E3 Chronicles: The First 10 Years - 1998: Features

To many, 1998 is considered one of the finest years in the history of gaming. The sheer number of quality games that came out by the end of the year was mind-blowing. Of course, before they’re released you better bet they’ll be shown at E3 first, and shown they were. Legions, and legions of top-notch games were ready and waiting in Atlanta this year. It was also a year of sequels, with a lot of popular games being shown with increasingly large numbers placed beside their name. Not only that, but Sega was trying to get a head start on the next generation of gaming with the Dreamcast at the show…sorta.

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E3 Chronicles: The First 10 Years - 1998

The Hardware:

Sega:

Come E3, the existence of the Dreamcast (known as the Katana up to this point) wasn’t a secret to anyone, as there had already been a big presentation for the console a week early in Japan. With all the excitement that comes with announcing a new, ridiculously powerful system you’d think that Sega would take the opportunity to hype the hell out of the Dreamcast, but that just wasn’t the case. At the pre-E3 Sega press conference, much of what was discussed at it were things that everyone already knew about, with the exception of some specifics regarding the North American launch of the console. Even worse, it was announced that the company wouldn’t even have anything on display for the Dreamcast on the show floor this year. The one thing Sega did to wow those on hand was show a second video of gameplay for the system following the clip of Tower of Babel which was shown the week before in Japan. This new 3D shooter video wowed the crap out of the crowd with the quality of its visuals, and Sega was quick to mention that this demo was of the Dreamcast only running at a fraction of what it was capable of.

The Games:

Blizzard:

Bill Roper and the gang had a couple of showings that would cause a mixture of excitement and impatience among PC gamers this year with StarCraft: Retaliation (which was actually being handled by Wizard Works), and, Diablo II. If there is one thing about Blizzard, it’s that they’ll release new games when they’re good and ready, and not a moment sooner. That being the case, many could hardly wait to get their hands on their new action RPG after seeing it at the show.

Electronic Arts:

Of all the games shown by EA this year, the ones that stood out the most were of the vehicular variety. Gamers got to see Need for Speed 3, Moto Racer 2, and Road Rash 3D. Of the three, Road Rash 3D looked particularly interesting with its free roaming style that let players leave a race, and just cruise around on a giant map.

GT Interactive:

Ask most people why they wanted to check out GT Interactive’s booth in 1998, and they would likely tell you it was because they wanted to see Unreal. Being touted as the FPS with the best chance of dethroning John Carmack’s Quake series as top dog in the genre, the game had a lot going for it between its gameplay and graphics. Other games that got a fair amount of attention were Duke Nukem Forever, and a new add-on slated for Total Annihilation. Also of note, Deer Hunter was on display in this year.

Konami:

There were two titles in particular from Konami that everyone wanted to see. First and foremost, there was Metal Gear Solid. The stealthy action game was getting quite near completion, by this time, and everyone was chomping at the bit to play the finished game. Another title that was announced at the show was Silent Hill, marking the companies entry into the survival horror genre.

Nintendo:

After suffering through a drawn out, slow trickle of games from Nintendo since the N64’s release, gamers were finally starting to see a decent flow of titles (relatively speaking) coming to the system. At E3 1998, Nintendo had two juggernauts with them in the form of the GoldenEye sequel, Perfect Dark, and, more footage for Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. They also debuted a new franchise that would allow shareholders to roll around in large piles of money when they unveiled Pokemon for the GameBoy.

Sega:

With the questionable decision to not have the Dreamcast out on the show floor, Sega had a quartet of Saturn games on display in 1998. There was the firefighter sim, Burning Rangers, as well as House of the Dead, and what would eventually become an eBay game reseller’s best friend, Panzer Dragoon Saga. Also on display was Shining Force III, the latest installment in the popular strategy RPG series…it’s just too bad the North American version was bastardize, as it was compressed into one small adventure, as opposed to the three part, full-length version that came out in Japan.

Sierra:

In the past, Sierra was all about the graphic adventure, and to a certain extent the publisher was trying to keep one of their most popular series in the genre alive as they displayed King’s Quest VIII. However, with this eighth installment, the classic series was being taken in a very different direction. Gone was the 2D visuals, and straightforward interface, instead replaced with a 3D game more reminiscent of what one would expect to find in a Tomb Raider game.

The other, and far more historically important, game to be shown by Sierra at E3 in 1998 was Valve’s first person shooter, Half-Life. Between its visuals, creepiness, and drive to make a solid single player FPS in the midst of an online gaming craze that had swept the genre, Half-Life was a game much of the press was making a mental note to keep an eye on.

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Sony:

In passed years, people could expect a nice variety of fresh, new games when passing through the Sony booth. However, 1998 brought slightly more mixed feelings from gamers as the area was littered with sequels. Granted many of these sequels looked like quality continuations of worthwhile franchises, but when compared to years gone by, it was hard not to be a little bummed out that Sony didn’t have something brand spanking new up their sleeves.

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Nonetheless, there was the likes of Twisted Metal 3 and Crash Bandicoot 3 to keep people busy. Despite the sequels, Sony did have one ace in the hole on display as far as fresh new faces was concerned called Syphon Filter. The third person, black ops action game looked very impressive on the system, and the gameplay looked just as good.

Squaresoft:

Fast on the heels of Final Fantasy VII’s success, Squaresoft brought out the big guns for E3 in 1998, unleashing a deluge of titles on unsuspecting gamers. Topping the list was Final Fantasy VIII with its unbelievable graphics. The direction the art was taking in the series was stepping away from the series cartoon-like roots, and into a more realistic motif, which peaked the curiosity of many fans of the series. The company had another sequel on hand as well with Bushido Blade 2.

However, what surprised many was the sheer number of totally new games that Squaresoft had in the works, all with the high-quality visuals people expected from the publisher. Firstly there was Parasite Eve, with its gruesome monsters, and interesting combat system that would have players running all over the place to gun down enemies. There was also the RPG Xenogears, with its anime-heavy art direction, and sci-fi theme. Lastly, Squaresoft had Brave Fencer Musashi, a light-hearted, Zelda-inspired action RPG, packed full of cute, cartoony characters, and plenty of platforming.

Best of the Rest:

And now the rundown of some of the other games that were shown in ’98: Myth II (Bungie – PC), Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus (Oddworld Inhabitants – PSX), Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (Crystal Dynamics – PSX / PC), Magical Ray Earth (Working Designs – Saturn), Fallout 2 (Interplay – PC), Heretic II (Activision – PC).

Back to E3 1997 // To E3 Hub // On to E3 1999