PlayStation At E3: 2000

As the world recovered from the cataclysmic disappointment of the Millennium Bug, Hideo Kojima proved his knack for stealing the show at E3 by revealing a trailer for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. It was shown every hour and proved so popular that hundreds of people would queue for each screening.

It was the most impressive demo of PS2 graphics to date, especially as it was revealed to have been created in real time using the game’s engine, with the exception of the weather effects at the start.
Metal Gear Solid 2 headed up a visually striking selection of games that also included Tekken Tag Tournament and Onimusha: Warlords. It was already becoming clear that, like its predecessor, PS2 would have no shortage of both first and third party games.
In a trend that has been constant since E3 began in 1995, booths grew in size and budget as game companies fought to attract the eyes of visitors and the Internet opened the show floor to billions of eyes and ears.