The big players in the Electronic Entertainment Expo, otherwise known as E3 2014, played it safe, offering tried-and-true gameplay experiences, with little room for innovation.
As usual, Sony and Microsoft made headlines with their big-budget events, but very little was shown beyond teasers and CGI trailers. Nintendo took the road less-traveled by foregoing the big-budget press conference in favor of an online-only stream of their Nintendo Direct press event, followed by a live stream of their Nintendo Treehouse showcase via Twitch TV.
As the companies fought it out for console supremacy, gamers everywhere benefited from their desire to catch attention and deliver the most profound experiences in gaming.
Microsoft, after receiving criticism from E3 2013, came in with a new vision for the Xbox One. After removing Kinect and increasing their focus on games, Xbox Division head Phil Spencer appeared confident and drove the momentum onward until the end of the conference.
In a one-two combo, Microsoft revealed possible system sellers in the form two promising games. The first game, developed by Insomniac Games, is Sunset Overdrive. This colorful and unique take on a monster apocalypse, where people were mutated after drinking a new brand of soda, was the highlight of Microsoft’s conference. The game boasts high-speed, free-motion gameplay, which requires players to utilize the surrounding environment in order to stay alive and attack enemies. Next, Microsoft revealed the definitive edition of its biggest franchise.
The people at 343 Industries revealed the biggest collection of Halo games to date. In Halo: The Master Chief Collection, players will be able to play Halo: Combat Evolved-Halo 4, updated with the new tech behind the Xbox One. This includes custom playlists spanning each game, and online gameplay that will include every map in the series to date. Microsoft had a greater focus on what consumers want, while its main competition, Sony, struggled with keeping up momentum.
Sony and Microsoft are increasingly becoming so similar in what they offer that Sony’s conference proved to be somewhat lackluster.
“I love the PlayStation 4, but this year did nothing to excite me about it,” Chris Mendoza, a Cal State Long Beach senior design student said.
Sony’s focus on indie titles has helped bring in games during dry spells, but consumers are itching for more. Many of the games announced for the PS4 were slated for release in mid-2015, which means there is very little reason to make the jump and purchase the console as it is. The same can’t be said of Nintendo’s showing at E3.
Nintendo opened its conference with the long-awaited new entry in the Super Smash Bros. series. Masashiro Sakurai, the game’s creator, revealed a few more characters in the game’s expanding list of mascots. First, customizable Mii characters will be made available in the final game. The goddess from the Kid Icarus games, Lady Palutena, will also show up for battle, and the long-rumored entry of Pac-Man was finally announced and shown with a retro fighting style well-suited for Smash Bros. frantic gameplay.
Nintendo also revealed a look at the next entry in The Legend of Zelda series. The video shown displayed a world full of detail, and provided a stunning look into what gamers can experience when the game releases. The series producer, Eiji Aonuma, discussed his goal to create a constant, open-world game that facilitates adventure and discovery.
“Due to previous limitations in hardware, we could not create a constant open-world game, but now, we have the means to create a Zelda game more similar to its origins,” Aonuma said at the Nintendo Direct Press Conference.
Nintendo ended things on a fun note with its Super Smash Bros. invitational, hosting a tournament between the top 16 Smash Bros. players. With guest appearances from the creator himself, Masahiro Sakurai, as well as president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo showed the industry that they may be down, but they’re not out. Nintendo still has plenty of fun franchises only available on the Wii U.