User:RotomAmiti/E3
- If you were looking for the glitch Pokémon, see ゥ (E3).
The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, was an annual video game trade show hosted by the Electronic Software Association. The expo occurred yearly from 1995 to 2019, skipped 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and hosted its final event virtually in 2021. Nintendo was a major presenter at every E3 and often showcased news regarding Pokémon.
As E3 was an American conference, Pokémon's presence at early expos was typically relegated to news about its localization on the show floor or in press releases, rather than announcements for brand-new games during major presentations. This changed in 2013 when Pokémon X and Y's worldwide simultaneous release became standard.
Pokémon at E3
1998
E3 1998 was held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia from May 28-30, 1998.
The Pokémon series was given a release window of September 1998 for America and Europe to help push sales of the Game Boy Color, which was announced to release on November 23, 1998.[1]
A 3-minute video formally introduced the franchise to western audiences.[2] The video showcases several statistics for the franchise in Japan as of May 1998: 8 million video games sold, Pokémon the Series's status as the highest-rated children's show, 300 million TCG cards sold, 1 million CDs sold, 2 million readers of comics, more than 1,000 different pieces of merchandise, and the original Takara Tomy Pikachu plush's status as the best-selling plush toy. Much of the video features clips from episodes of Pokémon the Series, and it is backed by early versions of Pokémon (Dance Mix) and Jason Paige's Pokémon Theme. Rattata is briefly shown with its early name "Rattatak", and "Catch 'em if you can!" is used as a slogan instead of "Gotta catch 'em all!".
Pokémon the Series was given the date of September 5, 1998 to begin syndication in the United States. Pokémon Red and Blue was given a release date of September 29, 1998 in the United States and 1999 in Europe. The Pokémon Pikachu was given a release window of early November 1998 for the United States and Canada.
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1999
E3 1999 was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California from May 13-15, 1999. All future expos with Pokémon-related announcements were coincidentally held in this venue.
During Nintendo's press conference, several Pokémon games were given American release dates: Pokémon Pinball for June 28, 1999, Pokémon Yellow for September 6, 1999, Pokémon Snap for July 26, 1999, and Pokémon Stadium for October 1999.[3] Plans were announced for the Pokémon Snap Sticker Stations to be located in 4,500 Blockbuster locations. Pokémon: The First Movie was confirmed for an English dub by the holiday season, following Warner Bros.'s acquisition of the film distribution rights earlier in the year.[4] A promotional video titled "Pokémon Fever" shown at the press conference interviewed several child Pokémon fans playing Yellow, Pinball, and Snap.[5]
On the show floor, Nintendo had a large Pokémon Yellow-themed booth with a mascot Pikachu.[6] A "red cheeks" version of Base Set Pikachu stamped with the E3 logo was given away in limited quantities to attendees.[7] This card was the first English promo card for the TCG, predating the first Black Star Promo by two months. A corrected "yellow cheeks" version was later distributed in the September 1999 issue of Nintendo Power.[8]
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2000
E3 2000 was held from May 11-13, 2000.
Pokémon Gold and Silver was given an American release date of October 16, 2000.[9] The game was playable on the show floor, which had a Pikachu statue and a large Lugia standee.[10] The Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS was announced to release the same day as Gold and Silver. The games headlined Nintendo Power's special "Guide to E3 2000" edition, which featured Ho-Oh on the cover.[11]
Pokémon Puzzle League, a game never released in Japan, was playable on the show floor and announced to release on September 24, 2000.[12][11] Its Game Boy Color counterpart, Pokémon Puzzle Challenge, was given an American release date of November 20, 2000. At the time, both games shared the "Puzzle League" name.
Hey You, Pikachu! was given an American release date of November 6, 2000.[11]
Pokémon the Movie 2000's English dub was given a theatrical release date of July 21, 2000.[11]
A press release for Kellogg's Pokémon Toasted Oat Cereal with Marshmallow Bits, originally released on March 13, 2000,[13] was included in Nintendo's E3 2000 press kit.[11]
Material from this year consistently spells Hoothoot's name as "Hoot-Hoot".[11][14]
2001
E3 2001 was held from May 17-19, 2001.
Compared to previous years, Pokémon had noticeably little presence at Nintendo's booth on the show floor.[15] Satoru Iwata stated that Meowth's Party was not shown at E3 because it was not planned to release by the end of the year.[16] Iwata also stated development was in progress for Pokémon's upcoming Game Boy Advance games to connect with Meowth's Party, and they wanted to do something different with a potential GameCube sequel to Pokémon Stadium.
