Ben-DutkaI mean, it wasn't even close, was it?
People can blather all they want about how E3 isn't a competition when in fact, that's exactly what it is from a marketing standpoint. This "I say nobody wins because I'm all grown up!" sentiment is just dumb.
Oh, someone wins all right. Every year, one company tends to separate itself from the crowd and shine particularly brightly during E3. There are some years when it's too close to call, and others where it's just plain boring. But this year, there's really no doubt about it:
Sony beat the sh** out of the competition.
Hey, I'm all for Rise of the Tomb Raider and games like that. And Sony still needs to consider a price drop for the holiday season because there still aren't any huge AAA exclusives scheduled for the end of 2015. That remains a problem. However, speaking of exclusives, I'm pretty sure Sony blew everyone away with their PlayStation 4 games.
Guerrilla's new IP, Horizon: Zero Dawn , looks absolutely stunning and it's a huge coup for PlayStation. This isn't another Killzone ; it's an exclusive new IP that could be head-and-shoulders above anything else available when it arrives. And you knew Media Molecule was working on something amazing (because they always are) and again, it's a new IP (no LittleBigPlanet ).
Yes, that astounding Final Fantasy VII Remake is only a timed exclusive but then again, so is Rise of the Tomb Raider . And guess which one is about seven gajillion times bigger? Then there's the Shenmue III announcement , which subsequently crashed Kickstarter. Hell, this and FFVII alone basically means Sony wins hands-down. But even beyond that, there's the awesome Uncharted 4: A Thief's End , the DLC exclusive reversal in favor of PlayStation for Call of Duty: Black Ops III , and more PS4-exclusive content for Assassin's Creed Syndicate . Oh, and what's that I hear? The Last Guardian ?
We didn't even see Gran Turismo 7 , which we know is coming, and the new God of War , which we all assume is coming. Quantic Dream is still plugging away, too. I think that anybody who watched E3 had to conclude that PS4 is the system to own in the future, which is precisely what Sony – and all other manufacturers – try to do at every trade show.
Damn good job, PlayStation.
I couldn't agree more!
Although, kudos to the Xbox team for bringing in a slightly sought out feature which is backwards compatibility … which doesn't really mean anything if you already own a 360, ROFL.
which… (probably) is true for more than 75% of the previous gaming population…
so, not so much of a sought out feature, I guess… >_>
And one of the ugliest type of backwards compatibility ever, even if you have the disc you have to download the game on your XboxOne (if it qualifies in a limited list) and put the disc every time you want to play it, still it's good to have the option, but MS fans (like AngryJoe) hyped that like if made MS conference the best and a big blow to Sony lol
Last edited by Oxvial on 6/17/2015 11:38:53 PM
Not sure why you're trying to bash a feature us Playstation fans would gladly accept if it was offered. Sure you have to download the game but it's better than what the PS4 offers which is ZERO backwards compatibility.
Alien bro I already said it's good to have it, just that it's not a deal breaker like some people hyped, imo if Sony did the same thing I would still keep my PS3 (like I'm doing) also that backwards looks like it doesn't include the dlc's, but Ms probably gonna fix that in the future or just forgot to do mention of it.
Last edited by Oxvial on 6/18/2015 12:01:38 AM
Alien bro… hahaha.
"Alien bro"… all this time, I thought LV's avatar was some kind of helmet.
You're bashing it, that's very clear. If the roles were reversed and it was Sony I wouldn't doubt you would be using it as an example for why Sony won E3. I'm just calling a spade a spade.
No need for the "Alien bro", I've earned a certain level of respect around here.
Last edited by LimitedVertigo on 6/18/2015 1:23:33 AM
Dude we have been interacting with each other here for a long time, I wasn't trying to be disrespectful with you xD, but well sorry if you feel like that.
But you are wrong if I was that kind of extreme fan like you imply I wouldn't be bashing The Order (A PS4 exclusive) in this place, something that happened a lot.
I mean there is some benefit and the downloading and still needing the disk makes sense for a big reason prevents people from buying a game then selling it right back after.
I figured Sony would do this but with streaming instead of downloading so really annoyed when PlayStation Now had only payed options.
PlayStation Now as been a total disappointment.
