The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 (E3 2009) was the 15th E3 held. The event took place at the

Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center is a convention center located in the southwest section of Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. It hosts multiple annual conventions and has often been used as a filming locat ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. It began on June 2, 2009, and ended on June 4, 2009, with 41,000 total attendees. Major hardware announcements during the show included Microsoft's Project Natal and both Sony's PSP Go and

PlayStation Move is a Motion controller, motion game controller developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Initially released in 2010 for use with the PlayStation 3 home video game console, its compatibility was later expanded to its successor, the PlayStation ...

, while major software announcements included '' Left 4 Dead 2'', '' Metal Gear Solid: Rising'', '' Halo: Reach'', '' Final Fantasy XIV'', '' New Super Mario Bros. Wii'', '' Super Mario Galaxy 2'', and '' Monado: Beginning of the World''.

History

The E3 2009 was greatly expanded in terms of size from the previous two years as it was reopened to all qualified computer and gaming audiences. In 2007, the E3 was restructured, downsized and renamed to the E3 Media and Business Summit. The move was widely criticized by those both within and outside the gaming industry. The following 2007 and 2008 E3 summits attracted very few attendees in contrast to previous years; E3 2007 attracted only 10,000 attendees and E3 2008 attracted 50% less, 5,000 attendees. The E3 2009 aimed to return E3 to its 'pre-E3 2007' state, by reopening it to a larger audience allowing more attendees. As well as having a larger venue and allowing more exhibitors, E3 2009 also reverted its name to Electronic Entertainment Expo. However, like pre-2007, the event was still not open to the general public.

Floor layout

E3 2009 was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center with the show occupying the South and West Halls as well as the first floor.

West hall

The west hall housed both

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...

and

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

as well as third-party publishers

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

, Bethesda,

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

, THQ and

Atlus is a Japanese video game developer, video game publisher, publisher, Arcade game, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for the ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona (series), Persona'' ...

. It also housed

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

's media booth.

South hall

The south hall housed a larger number of publisher booths, including

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...

, Koei,

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...

Namco Bandai (commonly known as and formerly Namco Bandai until 2015, also known as Bandai Namco Group,) is a Japanese mass media and entertainment conglomerate founded in 2005 by the merger of Namco and Bandai. The company specializes in toys, video ...

, Warner Bros.,

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

, Eidos, MTV Games, EA,

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

and

Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...

. This was also where the majority of G4's media coverage took place, and in the media and bloggers lounge.

First floor

The first floor housed sub booths of publishers on the ground floor, such as

and

. It also housed the main booths of other publishers, such as

LucasArts Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game brand licensing, licensor, former video game developer and video game publisher, publisher, and a subsidiary of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George ...

and Majesco Entertainment.

List of featured games

Notable exhibitors list

2K Games 2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. The company was founded as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports sub-labels. The nascent label incorporated several developme ...

Bungie Bungie, Inc. is an American video game company based in Bellevue, Washington, and a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company was established in May 1991 by Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones (programme ...

* Bethesda *

Blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

* Codemasters *

* Eidos * EA * Ignition * Koei *

* MTV Games *

Paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true or apparently true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictor ...

* Rockstar *

* SNK Playmore *

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

Tecmo was a Japanese video game company founded in 1967. It had its headquarters in the Kudankita district of Tokyo. Its subsidiary, Tecmo Inc, was located in Torrance, California. Prior to 1986, Tecmo was formerly known as Tehkan. Tecmo is known for ...

* THQ *

* Warner Bros. *

Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...

was originally due to exhibit at ''E3 2009'' but pulled out at the last minute. The reasons for this sudden withdrawal are still currently unclear.

Notable press conferences

*Microsoft :Date: June 1, 2009 :Host(s): John Schappert :Notable Speakers:

Hideo Kojima is a Japanese video game designer. Regarded as one of the pioneering auteurs of video games, he developed a strong passion for film and literature during his childhood and adolescence, which in turn has had a significant influence on his game ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first docume ...

, Yoshinori Kitase, Cliff Bleszinski,

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

:Hardware Announcements: Project Natal :Microsoft reveals Project Natal, a detection, recognition and motion sensing device for the Xbox 360. Kojima revealed '' Metal Gear Solid: Rising'' as the first Metal Gear Solid game on Xbox 360, although the game will also be available for PlayStation 3 and PC. '' The Beatles: Rock Band'' was featured. '' Crysis 2'' was announced. Trailers for '' Crackdown 2'', '' Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction'', ''

Dante's Inferno ''Inferno'' (; Italian for ' Hell') is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century narrative poem '' The Divine Comedy'', followed by and . The ''Inferno'' describes the journey of a fictionalised version of Dante himsel ...

