10 E3 Moments That Became Internet Memes
1. E3 Sony 2006 - Giant Enemy Crab
Sony's rather po-faced E3 2006 conference drew criticism from fans who were bewildered at the $599 price tag of the newly-revealed PlayStation 3 and the games shown seemed mediocre given the power of the hardware.
The game being demonstrated that spawned the Giant Enemy Crab meme was Genji: Days of the Blade, PS3 exclusive sequel to the fairly standard action title Genji: Dawn of the Samurai on PS2. Key opening quotes from the developer (Bill Ritch) included, "an action game which is based on Japanese history" and "being based on history, the stages will be based on actual battles that took place in ancient Japan". So far, so standard.
But then the game actually loaded and a few minutes into gameplay a mid-level boss appeared. Completely neutrally, Ritch says, "So, here's this giant enemy crab..." as though such a thing was to be expected back in ancient Japan. He concluded the battle by flipping the crab and attacking "it's weak point for massive damage." It was a total non sequitur.
Thankfully the internet was on hand to ridicule the content and delivery of Genji 2 with images and remix videos aplenty.