Sony did an absolutely great job, however, i think bethesda owned this years E3. it's really close though. also, props to microsoft on backwards compatibility, i will give them that.
Last edited by coldbore on 6/17/2015 11:05:47 PM
Yeah I agree Sony won it,especially with Horizon but everyone else did surprisingly bad.Microsoft didn't really show any new (important) games and while Nintendo did announce a new Star Fox they also showed 273 games with Mario.It was a great E3 overall.
Yeah no doubt about it, they steal the show with fresh new IP Horizon and make people go crazy with FF7 remake announcement.
Bethesda also did a great job with Fallout 4 and Doom. Can't wait for Fallout 4 this November tho…
I'd say it was a tie with Bethesda, unless you aren't including non-console conferences. Sony's had the most OMG HOLY SHIT factor, but Bethesda gave more details for something awesome to actually be excited about soon.
Another E3, another E3 without Agent and Resident Evil Vita.
I too thought Agent would be the big reveal, but they had The Last Guardian instead. Oh well, there's still Gamescom…or next year.
Microsoft won the hardware battle (backwards compatibility, new controllers, hololens demo for innovation), but Sony won the software battle (self-explanatory) in my opinion.
They cancelled the batman arkham knight bat mobile edition!
Quality issues I guess…
It was a very impressive showing, one of the best E3 in years. Before this years E3 i was criticizing the event for it's previous disappointing showings and didn't think this year would be any different. I was obviously very wrong and i am happily eating some crow as i type this. 😉
Everyone is talking about the FF7 remake and rightly so, this is a very big deal and the amount of reaction videos showing grown men crying over it's announcement gives you an idea just how big of a deal it is. I've never been a fan of RPG's myself so personally FF7 remake does nothing for me but i am glad those that wished for it to happen have finally had their prayers answered.
The biggest surprise for me though was Shenmue III. This announcement alone sealed the result for me. I thought this series was dead set buried, i was wrong and i couldn't be happier.
Shenmue III, FF7 remake and The Last Guardian in one showing? That isn't just a victory, that is a slaughter. Let's not forget the trailers to MGSV and Uncharted 4 either, they were incredible but buried under the FF7 and Shenmue III news. I will also throw in SFV character reveals too because I am a fan of the series and loving the art style they're bringing to SFV, looks ace.
Last edited by Kevin555 on 6/18/2015 2:07:23 AM
I'm so glad I grew up with the PlayStation brand!
Yes, it really did. I mean there was no competition really. Microsoft's main cards were Rise of the Tomb Raider – Which was very decent yes. Then Cuphead – An indie game which really breaks the boundaries of animation, it look beautiful.
But Final Fantasy VII REMAKE… blimey… Even seeing the lifestream, I still didn't feel it, I thought it would be the PC port… then a it went on "Hmmm, new CGI… is it a movie?" I was in denial until I saw REMAKE… then I simply gasped. Nothing prior came even close to that then…
SHENMUE !!! Simply unbelievable! The swansong of the Dreamcast finally emerging from it's casket. 14 years of hopelessness washed away within an instant! I've already backed this up on kickstarter and if they offer a Physical PS4 version i'll offer even more!
Them to announcements alone equal to a flawless victory but with Horizon: Zero Dawn & The Last Guardian too… Just simply an overload. This E3 all my gaming dreams have come true. I genuinely couldn't ask for more with the addition of The Phantom Pain, Fallout 4 & NieR 2.
The rest of the gaming media seem to agree with you too, Ben.
But I agree with draguss and coldbore further up. Bethesda totally kickstarted the E3 with not only a lot of info but so much *wanted* info.
In my book there's two winners this E3: Bethesda and Sony.
Last edited by Beamboom on 6/18/2015 4:26:21 AM
I'm not sure Sony did win E3, there wasn't anything too ground breaking, if anything they could be accused of resting on their next gen sales.
I'm not an Xbox player, never owned one though have played a few. There been times in the past where I have been more than unfair towards Microsoft and the way they entered the market, especially with the launch of the xbone.
But imo backward compatibility is a system seller. Everyone I know that has an xbone still play their 360s way more, in some cases the xbone is laid to rest while they get some better games (my friends words not mine) … Yet everyone I know who has a ps4 has pretty much ditched the ps3.
