2000s Video Game Launch Parties: A Blast From the Past
The Gaming Industry’s Glorious Era
In that strange time period nestled between 9/11 and the Obama administration, the video game industry—specifically the console market—thrived in previously unimaginable ways. With Microsoft and Sony raking in numbers worthy of massive Hollywood production companies and global theater chains, and the mobile gaming boom of the teens waiting in the shadows for phones to catch up, the aughts were the era of Xbox and PlayStation, of launch parties attended by massive celebrities, of blue and green carpets instead of red ones. It was the golden age of gaming, or at least, the time period when the industry tried hardest to ape Hollywood.
The PlayStation 3 Launch Party: A Time for the It Girls
I recently stumbled across a TikTok in which a person longs to experience the historical moment that was the PlayStation 3 launch party, which took place on October 8, 2006.
In the TikTok video, we catch a glimpse of the glamorous affair. The It Girls of the aughts, draped in a variety of satin and high-sheen fabrics, posed for the camera, shimmied on the dancefloor, and maybe probably did coke in the bathroom. Lindsay Lohan, just a month before she famously called Paris Hilton a “cunt” in a paparazzi video, can be seen rubbing shoulders with Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, who were not yet the media moguls we know today.
Star Power at Gaming Events
But the PlayStation 3 Launch Party wasn’t the only gaming event sparkling with star power. Almost every launch party—whether it was for consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360 or games like Halo: Reach and Gears of War—was full of celebrities holding up physical copies of games, walking out with swag bags, or grinning next to someone in Master Chief cosplay. Whether they were there because they were paid to be or just because they wanted some free drinks, every celebrity worth a damn during that time period was at game industry events.
The End of an Era
Times have changed. The games industry is struggling to reckon with its massive growth during the pandemic years; a deluge of layoffs mark this struggle. The Xbox Series X/S and PS5 didn’t launch with brand-safe carpets and the hottest Disney stars. But it is in memory of that golden time, when the girlies gamed—or at least, showed up to the game parties—that we can revel in the craze. Let’s take a moment to gather the best celebrity sightings from aughts-era game events and reminisce about just how wild that time period really was.
