E3 2013: Weird Tales From The Past

E3 2013 is here, and as the festivities get started, here are some weird tales from the past.

E3 is the abbreviation for Electronic Entertainment Expo, one of the most important events of the year for gaming developers and console pushers. Of course there are other things being promoted, but for gaming, few events rank higher in the eyes of the gaming press. The lengths some developers will go to in order to grab the public’s attention can sometimes lead to some interesting stunts.

Here are just a few of the weird tales of stunts pulled at E3 in the past:

• Chris van der Kuyl, the head of online technology company Brightsolid at the time, once attended the event in full Scottish regalia, remarking, “I can’t believe this is part of my job.” And that wasn’t all, as every level of the parking structure was draped in white, and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl stopped the concert in mid set while playing on the roof, just to sing the “Chop Chop” Master Onion song from Parappa the Rapper.
• The Gizmondo booth in 2004 was abuzz with women who seemed a bit too sleazy for gaming promotion. When Michael Pachter asked about what modeling agency he used, as they seemed to be strippers and hookers, the chief executive officer replied, “They are strippers and hookers.”
• Wiebke Vallentin, account director at Step 3, recalled a certain skateboarding incident used to promote an Atari game way back, where there was a giant half-pipe set up and professional skateboarders doing their thing. At one point, one of the skateboards flew out of the half-pipe, over the net, and right in a camera man’s face. The camera scratched the man’s eye and a lawsuit ensued. Afterwards, the net was raised twice as high.

• One time, Snoop Dogg (now Snoop Lion) was scheduled to appear at a hip hop show to promote a racing game, with Microsoft paying a charity in Snoop Dogg’s name. Nobody knew where he was until someone found him hanging with some kids and wandering the floor. It took about an hour to get him to the stage. Later on, one of the controllers came unplugged in the middle of a tournament race and it had to be restarted. For some reason, Snoop Dogg had become enraged, walking off the stage in a fit of profanities, and J Allard saved the show by grabbing the mic out of his hands and acting like it was all part of the show.
• And let us not forget one year when a pair of anatomically correct ice sculptures were on hand with alcoholic beverages flowing out of their genital areas.

What do you think of the weird tales of previous E3 events? What stunts might they pull off at E3 2013?