Bit late, but with this being such an amazing E3, I thought I would put down a few of my thoughts on the shenanigans. Don’t worry, i’ll keep it brief 😛
Microsoft had a lot to prove with this years E3. The whole always online/DRM features didn’t go down well with gamers. And the silent stance they took on it didn’t help things either. Their press conference had the glitz and glamour that you’ve come to expect. But what was great was the focus on games, Microsoft had to remind folk that the Xbox One was a games console and they did. Game demos such as Battlefield 4, the Halo teaser and the (pretty awesome looking) exclusive TitanFall all helped to appease disillusioned gamers. What didn’t go down was simply ignoring the whole DRM issue and of course the price. These two factors really put a downer on what I felt was a great showing by Microsoft. They really need good PR at the moment, but strangely for them, it seems they just don’t know (or are ignoring) where to get it.
Gaming websites, blogs, social media and just media in general are praising Sony. And it’s well deserved. It’s safe to say they nailed it. Big games such as Kingdom Hearts 3, Killzone and Destiny all reminded us that the PS4 (and to some extent the PS3/Vita) will have gamers covered for the next few years at least. The big thing about this conference was finally getting to actually see the PS4. And boy was it worth the wait, slick and sexy as to be expected from a Sony product. But the long awaited reveal was overshadowed by two things, that price and a stance on DRM which made people all over the world scream in joy. My only negative points about the conference was the lack of info on Gakai. Sure I’m probably just being a bit too eager, but at least a snippet of info on how this technology would be implemented into the PlayStation family, would have made a great conference pretty much perfect.
Nintendo not even holding a conference put a bad omen on them for me this year. Sure Nintendo Direct has proved popular over the past year but a conference simply would have made Nintendo stand out a bit more. I will be brief, Nintendo disappointed me. It was the same old Nintendo, showing new sequels for their most popular (and overworked) franchises. Mario Kart 8, another Mario game and Smash brothers were the highlights I felt. Bayonetta 2 looked great and wacky as expected, but it simply didn’t have enough wow me about Nintendo’s showing. We can all see that the Wii U is in trouble and sure a few of those titles will no doubt help ship a few more. But there simply just weren’t the surprises we we’re hoping for, something along the lines of a new Metroid title really would have helped. I’m worried about the Wii U and as an owner of one (silly me), Nintendo really haven’t added to my already low confidence about them in general.
Let me quickly mention the third party showing. Last E3 seemed to be publishers simply bringing out sequels. E3 2013 however seemed to show publishers going forward into next gen with new IP’s such as TitanFall, Destiny, Mad Max and The Division. It was great to see as I feel just “over” a lot of the franchises with their yearly sequels. Also got to shout the pretty strong Indie developer showing also.
