10 E3 Reveals That Changed Gaming History Forever

The world of video games is always on the hustle. These status-quo-disrupting debuts are proof.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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You don't need to have ever stepped foot inside the Los Angeles Convention Center to know that the Electronic Entertainment Expo has long been about excess.

Over its lifetime, E3 has housed an excess of new games, an excess of new tech, an excess of hype, and an excess of people attending. Because of its size, it has spawned its own self-contained excess of media coverage.

An event so large, it's one of the few times a year the whole world looks to gaming culture for what's to come.

If you need a reminder why E3 is such a special event, you need only revisit the launches linked to the event. You can tell the entire story of post-1995 video games just by pointing to debuts unveiled in LA.

As E3 2013 is running 24 hours a day on espresso and Kingdom Hearts III envy, now is a perfect time to look back on what has made E3 so special over the years.

These titans changed the game of gaming. Keep in mind that this is a hindsight-heavy list—everything spotlit here is even more monumental in retrospect than at the time—and a small handful of major announcements just missed the cut.

Read on for 10 E3 Reveals That Changed Gaming History Forever.

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10. E3 2007: Nintendo and Sega team up for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.

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9. E3 2005: Nintendo announces the Wii Virtual Console.

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8. E3 2005: Nintendo unveils the Wii.

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7. E3 2005: Activision debuts Guitar Hero.

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6. E3 2002: Microsoft launches Xbox Live.

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5. E3 2001: Rockstar Games lifts the curtain on Grand Theft Auto III.

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4. E3 2000: Microsoft shows off Halo: Combat Evolved.

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3. E3 1998: Sega breaks out the Dreamcast

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2. E3 1996: Capcom debuts Resident Evil.

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1. E3 1995: Sony unveils the PlayStation One.

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