The Video Game History Foundation (VGHF) has published new collections documenting the history of E3, the industry trade show that ran from 1995 to 2021.
The largest is the Carolyn Rauch event ephemera collection, donated by Rauch, a founding IDSA member who oversaw E3 for nearly its entire run.
Rauch’s collection totals more than 1000 pages of flyers, brochures, press kits, guest passes, photographs, panel transcripts, and industry reports from 1996 to 2011, plus material from E for All and the Game Marketing Summit.
VGHF also released nearly 12 hours of video donated by Anthony Parisi, who filmed the first four E3s on a camcorder. The footage includes press conferences and gameplay capture, including early looks at Super Mario 64 and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
Other additions include a completed set of digitized E3 directory books from 1995-2006, new scans of E3 Show Daily from 1995 and 1997, footage from defunct outlets like Subspace Publishers and Tronix Multimedia, and a Nintendo B-roll tape from 1997 with previously unreleased footage of the cancelled Rare game, Conker’s Quest.
VGHF also interviewed Rauch and IDSA founder Doug Lowenstein on its podcast about E3’s founding, and collected written reflections from Mary Dolaher, E3’s longtime event director. More material is expected in the coming weeks.
E3’s future became uncertain when the 2020 show was cancelled due to the pandemic. While there was a 2021 digital event, it proved costly, and ultimately became the final ever E3 show.