I believe this echoes throughout the world, and Microsoft knows that to push forward ahead of Sony in sales they have to pull something out of the bag, and this is it. If people out there think this isn't a big deal then I personally think they are gravely mistaken.
I'm not sure at what point Sony are with the whole backward titles on the cloud that they announced, I know here in the UK there's been no talk of it, but I'm sure with MS pushing this that Sony will hopefully react.
Thing is that I own thousands of purchases on the ps3s psn, so many full titles… If Sony thinks that they can charge me for buying these games again for use over the cloud then they are wrong because I won't. MS im afraid have done the right thing, I can't see how people even begin to think that this is a minor subject because in my eyes it's a huge announcement that will have Sony rethinking their strategy.
PS Now has been up and running for a while now.
In the UK?
No idea. I have no interest in it, personally. Any games I already own, I'll just play on PS3.
I also think that everyone who wants FFIIV and Shenmue 3 have been saying this for so many years that it's just instinct to be over excited about those two, I'm not sure they will stand the test of time unless they are heavily reworked, don't get me wrong.. I'm one of those who really do want these two games but I'm an old gamer, been here since the birth of video games and imo it's just pure rose tinted dreams of a long lost love.
E3 is just a presidential/prime minister campaign for games; it doesn't matter what you end up doing, only what you say you're going to do. In that regard, Sony did quite well.
Nope bethesda owned this years E3 not sony
1. Bethesda
2. Sony
3. MS
Then the rest with EA and Ubisoft being last and next to last
Sony did not win E3. What did they announce that isn't either coming to other consoles or coming out next year. No release date for FFVII so expect that sometime in the next 10yrs. Practically the same last gen Last Guardian footage we seen way back at E3 years ago. And that other game that's getting funded by Kickstarter for the most part. Who knows when we'll see Guerilla games new IP though I admit it looked great. And Uncharted 4 is Uncharted, we already knew about it and we won't get it until next year.
So who won, then?
I don't have an outright winner as the games I was most interested in where by three different dev's i.e SquareEnix (Deus Ex), EA (Mirrors Edge) and Bethesda (Fallout 4). I didn't catch Nintendo or MS at the show but I believe all of the big three did well. I just wasn't blown away with Sony's show.
I don't agree that you can't find it within yourself to "officiate" (if you will) the match ups just because they didn't present what you were looking for personally. Both in announcements and in presentation, Sony was the clear cut winner this year.
You yourself admitted they managed to pull off an incredible show while not announcing anything first party to release in the 2015 calendar year…
frostface is never happy with anything. I still remember my brother saying that any time he mentioned a game when playing with him, frosty just says he doesn't like it.
Apparently, he likes nothing at all. Maybe find a new hobby.
So because I don't agree with you Ben, I don't like gaming? Because the highlights of this E3 had nothing to do with Sony, I don't like gaming? Because I said I liked Mirrors Edge, Deus Ex and Fallout 4,I don't like gaming. Because I have an opinion and you don't like that, I don't like gaming? Yeh, I see you're right.
O…M…G. It has nothing to do with me!
Jesus Christ. I was just saying that in general, you don't seem to like ANYTHING. That is an observation and I'm hardly the only one to make it.
I'm surprised to be saying this, but I think Square-Enix and Sony won E3. It's refreshing to see them at least trying to go back to their JRPG roots. Not saying they'll succeed in making games people desire but I'm not the type of person that dismisses something before I see it and play it for myself.
People bash Square a lot, myself more then most, so I think it's only fair to give them credit for attempting to deliver products people ask for.
Last edited by Evil Incarnate on 6/18/2015 9:41:13 AM
Im a huge ICO fan, back in the glory days of the forum we would have many discussions on ICO and SOTC, and when the last Guardian was announced I remember how many of us were so excited… Roll on many years of no further announcements later plus a whole new gen, and the first showing we see was exactly what we saw for the PS3, I mean seriously!?!
Again devs are pressured into showing footage of incomplete work, I'm happy to wait for a game even if it's this long… But no one should really count the Last Guardian footage as something new.
The games that won E3 2015 for me where … Fallout 4, Deus Ex and Mirrors Edge. All multiplatform and not shown on Sony's stage.
Oh man, Guerillas new IP sure looked fantastic.
