E3 2013.
Holy mackerel, you are frustrating.
This is quite possibly the most intense, most dramatic, and most cutthroat E3 we have seen in quite some time. While usually companies shy away from each other and focus more on why their machine is the best, this time Microsoft and Sony’s conferences were directly linked and jabs were most definitely exchanged---with far more coming from the Sony. Now the gaming world has become more cluttered and more confusing because we have one machine with a good-looking lineup but an ishload of issues, and on the other hand you have a machine that has none of the restrictions but----still a little more lacking on the games. Then there is Nintendo, being avoided once again, but somehow still being exactly where they want to be----except wishing for more sales.
The Microsoft conference perfectly resembled its status as a gaming giant---broken, inconsistent, not much noise, and with a sour taste in the background. It had a good lineup of sequel—er, games, and had a few new interesting IPs as well as some nice surprises (Killer Instinct). But…but…..we still can’t forget all the nonsense this company is throwing at gamers, all the insane restrictions that will be on the system. Lastly, how on earth can one get over the price tag? $500 for a system with DRM, required online, and no backwards-compatibility? Please. And one can only wonder if the Xbox Live, which is $60 to start, will be required to do the online connection. You might wind up spending up to $700 from the start for a two-controller Xbox One with one launch title.
But Sony had remained hum about the entire used-game and DRM material as well, leading to speculation and fears. But Sony, who most likely won the show by the way, delivered such a heavy sigh of relief people don’t realize (or don’t care) that you now have to pay for online gaming, something that was going to be expected inevitably. Oh, and it is not backwards-compatible. But that bad news easily doesn’t hold a handle to the potential issues of Xbox One. PS4 will play used games, will not require an internet connection, and is going with the very reasonably priced $400 price tag to even combat the WiiU’s heavier $350 price tag.
While the line-up wasn’t as pretty as Xbox One’s lineup, do remember they did announce a few games during their exclusive conference weeks earlier. Besides, Kingdom Hearts 3 (which should be the biggest game of all-time) definitely made up for the smaller list of software. And the other besides, most of Sony’s exclusive developers are still churning out games for the PS3. That being said, more and more of Sony’s announcements are gearing towards games that are actually also coming out for the Xbox One.
In terms of Day One, it totally belonged to Sony. Sony knew the right price, knew when to deliver the bad news, and didn’t dwell into stupid territory unlike what has happened to Microsoft. They knew how to connect with their audience with their consumers, and were able to satisfy their simple needs: games, nice price, and no stupidity. Microsoft even had the audacity to transform Killer Instinct into a game with cell phone game-like qualities—forcing you to pay for the characters. So even if the lineup of games are seemingly shared with the competition---for $100 less you can get a system with the same games sans the first-person shooters the Xbox systems are known for. It was now all up to Nintendo to attempt to steal some of the fire.
Except Nintendo, much like Microsoft’s sequels entourage and Sony’s PS4 future policies played it safe----extremely, extremely safe. Nintendo’s lack of risks can probably be attributed to the recent slow starts of the unique systems of the 3DS and the WiiU. Nonetheless, their presentation suffered immensely because of the franchises playing it far too safe and close to the punch. Retro Studios’ ultra-secret project was nothing more than a sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns. The cryptic messages of Retro turned out to be a game so safe it was unexpected. We were dreaming of potentially a Retro Studios Metroid, Star Fox, F-Zero, maybe even Zelda. As of now, as of this typing, the DKC game is all we got. Something has to be brewing; otherwise, it would have been the most anti-climactic gaming thing since Halo 2. But do remember that the last Smash Brothers was revealed the day AFTER the original Nintendo conference all those E3s ago.
The new Mario 3D game was too safe, the 3DS sequels to SNES classics are too safe, the Pokemon games were way too safe, the entire damn conference was too safe. Even the background to the presentation was safe—as the lifeless presentation slowly revealed title after title. The only reason why the safeness isn’t that big an issue is because Nintendo still churns out the best first-party titles, even if Sony has barged in a little in that debate. Pokemon is still the best RPG series out there, Mario and Donkey Kong own the platform genre, Mario Kart owns the racing genre (good-looking eighth installment by the way), and lastly---there’s Smash Brothers.---which has sold 24 million copies within just 3 games. Nintendo knows this, and they need to save the WiiU. So it makes sense. However, no surprises. No price cut, no Ambassador Program like in the 3DS, no returning IPs, nothing.
Except Mega Man on Smash Brothers 4. That was a pleasant, pleasant surprise. A few more of these and they could have won the conference.
All in all, the conference was a budding realm of controversy, jabs, and surprises. In the poker game of the gaming industry, Nintendo is the one that folds on a hand of two pairs, Sony is the one that doesn’t take advantage of its royal flush, and Microsoft is the one that raises the pot while holding a pair of clubs. There might be a few new surprises and revelations within the next couple days after the publishing of this article, but for now there is no clear winner, we just have a clear loser:
Us gamers, whom are still probably just as confused as to where to spend the money this holiday season.
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