E3 1998
3DO
3DO held the first conference of E3 again in 1998, where they showed a whole bunch of new games coming to the 3DO and M2. They started with a 3DO price drop announcement, the original 3DO console would now retail for $99 U.S. dollars and the M2 console for $299, while the M2 add-on remained the same price.
After this announcement, they moved on to the games, first presenting GT Interactive’s Thrill Kill running on the 3DO. Thrill Kill was advertised as a “Mortal Kombat killer” by those who saw it and while Mortal Kombat never got killed, Thrill Kill did give it a run for its money.
Thrill Kill
3DO then showed a new IP for their original console called Akuji the Heartless from Crystal Dynamics before moving on to mostly focus on the M2. Though most M2 games could be played on 3DO as well, they did not show these versions because the M2 versions were noticeably better. They showed a new trailer for Konami’s Metal Gear Solid, announcing that it would launch in September. Konami then showed Silent Hill, a new horror adventure title coming next year. 3DO also revealed new games in their partnership with Universal Interactive with Spyro the Dragon from Insomniac Games and Crash Bandicoot 3 from Naughty Dog.
Silent Hill from Konami
3DO Studios showed a new trailer for World Championship Racing and revealed Killing Time 2 for the M2. 3DO also revealed the M2 exclusive BattleTanx and a first-person RPG adventure game called Power Crystal.
Power Crystal
Next was another new IP from Crystal Dynamics called Shifter. A game featuring a fallen angel trying to find his way back by shifting between the material and spectral worlds. They also revealed Gex 3. Both games would launch in 1999. There was a game for this year though, that game was Legacy of Kain II-a sequel to 3DO’s hit 1996 title, developed by Silicon Knights.
Shifter, a new IP from Crystal Dynamics
NINTENDO
Nintendo started with a montage of first-party games on Ultra Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy Color due in 1998, including Metroid: Harvest, Kid Icarus III, and Mario Party.
Next, they talked about their success with third-parties. LucasArts showed Star Wars Rogue Squadron and Acclaim Entertainment showed Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, Cruisn’ World, and Iggy’s Wrecking Balls.
Star Wars Rogue Squadron
Nintendo also announced that they would be dropping the prices of the UNES and Game Boy Color to $199 and $99 respectively.
Nintendo brought long-time partner Square to the stage. Square started by showing the recently released Parasite EVE and Ninja Gaiden: Crimson. They then revealed a new RPG called Guardian Force, which follows a mercenary group named SeeD and features a battle system based on summon-able monsters called "Guardian Forces".
After the reveal of Guardian Force, Square showed another original title called Xenogears and a brand new entry in the Super Mario RPG series, tentatively titled Super Mario RPG 2.
Last, but not least, Square left the stage with a trailer for Chrono Trigger II.
Continuing the RPG announcements, Nintendo made two huge announcements. They announced that they would be publishing Dragon Quest VII in western regions due for release early next year. They also announced Mother 3, in development by HAL Laboratory with no release date.
Finally, Nintendo revealed new first-party titles for the next year, including Pokemon Stadium 2 and Jet Force Gemini. They also revealed that the anticipated Conker’s Quest: Twelve Tales would be coming to the UNES next year and a Game Boy Color game called Conker’s Pocket Tales would also be released. In addition to Jet Force Gemini and Conker, Nintendo ended the show by revealing another title from developer Rareware, Donkey Kong Country 3D
Donkey Kong Country 3D
SEGA
Sega switched things up by showing Tomb Raider III first to keep from becoming too predictable and it looked fantastic like the other two entries in the franchise, but it wasn’t the only title from Core Design. After showing Tomb Raider III, Sega and Core revealed a brand new entry in the Shinobi franchise, Shinobi: Shadow of Darkness.
Shinobi: Shadow of Darkness
Virtua Fighter creator and Virtua Studios head was at the event to reveal his new title, Shenmue. Shenmue was an adventure title featuring voice-acted dialogue, open environments, chases, and fighting sequences. The game was visually impressive and featured a deep weather system. While on stage Suzuki mentioned that Shenmue would not be ready until next year, but that he had something for people to play this year. A trailer for Virtua Fighter 3 played.
Shenmue
Next, Sega was getting ready to reveal a “brand new platform”. They discussed the success of the Sega Game Gear and were ready to unveil the future of Game Gear. Sega of America’s President, Steve Race pulled out the new handheld, the Game Gear Touch.
Game Gear Touch was a 16-bit handheld system with a touch screen interface and it now featured three face buttons as well as two shoulder buttons and a d-pad and was approximately the same size as the Game Gear X. Steve Race made the touch screen a focal point, explaining how it would revolutionize portable gaming. Shining Force: Legions was revealed for the Game Gear Touch, entire battles could be completed on the touch screen. An enhanced game based on the hit Tamagotchi was also revealed as well as a demo showing Sonic & Knuckles running on the device. Game Gear Touch would be available in 1999.
Game Gear Touch
Sega continued the show by revealing a brand new Sonic the Hedgehog title for the Evolution called Sonic Adventure, it was one of the best looking games seen to date and was coming for the holiday season.
Sonic Adventure
Chairman Tom Kalinske came out to the stage and wanted to outline their third-party plan, named Sega All-Star Partners. Kalinske started with GT Interactive, talking about how the only console that their shooters such as Quake II, Hexen II, and Prey could be played on. Kalinske continued by announcing that not only shooters will be coming to the Evolution, but that Thrill Kill would also be coming. Sega’s partnership with Capcom was highlighted as well, with the recent Resident Evil 2, which launched exclusively on Evolution. Capcom then showed a trailer for Mega Man Legends. Kalinske also announced that they were now partnering with Psygnosis to bring franchises such as Colony Wars and Twisted Metal to the Evolution, along with the recent hit game, The Fallen.
In another surprise, they brought Naughty Dog founders to the stage to announce that Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped would also be coming to the Evolution.
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
The last game shown was a brand new stealth-action title published by Sega called Syphon Filter, followed by an announcement that the Evolution would now sell for $199.
Syphon Filter