Thinking back on it, E3 2015 was a bit of a blur. We were outrageously sceptical ahead of PlayStation's press conference, and if you go back and read our predictions, that's abundantly clear to see. We'd heard on the grapevine that Sony was going to use its media briefing to focus primarily on strategic partnerships with third-party publishers, and we expected PlayStation VR to fill the dead air in between all of the corporate back slapping. After the backwards compatibility bomb that Microsoft dropped, we couldn't fathom a way in which the Japanese giant could possibly top it – but it did, three times over.

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Shell-shocked, in the small hours of the morning, we wrote a reaction piece: Sony Delivers the Greatest E3 Press Conference of All Time. But a year later, with the enthusiasm dampened by the passing of time, does that headline still ring true?

The Last Guardian PS4 PlayStation 4 1

Yes. There are many great E3 moments: Peter Moore's tattoo, the reaction to Nintendo's "realistic" Zelda demo, Jack Tretton's beastly DRM beatdown, and Steve Race's unbelievably arrogant $299.99 PSone price point reveal. But these are individual instances plucked from the event's 20 or so year history – and Sony had three equivalent reveals stuffed into its 90 minute showcase last year. The greatest ever? You better believe it.

To underline just how impressive last year's E3 press conference was, we merely need to point to an article we wrote some 12 or so hours before the show kicked off. There had been rumours – as there are every year – that Final Fantasy VII Remake and Shenmue III could put in an appearance. Here's what we wrote:

It wouldn't be E3 without some utter nonsense doing the rounds – and the global gaming media is bringing out the big guns today. First up is French website JeuxActu.com, which is reporting that Shenmue III will be announced as a PlayStation 4 exclusive during Sony's media briefing this evening.

The other bonkers story of the day stems from Siliconera, which states that a full remake of Final Fantasy VII is in development for the PS4. The site claims that it's being made to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary, and will feature a more modern looking Cloud similar to the one in movie Advent Children.

Yeah, the web's gone utterly gaga – don't count on either of these coming to fruition...

But they did, and they weren't the only announcements to catch the eye. We'd expected The Last Guardian to put in an appearance – it was last chance saloon for the long-overdue Team ICO exclusive in many ways – and it did, but Horizon: Zero Dawn surprised with its sizeable showing – and its promising presentation went on to secure it our Game of the Show award. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, which closed the event, also attracted gasps – the jeep chase sequence being one of the more elaborate set-pieces in the series' storied history.

The presser was paced incredibly well, too. It started with a bang, lulled for third-parties, and then erupted with Final Fantasy VII Remake. An expertly inserted Devolver Digital section allowed everyone to catch their breath, before the conference ignited yet again with Shenmue III. The latter may have been a Kickstarter, but it's one of the most coveted sequels of all time – its appearance after a decade was a sight to behold.

Final Fantasy VII Remake PS4 PlayStation 4 1

The biggest criticism pointed at E3 2015 is that it sold a dream rather than reality: Final Fantasy VII Remake is actually being chopped into chunks, The Last Guardian still doesn't have a release date, Shenmue III only just entered active development, Horizon: Zero Dawn may be delayed into 2017, and there wasn't much meat to the presser outside of those announcements. But if press conferences are all about spectacle and building excitement around a brand, then the Japanese giant absolutely knocked it out of the park – it realised three seemingly impossible dreams in an hour and a half.

There's discussion about whether the presser can ever be topped, but this author doesn't think so. There'll be amazing games at this year's E3, without doubt – and we're even anticipating the odd surprise or two. But it'll be a long, long, long time before there's fervour surrounding three games in quite the same way as The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Shenmue III. It was a perfect storm, and Sony played it to perfection. The only real concern is that every Sony presser is always going to pale in comparison – heck, that's already been the case at Gamescom 2015 and PSX 2015.

Good luck measuring up this year.

Was Sony's E3 2015 presser really the greatest ever? Can the platform holder top it this year, and how? Mash out a few megatons in the comments section below.

Was Sony's E3 2015 Presser Really the Greatest Ever? (61 votes)

  1. Yes, it was unbelievable54%
  2. Hmm, not sure30%
  3. No, I didn't really like it16%

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