Pokémon Crystal was announced to release in English on July 30, 2001.[17]
The e-Reader was demoed on the show floor utilizing new "Pokémon Card-e" cards.[18][19] Attendees could play Machop At Work and Hold Down Hoppip by swiping a collection of exclusive demo cards that would become known as the Sample Set.[20] Photographs and details of these English-language Sample cards are scarce, as many sources from the time were not properly archived.[19][21][22]
2002
E3 2002 was held from May 22-24, 2002.
A new model of the e-Reader that includes a GBA Link cable port was featured at the expo and announced to release in the United States on September 16, 2002.[23] The new functionality was primarily intended for use in Animal Crossing, but the peripheral was marketed heavily for its compatibility with Pokémon-e cards, which had already released for the previous model in Japan.[24] A special edition E3 e-card booster pack was distributed to attendees, which included four cards: Pichu and Hoppip from Expedition, the Game & Watch game Manhole, and a Kirby: Right Back at Ya! prize card.[25] These prints of Pichu and Hoppip have the new Japanese card back introduced with VS, but their final release would retain the standard back for English cards.[26]
A single screenshot of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire was released, showing the interior of Pretty Petal flower shop.[24] The games were stated to release in fall in Japan and winter in North America. The Hoenn region was described as a "water world".
The fifth season of Pokémon the Series was named Master Quest and given a release window of fall by Kids' WB!.[24] Miramax was announced to distribute Celebi: A Timeless Encounter in October, and the fifth movie was mentioned to air in Japan in July.
Wizards of the Coast confirmed Craig Turvey as the winner of the Create-a-Snorlax Pokémon Card Contest when Turvey visited their booth and directly asked who won.[27] The winning card was distributed through Pokémon Leagues in August 2002.
2003
E3 2003 was held from May 14-16, 2003.
Nintendo announced the first details for three GameCube spin-off games: Pokémon Colosseum,[28] Pokémon Box: Ruby & Sapphire,[29] and Pokémon Channel.[30] Colosseum and Box were both shown to be compatible with Ruby and Sapphire. Colosseum was announced to support four player battles via GBA connections. Box was announced to be able to store 1,500 Pokémon on a special memory card and be used to play Ruby or Sapphire on a TV. Of the three games, only Channel was given a release window, which was holiday 2003 for the United States.[31]
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire was announced for the Game Boy Advance with an American release date of August 25, 2003.[32] Continuing the theme of connectivity between the GameCube and GBA, this game was announced to have exclusive rumble features when played using a GameCube controller via the Game Boy Player.
The Eon Ticket was distributed to attendees inside a "Special E3 2003 Edition" brochure.[33]
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2004
E3 2004 was held from May 11-14, 2004.
The Pikachu: DS Tech Demo was playable on the show floor to showcase the capabilities of the Nintendo DS.[34] This fully-3D demo allowed attendees to interact with Pikachu by playing minigames on the touch screen. E3 2004 was the only expo the demo appeared at, and the demo was never released to the public. Features from it were eventually reused in Pokémon Dash.
The first English footage of Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen was released, both confirming an American release date of September and that LeafGreen would not receive a name change.[35][36] FireRed was playable in Japanese on the show floor.[37] The games' use of the new Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter was heavily featured.
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2005
E3 2005 was held from May 18-20, 2005.
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness was heavily promoted at this year's expo and announced to release on August 4, 2005 in Japan and October 2005 in North America. The game was playable at a large booth on the show floor, where attendees could play a short demo about snagging a Shadow Pikachu.[38][39] Pikachu is not available as a Shadow Pokémon in the final game.
Pokémon Emerald, which released in the United States earlier that month, had a brief highlight trailer showcasing the Battle Frontier.[40]
An assortment of Poké Dolls were given to those who visited Nintendo of America's booth.[38][41]
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2006
E3 2006 was held from May 10-12, 2006.
Pokémon Ranger and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team were announced to be releasing outside Japan, with Mystery Dungeon given the American release date of September 19, 2006. The DS games, Ranger and Blue Rescue Team, had playable demos on the show floor. In Ranger's demo, attendees would play as Lunick to escort Professor Hastings in Mission 1: Escort the Professor.[42] In Mystery Dungeon's demo, attendees would play through Thunderwave Cave with a partner Pikachu.[43]
Copies of the Jumbo Shadow Lugia promo card were purportedly distributed to attendees of Nintendo's pre-E3 2006 press conference. However, no contemporary sources mention this distribution, and no copies of the card have been confirmed to be sourced from the expo.[44]
2008
E3 2008 was held from July 15-17, 2008.