Some of those games you listed have the same qualities you just complained about in a post about Sony's show a little further up…
Absolutely Beam but we'll probably see it again on the shop floor at E3 next year too.
Underdog you're right. With the exception of Fallout 4 releasing this year, both Mirrors Edge and Deus Ex are next year. I did indeed mention games coming out next year as a negative re: Sony's show.
The difference though that you're not picking up on is that Sony had maybe three new AAA IP (admittedly they where from impressive and talented teams i.e. Naughty Dog, Guerrilla and Media Molecule) with none of them with a release date announcement, so we may get them again at next years E3. Uncharted 4 looks amazing but we already knew about it so that leaves two surprises that Sony can fully take credit for.
FFVII (You might get to play it in 10yrs and it's not a direct remake of the original, combat has been confirmed to be getting changed out by the games director), Last Guardian (looking no different than it's first showing years ago) and Shenmue (Kickstarter, not even in development yet), big announcements in that they're coming…eventually but heavens knows when. Also with the exception of Last Guardian, they'll be on other platforms too. Sony used smoke and mirrors to appear to have the better showing this year but really they just did a fantastic job of showing that they have a quite dry 2015 line up. At least in games that can only be played on their console.
Fallout 4 – Another Fallout game.
Anyways, I didn't miss anything. I just never went into this expecting anything to release this year to begin with. (If anyone did, then they were naive. The fact that FO4 releases this year is considered a big deal, is it not? It's certainly not normal to hear that in an industry where delays are basically guarantees.) Just wanted to hear about new stuff we've not heard about before.
I was not disappointed.
Now, you can say there's no outright winner, if you want. But I enjoy a little competition, and there's nothing even close to a 'tit-for-tat' to indicate this was a tie between the big three. And if you have to pick a winner of the three, it's clearly Sony for bringing up the most new and the most interesting content… whether it comes out this year or not.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 6/18/2015 2:30:01 PM
I'm not sure why it's so important to declare a 'winner' at all.
If I had to declare a winner it would be Jeff Gerstmann from Giant Bomb for finally asking a publisher "What is it going to take for you guys to stop shipping broken games", and the loser would be the MS spokepeople who reacted with stunned silence and a look like Gerstmann just slapped their moms and peed on their dogs.
Bio, it's not important in terms of how you or I feel about it. But when huge numbers of people and news sites are going to talk "winner", as they do, you bet your bottom dollar it's important.
Why is it important? Or, I guess a better question is why is it always important? Obviously Sony mopping the floor with MS at E3 in 2013 probably had something to do with the PS4's current sales lead, but that's just an assumption most of us make.
For the most part, there aren't any long term consequences to these conferences, outside of giving us stuff to rank, and argue about, IMO. Sony promised some super cool shit on stage this year, but there's no guarantee any of that stuff comes out any time soon, most of it will be on multiple platforms, and one of them might end up not getting made at all (as much as I want Shenmue III, it hitting a 2 million dollar goal on Kickstarter is no guarantee of anything, especially when the first game cost 70 million to make, in 1999 money).
It can shift public perception to a degree, but usually only for a little while, except in rare cases, almost all of which occur around console releases.
Most of the time, the difference is small because they're usually pretty even. But this time, most sources and most people have the overwhelming opinion, whether right or wrong, that Sony owned the show and has way more to offer and holycrapmanff7-ism.
It doesn't matter if you can form an argument to support the other two systems if the word on the street is that Sony is the runaway winner by far. If the gaming news industry is proclaiming that, it will make a difference. And if it makes a difference in popular opinion, it matters.
Perception is more powerful than the whole truth.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 6/19/2015 2:31:06 PM
I agree that perception often has more impact than the truth. My point is that E3 almost never causes changes in perception, and on the rare occasions when it does, it doesn't last long.
For the most part, people who only buy Playstations will keep buying only Playstations, people who only buy Xbox will keep only buying Xbox, people who only buy Nintendo will keep being weird alien people who probably have 3 buttholes or something.
People who buy all three won't be affected. People who want to have Gabe Newell's baby will just continue to pine for him and hope that one day he calls me…err I mean them. The people who want to have his babies. Not me. I certainly don't have a life size poster of Gaben on my bedroom wall.