console’s most memorable moments, from gaming highlights to some of the more elaborate setups shown off at various trade events, notably E3 and Tokyo Game Show.
To kick things off, we decided to scrutinize some of the PS3’s standout moments from the gaming industry’s biggest stage — E3. From Kazuo ‘Ridge Racer’ Hirai’s bumbling antics back at 2006 to Kevin ‘VP of Everything’ Butler’s euphoric ramblings in 2010, Sony has a lot of great memories to look back on.
Here’s our pick of the best from PS3’s E3 showcases over the years.
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$599 (2006)
Sony’s 2006 shindig is unequivocally one of the most memorable in the company’s history, although probably for all the wrong reasons. Here, the electronics giant was on stage to sell the then-new PS3 to the world following its formal unveiling the year before, and while Kaz Hirai and chums had a lot to say, it wasn’t quite what we all had in mind. Aside from bungling their way through stage demos of Riiiidge Racer on PSP and slaughtering Giant Enemy Crabs in PS3’s Genji 2, Sony delivered the knockout blow by announcing the console’s premium price tag: $599. The implications of this figure could be seen years later, with PS3 adoption not really taking off for another few years — some would say not until the arrival of the sexier Slim model in August 2009.
The Last Guardian revealed (2009)
Team ICO’s long-delayed boy-meets-griffin-beast adventure has been wobbling precariously on the edge of becoming vaporware for the past few years, but casting our minds back, its reveal was a mammoth occasion. While footage was leaked a month or so prior to E3 2009, the chance to see it on Sony’s massive stage at its press conference was nothing short of breathtaking. Featuring sumptuous visuals and a gorgeous soundtrack to boot, The Last Guardian’s debut trailer had us convinced that this was the reason to own a PS3 (well, okay, one of many, thanks to Metal Gear Solid 4 and Uncharted 2), and there was no doubt that Fumito Ueda and his team would deliver. Nearly five years later, the game has yet to show up, Ueda-san is now working freelance, and we’re still no closer to a release date. Back then though, this was one of the best reveals PS3 had.
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Uncharted 2: Among Thieves stage demo (2009)
2009 was a massive year for Sony at E3, and part of that reason was down to the double-whammy that is Uncharted 2 and The Last Guardian. Naughty Dog used its time at Sony’s press briefing to showcase a jaw-dropping real-time demo of Nathan Drake’s seminal PS3 adventure at E3 2009, taking us through the adrenaline-pumping rooftop sequence. The game looked gorgeous – as it still does today, a testament to the developer’s talent – running smoothly as the studio took Drake through his paces, hopping over rooftops, capping bad guys and avoiding being crushed by a falling building. Hearing the crowd gasp and cheer throughout must have been thoroughly rewarding for Naughty Dog — they knew they had the audience in the palm of their hand, and rightly so. It looked bloody brilliant.
Kevin Butler takes the mic (2010)
Ah, Kevin Butler. Sony’s pretend PR guru may not be with the corporation anymore, but back in the PS3 days, he was the driving force behind some of Sony’s most gripping ad campaigns. Whether it was flogging PlayStation Move, God of War III, or Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Butler was the coolest thing this side of Reginald Fils-Aime the gaming industry had. However, actor Jerry Lambert’s most prolific portray of Sony’s VP of [insert fictitious department here] came at E3 2010, when Butler swaggered onto the stage to have a quick word with the audience. Here, he would deliver a testosterone-fueled speech about gaming, covering everything from PS Move, PS3, and how ‘the way to a guy’s heart…is through a melee attack.’ Next to Microsoft’s embarrassing Kinect blowout, this was nothing short of magnificent.
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Gabe Newell announces Portal 2 for PS3 (2010)
Valve’s Gabe Newell had a lot of bottle shuffling out on stage at Sony’s E3 2010 shindig. After all, up until that point the developer hadn’t had a lot of great things to say about PS3 — in fact, he downright slagged it off numerous times to the press. Understandably, his appearance at the conference shocked those in attendance, especially when he revealed his reason for being there: announcing Portal 2 for PS3. This was massive news in itself — after all, Portal’s pedigree speaks for itself – but Gabe didn’t stop there. Nope, he actually took the time to apologize for his harsh words about PS3, making it clear that Valve had embraced Sony’s latest workhorse by supporting it with what would become one of last-gen’s best titles.
Ken Levine embraces PS Vita, PS Move (2011)
BioShock father Ken Levine is yet another industry giant who used Sony’s E3 stage to unveil his latest works, in this case, the shock announcement of a PS Vita entry in the BioShock series. Clearly swooning over Sony’s then-new handheld, Levine also confessed that he had embraced the idea of motion control with the PS Move, and as such, confirmed the functionality would be included in BioShock: Infinite. As one of the most beloved game creators in the business, Levine’s 2011 appearance had audiences fixated on his somewhat awkward but no less intriguing speech — it’s just a shame that nearly three years on, we’ve yet to see BioShock PS Vita on shelves.
The Last of Us drops jaws to the floor (2012)
Another winning moment for PS3 came from Naughty Dog’s real-time demo of post-apocalyptic adventure The Last of Us during Sony’s E3 2012 bash. Much like Uncharted, the title wowed audiences thanks to its impeccable visual quality, and up to that point was easily the best-looking PS3 game to date — and many would argue that it still is today. Aside from its looks, Joel and Ellie’s gritty adventure demo also set tongues wagging due to its impressive AI and combat mechanics, with Naughty Dog showcasing a myriad of ways in which players are able to dispatch their foes as a team, with Ellie distracting them while Joel dished out the damage. The brutal conclusion, which sees Joel mercilessly slaying a bandit in close quarters with a Shotgun, was met with a massive round of applause. Needless to say, the game didn’t disappoint upon its release nearly a year later.
What’s your most memorable E3 moments from the PS3 era? Give us a shout in the comments section below.