The sequel to Pokémon Ranger was given the English name Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and a North American release date of November 10, 2008.[45] The game was playable on the show floor, with a demo focusing on saving Pokémon from the Vien Forest fire during Mission 3: Fight the Vien Forest fire!. The short demo ended before it became clear how the fire would be extinguished.[46]
During Nintendo's press conference, Reggie Fils-Aimé claimed that 2007's release of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl had boosted the sales of the Nintendo DS by 12%.[45]
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2009
E3 2009 was held from June 2-4, 2009.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky was announced to release in North America in Autumn 2009.[47] The game was playable on the show floor, and its new hero Pokémon Riolu and Eevee were available in the demo.[48]
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2010
E3 2010 was held from June 14-17, 2010.
PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure was given a North American release window of Holiday 2010.[49] Several Attractions were playable as demos on the show floor.[50]
The third entry of the Pokémon Ranger series was given the English name of Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs in a trailer.[51] This trailer also revealed the English name of the game's villainous team, the Pokémon Pinchers.
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2011
E3 2011 was held from June 7-9, 2011.
The Nintendo 3DS's eShop launched the evening prior to Nintendo's E3 2011 press conference.[52] To promote the platform, Nintendo released 3D Classics: Excitebike and Pokédex 3D for free to all users.[53]
Pokédex 3D had been announced shortly before E3 to be a companion app for Pokémon Black and White. It would allow players to collect Pokédex information of the games' Pokémon and view them in stereoscopic 3D.[54] The app can use the 3DS's camera to display these models in augmented reality using special AR Markers. Several AR Markers were distributed to press at E3 to demo and post to social media.[55]
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2012
E3 2012 was held from June 5-7, 2012.
A trailer for Pokémon Conquest was shown ahead of its North American and Australian releases later that month.
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, Pokémon Dream Radar, and Pokédex 3D Pro were briefly mentioned during the Nintendo 3DS Software Showcase.[56]
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2013
https://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/E3_Nintendo_Direct_reveals_masses_of_information https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/12/e3-2013-pokemon-x-y-details-revealed https://www.vooks.net/back-to-the-future-pokemon-x-and-y-qa-at-e3-2013-recap/
2014
https://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Details_on_Omega_Ruby_and_Alpha_Sapphire_announced https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhBSCthYTLE
2015
https://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Super_Mystery_Dungeon_box_art_revealed
2016
https://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Treehouse_Live_at_E3_presentation_reveals_Pikipek,_Yungoos,_Grubbin https://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_GO_Plus_to_be_released_in_late_July
2017
https://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/New_core_series_game_coming_to_Nintendo_Switch https://e3src.nintendo.com/tournaments/ https://kotaku.com/the-sole-pokken-pro-won-the-e3-pokken-tournament-invita-1796110163
2018
2019
https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/06/14/take-a-look-at-nintendos-e3-2019-booth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmWu-f6L0Mo
See also
References
- ↑ Electronic Entertainment Expo 1998 event footage | Video Game History Foundation. Retrieved Jul 29, 2026
- ↑ Nintendo shows off Pokémon at E3 1998 | GB on YouTube, Jul 22, 2026
- ↑ LOST Nintendo E3 1999 Press Conference (Full Panel - Donkey Kong 64/Jet Force Gemini/Pokémon & More) | Hard4Games on YouTube, Oct 2, 2022
- ↑ WB taps 'Pokemon' power | Variety, Mar 9, 1999
