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Gather round, kids, and I'll tell you a tale. A tale of gaming events where you weren't packed in like sardines, a tale of the future of the industry: Sega's Dreamcast, and a tale of photographic limitations where you had a limited number of shots, no filters, and had to wait two weeks to get your pictures back, only to find you had your finger over the viewfinder the whole time.
Actually... instead of listening to me, you should probably just look through this great collection of photographs, recently archived by the Video Game History Foundation (VGHF). Taken by travelling games journo Colin Williamson, the collection of over 300+ photos documents the Japanese gaming conventions of the late-'90s and early-'00s - a record of our favourite pastime at the dawn of a new millennium.
"The Colin Williamson Photography Collection" is an archive of candid shots, pulled from Williamson's personal archive, not to mention his own valuable memories. The gallery hosts images of Japanese gaming conventions, conferences, arcades, and trade shows, all taken during the industry-changing bridge that crossed between PlayStation's successful capture of the late-1990s and the big-bucks, internet-driven market of the modern age.
Among the events featured in the collection are Tokyo Game Show 1999 and 2000, reveals for Sega's Space Channel 5 and Sakura Wars 3, a visit to Konami's Ebisu office, shots from the Osaka Joypolis, pictures from PlayStation 2's Osaka launch, and the arrival of the Xbox 360 in the heart of Tokyo's tech district, Shibuya. Additionally, the collection features miscellaneous folders of shots taken across Japan's gaming scene, with Akihabara and Osaka both represented.
And if you wanted a photo of former Xbox exec Peter Moore's shoes, you got one.
It's great, heartwarming stuff. Not only thanks to the nostalgia-tweaking nature of Williamson's pictures, but also because it captures a place and a people for posterity, adults and youth rich with joy and brimming with anticipation for the new millennium's gaming, powered by new technology and ideas.
Of course, we could cynically suggest that these photos represent the final days before gaming took a capitalist-driven downturn. There is weight to that. But we mustn't forget that the '00s offered so much more in terms of excitement, enjoyment, and innovation.
The launch of the Dreamcast and PS2 kicked off a memorable generation of fantastic titles, bringing gaming to a larger audience than it had ever seen to that point. Wider access to online gaming helped forge friendships and communities, while new, independent studios stepped up to meet the challenge of the sixth and seventh generations, crafting a variety of genre-defining games and experiences.
And, from viewing this gallery, it's clear that Williamson has had quite the experience himself. And by recording these golden days - days that would lead to one of the most celebrated eras in gaming - we can reflect on our own memories of this exciting time, kindling flames of hope for a better future, while getting fired up for the wealth of new games and experiences that await us - in the new year and beyond.
The Colin Williamson Photography Collection is available to view on the VGHF website. A podcast recorded with Williamson is also available here.