Video Game History Foundation Opens New Digital Archive Of E3's History
There are years' worth of unique materials to explore.
In case you missed it
In case you missed it
E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, was truly the event in gaming from 1995 to 2023 that brought the industry together for major announcements, reveals, and many memorable moments. There really hasn't been a true replacement for it, and the VGHF has done a great job preserving this important part of gaming history.
Looking through these materials, you can see how organizers tried to balance the growing public interest in video games with the industry's professional side. For example, if you were promoting a game at E3 1999, would you have spent $25,000 to put your logo on attendees' badge lanyards?
"It's easier now to look back and say, Of course E3 existed. Of course video games are a big deal. But that wasn't always a sure thing. Before E3, the big showcase for the American game industry was the Consumer Electronics Show, a massive trade show, where video games were just another product on display with the cameras, televisions, and karaoke machines.
After a series of disappointing, low-key conferences, the industry decided it was time to put on an event of their own, where games would be the star attraction. At a time when the game industry was going through explosive growth, E3 reflected the massive cultural force that they believed video games could become.
Over the past year, we've received some exciting donations from the people who ran and attended E3, going all the way back to its first year in 1995. We're excited to preserve this important history—and to make it available for anyone studying the history of E3, for free."
E3 1996
E3 2001
There are also many digitized E3 directory books with complete maps and listings of every booth, company, and presentation at the event. The collection features plenty of videos, including the highest-quality footage available of the unreleased Nintendo 64 game Conker's Quest:
Some strange and interesting discoveries are already starting to surface, like this Donkey Kong footage:
Oh my god
— Nintendo Metro (@nintendometro.bsky.social) 22 июля 2026 г. в 21:44
[image or embed]
The initial pitch to US retailers for Pokemon is kind of amazing. It starts at 23:40 of the video... archive.gamehistory.org/item/3996212...
— Random Stranger (@randomstranger.bsky.social) 22 июля 2026 г. в 22:49
[image or embed]
Learn more here and subscribe to our Newsletter, join our 80 Level Talent platform, Discord, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, and Instagram, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.
Are you a fan of what we do here at 80 Level? Then make sure to set us as a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our content in your feed.
