After reading some of the stuff in the various threads, I went looking for something representative of what happened back in 2001.
http://www.gamecritics.com/feature/report/e3expo2001_chi/page06.php
Oh, and that isn't me.
"Most Disappointing Games of E3 2001
1. Halo (Xbox)
While Ben, Brad and I didnt agree on much through out the three days at E3, one thing we were unanimous on was on how disappointing and under whelming Halo was. During a closed-theater presentation of Halo, it almost seemed as though the lead artist was trying to lower our expectations by saying that while the Xbox version Halo doesnt quite match the vision of the online multiplayer PC version, they still managed to cobble together a "decent" one-player mode and a "kick-ass" split-screen multiplayer mode that can facilitate up to eight players with two screens and two Xbox consoles. Well I hate to burst Ed Fries and Jay Allards bubble, but Halo is far from "kicking-ass." Most of the so-called innovations in Halo are way overblown. On the surface, there isnt much to distinguish Halo from the countless other first-person shooters at E3. Even the concept of vehicular combat in Halo is really nothing new. PC titles like SkyNET, Redline and Tribes pioneered such features years ago. The enthusiasm of the crowd almost seemed to the riding entirely off of the games over-hyped reputation.
As for the hands-on, eight-player deathmatch mode demonstration (between two Xboxes), not only was the animation embarrassingly choppy, but the overall graphics looked surprisingly N64-like. It seems as though most show-goers also failed to notice that the split-screen deathmatches were being played over two HDTV 16:9 plasma screens. Gamers should ask themselves, "Do I have this kind of hardware sitting in my house?" Not only is it highly unlikely that youll have access to two widescreen HDTVs of that size and magnitude, but its also unlikely that youll even have two regular televisions big enough to host such an event. If Microsoft is hedging most of its bets on Halo, it better seriously think about folding its hand and cutting its loses."
http://www.gamecritics.com/feature/report/e3expo2001_chi/page06.php
Oh, and that isn't me.
"Most Disappointing Games of E3 2001
1. Halo (Xbox)
While Ben, Brad and I didnt agree on much through out the three days at E3, one thing we were unanimous on was on how disappointing and under whelming Halo was. During a closed-theater presentation of Halo, it almost seemed as though the lead artist was trying to lower our expectations by saying that while the Xbox version Halo doesnt quite match the vision of the online multiplayer PC version, they still managed to cobble together a "decent" one-player mode and a "kick-ass" split-screen multiplayer mode that can facilitate up to eight players with two screens and two Xbox consoles. Well I hate to burst Ed Fries and Jay Allards bubble, but Halo is far from "kicking-ass." Most of the so-called innovations in Halo are way overblown. On the surface, there isnt much to distinguish Halo from the countless other first-person shooters at E3. Even the concept of vehicular combat in Halo is really nothing new. PC titles like SkyNET, Redline and Tribes pioneered such features years ago. The enthusiasm of the crowd almost seemed to the riding entirely off of the games over-hyped reputation.
As for the hands-on, eight-player deathmatch mode demonstration (between two Xboxes), not only was the animation embarrassingly choppy, but the overall graphics looked surprisingly N64-like. It seems as though most show-goers also failed to notice that the split-screen deathmatches were being played over two HDTV 16:9 plasma screens. Gamers should ask themselves, "Do I have this kind of hardware sitting in my house?" Not only is it highly unlikely that youll have access to two widescreen HDTVs of that size and magnitude, but its also unlikely that youll even have two regular televisions big enough to host such an event. If Microsoft is hedging most of its bets on Halo, it better seriously think about folding its hand and cutting its loses."