10 Most Shocking E3 Reveals EVER
4. Sony "Wins" The Eighth Generation With A 22-Second Video (E3 2013)
Decades from now, just as we're still talking about Sony's 1995 "299" mic-drop, people will still be talking about how Sony effectively won an entire gaming generation with a 22-second video.
In the lead-up to E3 2013, Microsoft was facing increased criticism over the bungled reveal of the Xbox One, namely the initial plan to prevent players from sharing games with friends and having to check-in online every 24 hours. The $499 price tag didn't help, either.
Microsoft basically handed the win to Sony, but rather than rest on their laurels, Sony decided to kick their rival while they were down.
In their conference, Sony Computer Entertainment of America president and CEO Jack Tretton went out of his way to confirm the PS4 would have no DRM or online check-in policies whatsoever, and to sweeten the deal, announced that it would launch at $399, an entire $100 less than the Xbox One.
The real kicker, though, was Sony's brutal "used game instructional video," in which Shuhei Yoshida and Adam Boyes demonstrated how to share games on the PS4 by just...passing the game between each other.
The video went immediately viral while succinctly confirming that the PS4 was the pro-consumer choice of the generation. Microsoft quickly backpedalled on their draconian policies, though the Xbox One's commercial momentum never really recovered.
Thankfully Microsoft is in much better shape these days with their industry-leading Xbox Game Pass service and delineated approach to console generations.