- ↑ Lost Media: Pokémon Fever (1999) VHS Tape | Lost Pixel Lore, Oct 20, 2024
- ↑ 1999: The Year in Review | Nintendo World Report, Mar 7, 2009
- ↑ Base Pikachu artwork card variations | Quuador on Elite Fourum, Oct 22, 2016. Retrieved Jul 29, 2026
- ↑ I came across this Pokemon card in my Nintendo Power volume 124 | u/gamernes on r/nes, Aug 20, 2022
- ↑ Pokémon Gold and Silver Release Date | IGN, May 9, 2000
- ↑ E3 2000: Photo Booth Tour (N-R) | IGN, May 14, 2000
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Nintendo E3 2000 Press Kit | Archived by the Internet Archive on Dec 18, 2025
- ↑ We are on the Show Floor! | Nintendo World Report, May 11, 2000
- ↑ Kellogg's Pokémon | MrBreakfast.com. Retrieved Jul 29, 2026
- ↑ Pokémon Names Will Come | IGN, May 12, 2000
- ↑ Meowth's Party | Nintendo World Report, Jun 4, 2001
- ↑ The Big GameCube Interview: Satoru Iwata (GameCube) | IGN, May 24, 2001
- ↑ Nintendo Power's Guide to E3 2001, pg.8 | Archived by the Internet Archive on Aug 1, 2021
- ↑ Pokémon Trainers Magazine Vol.12 (archive), pg.62-63
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Archive of Pokémon Abode's homepage, Jun 4, 2001
- ↑ E3: Hands on: Pokemon E-Card Reader | IGN, May 19, 2001
- ↑ Bluesky post by @pkmna.bsky.social | Pokémon Aaah!, Aug 5, 2026
- ↑ E3 2002: New Version of Card-E | IGN, May 21, 2002
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Nintendo Power E3 2002 edition (archive)
- ↑ Feature: Ex-Nintendo Employee On 'Holy Grails', Meeting Heroes, And Preserving A $10K Kirby Card | Nintendo Life, Dec 27, 2021
- ↑ The 8 Identical-Artwork Pichu Cards from the English Expedition Base Set | pichu.blog, Mar 20, 2021
- ↑ Interview with Craig Turvey (Create-a-Snorlax Card Contest) | Johto Times, Nov 16, 2023
- ↑ Pokémon Colosseum E3 2003 Preshow Report | GameSpot, May 14, 2003
- ↑ Pokémon Box E3 2003 Preshow Report | GameSpot, May 14, 2003
- ↑ Pokémon Channel E3 2003 Preshow Report | GameSpot, May 14, 2003
- ↑ E3 2003: Pokemon Triple Threat | IGN, May 14, 2003
- ↑ E3 2003: Pokemon Pinball | IGN, May 13, 2003
- ↑ EonTicket | u/SpiraEU on r/gamecollecting, Aug 8, 2025
- ↑ E3 2004: Hands-on: Pikachu Demo | IGN, May 11, 2004
- ↑ E3 2004: Pokemon Fire Red | IGN, May 11, 2004
- ↑ HIDDEN POWER of masuda, Aug 30, 2004
- ↑ E3 Impression: Pokemon Fire Red | RPGamer, May 13, 2004
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 E3 2005: Pokemon XD | IGN, May 20, 2005
- ↑ Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness E3 2005 Hands-On Impressions | GameSpot, May 20, 2005
- ↑ Pokemon Emerald Version Game Boy Gameplay - E3 2005 | IGN on YouTube, Jun 16, 2011
- ↑ CPSC, Pokémon USA Announce Recall of Pokémon Plush Toys | United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, Jul 8, 2005
- ↑ E3 06: Pokémon Ranger Preshow Hands-On | GameSpot, May 10, 2006
- ↑ E3 Impression: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team | RPGamer, May 14, 2006
- ↑ Most difficult card to authenticate? The mysterious case of Jumbo Shadow Lugia | tval on Elite Fourum, Mar 11, 2026
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 E3 2008: Pokemon Ranger 2 Heads to America | IGN, July 15, 2008
- ↑ E308: Circling in on Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia | DS Fanboy, Jul 22, 2008
- ↑ Sora no Tankentai für Nordamerika angekündigt | Filb.de, Jun 2, 2009
- ↑ E3 2009: Hands-on: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - News | VGChartz, Jun 24, 2009
- ↑ E3 2010: Pokemon PokePark Preview | Comics Online, Jun 16, 2010
- ↑ E3 2010: PokePark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure Preview | IGN, Jun 16, 2010
- ↑ Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs DS - E3 2010: Trailer | IGN on YouTube, Jun 23, 2011
- ↑ The Nintendo 3DS eShop Has Launched (And Here's What's in It) | IGN, Jun 7, 2011
- ↑ Free Pokédex 3D App To Mark Pokémon's First Appearance On Nintendo 3DS | Siliconera, Jun 1, 2011
- ↑ Pokédex 3D Coming to 3DS eShop | Nintendo World Report, May 31, 2011
- ↑ E3: Here are your special E3 2011 Pokedex 3D AR cards | Destructoid, Jun 7, 2011
- ↑ Nintendo All-Access Nintendo 3DS Software Showcase @ E3 2012 | Nintendo of America on YouTube, Jun 7, 2012
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