'', '' Mass Effect 2'', '' Left 4 Dead 2'', and '' The Saboteur'' were shown. '' Halo: Reach'' was announced by Bungie. Turn 10 Studios announced '' Forza Motorsport 3'', to be released October 2009.

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

revealed to get their own programs on the 360. Gameplay for '' Modern Warfare 2'', '' Assassin's Creed II'', '' Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction'', '' Alan Wake'', '' Halo 3: ODST'', Forza Motorsport 3, and '' Final Fantasy XIII'' was shown. Also, a new upcoming game for Xbox Live Arcade is '' Shadow Complex'', showed by

Epic Games Epic Games, Inc. is an American Video game developer, video game and software development, software developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney (game developer), Tim Sween ...

and

Chair Entertainment Chair Entertainment Group, LLC (stylized as ChAIR) is an American video game developer based in Salt Lake City. The company was acquired by Epic Games in 2008. History Chair Entertainment was formed in 2005 by Donald Mustard and Geremy Mustard ...

. *Nintendo :Date: June 2, 2009 :Host(s): Reggie Fils-Aimé, Cammie Dunaway :Notable Speakers:

Satoru Iwata Satoru Iwata (; December6, 1959July11, 2015) was a Japanese businessman, video game programmer and producer. Beginning in 2002, he was the fourth president of Nintendo, as well as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Nintendo of America from ...

:Hardware Announcements: Wii Vitality Sensor :Nintendo unveiled '' New Super Mario Bros. Wii'' which supports up to 4 player co-op. '' Golden Sun DS'' was announced. '' WarioWare D.I.Y.'' was announced for DS. '' Super Mario Galaxy 2'' was announced for Wii, making the Wii the first console since the

Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

to have two core Mario platformers. '' Wii Fit Plus'' was announced. More gameplay for '' Wii Sports Resort'' was shown. '' Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story'' was also announced for Fall 2009 . '' Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days'' were featured. Third party games '' Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles'', '' Dead Space: Extraction'', and '' The Conduit'' were highlighted. In a private roundtable meeting, Miyamoto showed concept art for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and hopes to release it by 2010. *Sony :Date: June 2, 2009 :Host(s): Jack Tretton :Notable Speakers:

, Kazuo Hirai :Hardware Announcements:

, PSP Go :Sony revealed the

prototype which uses the PlayStation Eye for 1:1 tracking. A new trailer for '' Final Fantasy XIII'' was shown. Square Enix announced '' Final Fantasy XIV'', due to be released in 2010. '' Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker'' was announced. The PSP Go was featured. New gameplay demos of '' Uncharted 2: Among Thieves'' and '' God of War III'' were debuted. Other games shown were '' Assassin's Creed II'', '' ModNation Racers'', Team Ico's '' The Last Guardian'' and '' Gran Turismo 5''.

Media coverage

G4 was the official broadcaster of E3 2009. G4 offered 22 hours of live event coverage, coverage of all 5 major press conferences and exclusive interviews with gaming executives. G4's coverage began on-air and online (at G4TV.com) on Monday, June 1 and continued through Thursday, June 4. G4 also covered many exclusive game demos at E3 2009 as well as Steve Wiebe's unsuccessful world record Donkey Kong high score attempt.

Attendance

At E3 2009 there was a total 41,000 attendees, which is only a 41% reduction of the 70,000 attendee high from 2005 and an 820% increase on the previous year's (2008's) E3. These attendees came from 78 countries and viewed products from 216 different exhibitors.

Awards

A majority of the industry leading media outlets award Game of the Show. Additional awards pertaining to more specific categories based on platform and genre are also given.

E3 2009 Best of Show Winners

* 1UP.com - '' Uncharted 2: Among Thieves'' * Game Critics Awards - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves *

- ''

Scribblenauts ''Scribblenauts'' is a series of Action game, action Puzzle video game, puzzle video games primarily developed by independent studio 5th Cell. The series is owned and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The first game in the seri ...

'' *

GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...

- ''Scribblenauts'' * GameTrailers - '' God of War III'' * X-Play - ''Uncharted 2: Among Thieves''

IGN

References

External links

* E3 2009 coverage
1UPE3coverage.comG4GamespotIGNJoystiqUGO E3.net
{{Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 in Los Angeles 2009 in video gaming

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

June 2009 in the United States