E3 2017 Report

So while I was taking a break, E3 was upon us and as usual, I'm going to give you guys my thoughts about all the press conferences, announcements and so forth. Before you ask, no I wasn't at E3 itself again (though I wished I was). But anyway, let's see what we can expect from people for the rest of this year and next year:

And just to clarify that I'm not including Devolver Digital's conference as that was nothing more than just a sketch as well as Intel as they fall under PC Gaming Show. Won't be posting videos this time, but go on to YouTube if you want to see everything in action

EA

In following what they did last year, EA hosted a separate event from E3, but very close to it. Some new DLC for Battlefield 1 was announced (and yes I still think that's a terrible name) as well as a look at Need for Speed: Payback and Star Wars Battlefront II which both look interesting. Then as with every year, we get a peak at the new EA Sports games which of course will all have 18 attached to the name and as always, they make a big deal out of it which ends with a lot of cringe worthy moments so yeah not going to bother with buying those games unfortunately. A new IP as part of the EA Originals series (not a sort of place indie developers would go unless they want their games to be ruined with DLC and pre-order bonuses) called A Way Out was announced which brings back the classic co-op split screen game mechanic and its all about two men finding a way out of some prison and it looks very good. They then talk about how they will shape the future of gaming and this is coming from one of the worst companies to work for so I'll let that sink in. BioWare announce a new game called Anthem and I hope they learn their lesson from how Mass Effect Andromeda played out. All these games and stuff are expected to be released over the course of this year and next year. So its basically your typical EA nonsense with them making a big deal out of their sports games and their services and only spending a short amount of time on games we care about. Maybe they will be better next year, but we shall see. But so much cringe was in it that it just was unbelievable.

Microsoft

As usual, the people at this conference act like they are robots showing no enthusiasm whatsoever. Although some try to show it anyway. But let's talk about what they showed off. Xbox One X was introduced as a high end Xbox One console with 4K technology which looks nice, but the name could do with some work. 42 games in total were covered with a look at Sea of Thieves, Assassin's Creed Origins, Forza Motorsport 7 and others. And Minecraft is getting a major upgrade in the form of 4K graphics and other things. So plenty to look forward to, but as usual, the conference could do with some work. All games, consoles and services shown are expected to come out or get updated later this year or next year.

Bethesda

So Bethesda had another press conference and had a bit of a theme going in the form of an amusement park where all the announcements were called either improvements or new additions to said park. They have been working hard on new VR experiences and announced Fallout 4 VR and Doom VFR, both coming out for PS VR and Vive. They also announced new content for Elder Scrolls Legends, Elder Scrolls Online and Dishonoured which all look very nice and interesting. Sequels to The Evil Within and Wolfienstien were announced and they then confirmed that Skyrim for the Nintendo Switch will support amiibo such as the Breath of the Wild ones that give the player character the master sword and costumes. A new service was introduced called Creation Club whereby developers can create mods for Bethesda's games that players can access for a fee on PC, PS4 and Xbox One with Fallout 4 and Skyrim being the first games to be part of this club. All ending with them saying that all of these will be released this year (whether they will actually stick to that goal is another matter entirely). So its a pretty good press conference that isn't too much people standing and talking and is kind of like Nintendo Direct in that its both informative and fun which I like.

PC Gaming Show

So as a little change of pace, the PC Gaming Show this year is being provided by Intel who in my opinion, are superior to AMD, but there you go. So once again, the show is hosted by eSports commentator Sean Plott and we get a look at a number of games, most of which only true hardcore PC gamers would know. Among the games shown, we get a look at XCOM 2, Sea of Thieves, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War and many others. Intel also gave us a look at some hardware which may tempt us into upgrading our PCs. But anyway, lots of games to look forward to, the majority of which is expected to be released later this year and next year.

Ubisoft

So along with the reveal of their new logo, Ubisoft have an action packed year of games for us to look forward to. As always, their press conference was as entertaining if not a bit cheesy at times as it can get (they finally chose not to have that presenter from previous years which is nice) and things kick off with the Rabbids entering the world of Super Mario in Nintendo's latest crossover which looks to be as insane as it can get. This was then followed by Assassin's Creed Origins, the newest game in the long running and beloved franchise and would be set before the very first game. Followed by trailers, demonstrations and gameplay demos of Ubisoft's other upcoming games like The Crew 2, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Transference and Skull & Bones (some kind of spiritual successor to Black Flag). Just Dance 2018 comes next and as usual, its accompanied with a music act, though less cheesy than before which is nice. South Park quickly comes back as we get a look at a mobile game which looks to be a turn based RPG which I think would suit it well. Many other games come about too and most of them seem to have Betas that people can access which is nice. All games are expected to come out later this year and next year.

Sony

Sony these days, tend to be very dramatic with their press conferences which isn't a bad thing. In fact it makes their press conferences that more epic, fun and entertaining while informative too. Things kick off with trailers for Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and DLC for Horizon Zero Dawn which both look interesting. This was then followed by a gameplay demo of Days Gone which was also shown at last year's E3 and looks very interesting though somewhat similar to The Last of Us in some way. Then followed by a reminder of the games that came out between last E3 and now before moving to the next Monster Hunter game coming to PS4 (as well as Xbox One and PC). Of course, we get some more looks into the next PS4 remake with Shadow of the Colossus. Followed by a look at Marvel VS Capcom Infinite and the next CoD game, shortly followed by a sweep of VR games which all look very interesting. Then the next God of War game shows up along with some other games too. So its largely just showing off games coming out soon which in some way is good. Shows that some companies are listening rather than not listen at all when it comes to E3. All games are expected to be released this year and next year.

Nintendo

As with the last few years, Nintendo went with a streamed pre-recorded video rather than a press conference along with a Treehouse event following after and we get to see what's coming to the Switch and the 3DS. Yoshi and Kirby are coming to the Switch as is a brand new Metroid Prime game. Along with footage of the new entries in the Fire Emblem, Xenoblade and Super Mario franchises. Plus, remakes of games from the Metroid and Super Mario franchises are on the way to 3DS. So again, lots to look forward to and all games, amiibo and DLC are expected to come out later this year and next year.

Everyone Else

So along with what I mentioned already, Devolver Digital did a sketch mocking the gaming industry and Intel did their own press conference on hardware they will be releasing soon. LEGO Dimensions is getting Beetlejuice, Powerpuff Girls and Teen Titans Go! packs which are releasing in September this year. Kingdom Hearts III gets another trailer where we see more of the Hercules world (which may or may not still be called Olympus Coliseum) and our first look at Maleficent, Pete and Hades (still no release date though). Two Sonic games are also on the way with one being a homage to the Megadrive era and the other being the next core game in the franchise and both are looking great. Plus lots of other games and things to look forward to. All games (well maybe except Kingdom Hearts III and others but we'll see) are expected to be released this year and next year.

Overall, its been a pretty decent E3. Improvements still need to be made, but I'm happy to say that there is at least one thing I'm looking forward to in all the videos I have watched which doesn't happen often, but there you go. Here's to another year of gaming and let's hope the games live up to our expectations. Game on!