"Next, we have our classic series."
The screen went black.
The familiar 8-bit electronic sound effects blared. The iconic silhouettes of two muscular men, armed with heavy weaponry and standing back-to-back, appeared.
Contra.
The loudest cheer of Konami's entire presentation erupted within the venue.
For the North American journalists in the audience, this name carried the echoes of coins clinking in arcades and countless afternoons spent on living room sofas.
The silhouettes faded, and the live gameplay footage began.
The cheering stopped abruptly.
The screen displayed a top-down 3D perspective.
The polygon-based environment was sparse and crude, with extremely low-resolution textures. The two protagonists moved and fired in the scene with stiff animations, gliding across the ground. Bullets struck enemies with minimal feedback, completely lacking the visceral, punchy shooting satisfaction of the 2D era.
Contra: Legacy of War.
"This is the first 3D title in the series," the presenter continued reading from his script. "Developed by the Hungarian studio Appaloosa Interactive."
Several veteran editors in the audience exchanged glances.
Appaloosa Interactive, formerly known as Novotrade, was a small Eastern European studio that primarily focused on contract work and low-budget ports.
Konami had entrusted the 3D debut of its most iconic action-shooter IP from the 32-bit era to an outsourcing firm all the way in Hungary.
"Something's wrong inside Konami," an editor from Computer Gaming World muttered, putting down his pen. "They outsourced Contra."
"The graphics don't even meet the bare minimum," a colleague beside him remarked, staring at the jagged explosion effects on the screen. "Look at the Super Mario 64 Nintendo just showed, then look at this. This looks like a college student's final project."
The demo video was incredibly short, ending abruptly in less than two minutes.
"The first-level demo of Contra: Legacy of War is now ready in our booth," the executive announced. "The full version will launch exclusively on the Jupiter platform in late November. A PlayStation version will follow next year."
The presentation ended hastily.
There was no encore, no surprise reveal.
Sparse applause rippled through the media section. Most of the journalists had already started packing their bags, preparing to head to the next booth.
"Konami's lineup is too thin this year," several journalists chatted as they walked down the aisle.
"They're a step behind," analyzed a reporter familiar with the Japanese industry. "Over the past two years, Konami poured a lot of resources into late-stage Super Famicom and Sega Mega Drive game development. They underestimated how quickly 32-bit consoles would take off. It wasn't until this year that they finally started fully and officially shifting their development resources to the Jupiter and PlayStation."
"A big ship takes a long time to turn," another chimed in. "The market landscape for new consoles has already taken shape. Now that Konami is finally moving its main teams over, they're facing a severe product gap this year. Their first-party blockbusters are in a transition period, so they're forced to rely on low-cost 2D games like Tokimeki Memorial to fill the space. Even a flagship title like Contra had to be outsourced to a cheap European team just to put something on the map."
"That's why they've chosen a dual-platform strategy," the first reporter concluded. "Betting on both sides to spread the risk. But it's the players who suffer. If you're hoping to play a true 32-bit Konami masterpiece this year, you're out of luck."
Half an hour later.
Los Angeles Convention Center, West Hall.
Unlike the sweltering crowds at Nintendo's booth, Konami's area was desolate.
Only a dozen or so players queued before the few Jupiter consoles running the Contra: Legacy of War demo.
David, a reviewer from Electronic Gaming Monthly, stood at the end of the line.
He was a die-hard Contra fan, his home collection spanning every version from arcade boards to every console generation's cartridges.
Finally, it was his turn.
David picked up the controller and pressed Start.
The first level opened on a dilapidated military base.
He pushed the joystick, controlling the protagonist, Bill, as he moved forward.
The controls felt terrible.
Movement in the 3D environment lacked precision.
When David tried to strafe diagonally to dodge enemy fire, the character's turn lagged noticeably.
The kind of micro-adjustment that required only a light tap of the D-pad in the 2D era had become a struggle against the joystick's dead zone.
Worse still was the shooting registration.
From the top-down perspective, it was nearly impossible to judge the bullets' height.
David held down the fire button, watching rows of bullets pass right through the enemies' bodies without dealing any damage.
"The Z-axis hit detection is trash," David cursed under his breath.
He tried jumping.
He pressed the button, and the character popped into the air, devoid of any weight, like a puppet jerked by a string.
There was no landing animation to cushion the fall.
The level boss was a polygonal tank that occupied half the screen. It took David three lives just to figure out its erratic hitboxes before he barely scraped through.
The words "Thank You For Playing" flashed across the screen.
David set down the controller and rubbed his aching thumbs.
"How was it?" A Konami staff member, tasked with maintaining order, handed him a survey.
David took the pen and, without a moment's hesitation, marked the lowest possible score for "Controls," "Graphics," and "Willingness to Purchase."
"Listen, pal," David said, handing the survey back. "Give this to your producer. Tell him if the full release in late November is still this mess, they're going to ruin the series."
The staff member offered a strained smile and took the survey.
David turned and left the booth.
He flipped open his portable voice recorder and spoke into the microphone, capturing his initial impressions.
"Contra: Legacy of War Playtest Report. This is a shoddy 3D shooter wearing a Contra skin."
"Appaloosa completely failed to grasp the core appeal of this series. The movement is stiff, the hit detection is a mess, and the graphics are bottom-tier among the current 32-bit consoles."
He paused, his gaze fixed on the large screen at the nearby Nintendo booth, which was showcasing Super Mario 64.
"While Nintendo is showing the world how to create a perfect 3D game, Konami has turned in a failing grade. Their development resources were shifted too late. This year, players will be stuck with either boring dating sims on the Jupiter and PlayStation, or this rushed, outsourced shooter. Konami needs time to adapt to the new era, but whether the market will give them that time remains to be seen."
The recording ended.
David stuffed the voice recorder into his pocket and strode toward the next exhibit.
On the main stage of the Los Angeles Convention Center, the countdown finished once more, and the E3 logo faded away.
The journalists in the media section had just witnessed a disastrously poor presentation. Some were scribbling crosses on their notebooks, while others kept their heads down, organizing their recording equipment.
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