Flop Consoles And Clunky Graphics: E3 In 1995

E3 - the biggest event in the gaming calendar - is in its 20th year.

Now held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood - the venue for the Oscars ceremony - it is a heady mix of high-powered established consoles, lucrative AAA titles, and jaw-dropping graphics.

But back in its inaugural year things were very different; experimental consoles were launched which quickly fell by the wayside, graphics looked clunky and grainy, and attempts at 3D gaming were laughably basic.

Here's what happened at E3 in 1995:

:: The Sony PlayStation was announced

Now one of the two major console brands, the announcement of the Sony PlayStation marked the Japanese firm's first foray into the console market.

It was followed by the PlayStation 2 in 2000, the PlayStation 3 in 2006, and the PlayStation 4 in 2013.

Executives boasted that it had a line-up of 50 games, far more than its rivals. Now, however, the PlayStation 4 has more than 500 games.

:: Sega tried to rain on Sony's parade

Sega moved forward the announcement of its Saturn console to spoil the launch of the Sony PlayStation.

But it cost more than its Japanese rival, and was quickly muscled out of the market by the PlayStation and the Nintendo 64, which was released in 1996.

It was discontinued in 1998 and is considered to be a commercial failure.

Part of the blame was laid at the door of Sega's development teams, who did not release a game in the popular Sonic the Hedgehog series on the platform.

:: Nintendo tried something new

Nintendo's Virtual Boy was marketed as the first portable console capable of 3D graphics out of the box.

It was announced in 1994 but shown for the first time at E3.

Costs and technological drawbacks meant it used drab red LEDs to power the display, which needed a steady tabletop to be used.

Sales were terrible, and it was discontinued within months.

:: Atari rolled the dice for the last time

Atari announced the Jaguar VR console which featured a virtual reality headset unit.

It was the sixth and last console developed under the Atari brand.

It was criticised for its complex controller design and limited game library.

Atari discontinued the console in 1996 after it sold just 250,000 units.