What Microsoft Got Right
Microsoft's E3 2014 Press Conference made a lot of buzz with its focal point being new games that are coming soon to the Xbox One platform. Microsoft showed off plenty of third-party releases that will be arriving for Xbox One soon including Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Evolve and Dragon Age: Inquisition. Even more important for the future of the Xbox One was the reveal of many new exclusives coming to Xbox One including Crackdown for Xbox One, Sunset Overdrive, Fable Legends and Project Spark. Perhaps the biggest exclusive announced at the show would be Forza Horizon 2, following the success of Forza Motorsport at the launch of Xbox One.
It wouldn't be a Microsoft press conference without some sort of reveal for the Halo franchise, and E3 2014 had likely the biggest announcement for the series ever. Halo 5 is currently in development exclusively for Xbox One. Fans of the series will gain access to the multiplayer beta for the game by picking up a copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection for Xbox One. The newly announced collection includes the games Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, a fully remastered Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3 and Halo 4 as well as the Ridley Scott directed Halo: Nightfall digital series. Despite having one of it's biggest announcements of the show being the return of a 10 year old game in Halo 2, Microsoft has definitely managed to excite fans for the future of Xbox One.
What Microsoft Got Wrong
One other major announcement for Microsoft at E3 2014 was the reveal of a new platform option for Xbox One that costs only $399 and removes Kinect included in box. This is good news for fans that haven't yet adopted the system and aren't interested in the peripheral, but Xbox One is currently the second best-selling video game system of all-time at this point in its lifetime, and the new price model announcement, along with several policy reversals, has left Day One adopters feeling a bit confused about how Microsoft is handling their new video game platform. The E3 2014 Microsoft Press Conference further compounded problems by not reassuring fans that Kinect would be a huge part of Xbox One's success in the future, and the only real announcement beyond the games was the upcoming launch of an Xbox Feedback Site. At least this gives fans a place to voice their concerns for the future of Xbox One directly to Microsoft.
What Sony Got Right
Sony completely nailed its E3 2014 Press Conference by offering fans plenty of great new game options as well as some new features a capabilities coming soon to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. Several big name games were on display for PlayStaiton 4 at the show that includes LittleBigPlanet 3, The Last of Us Remastered, Bloodborne and more. Probably the biggest announcement for Sony's show though was the reveal trailer for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. The series is one of the most beloved in all of the gaming industry, so confirmation of the new Naughty Dog title will no doubt be one of the biggest announcements of the entire E3 2014 event.
Another reason Sony continues to steal a great portion of the spotlight at E3 during the past few events is its increased support of indie games on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. That trend continued at E3 2014 with the announcement of several new titles such as Entwined and N++ as well as new footage from Rogue Legacy and Don't Starve. The biggest news for indie games on PlayStation platforms had to be the reveal of the Grim Fandango remake coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The game has been a fan favorite from Double Fine and Tim Schaffer for many years, and fans will be able to play one of the most requested remakes in recent years on PlayStation platforms in the near future.
What did Sony get wrong during their E3 2014 show? Nothing really. After showing off plenty of new games coming to the brand in the next couple of years. Sony continued their press conference by showing off a white PlayStation 4 model that will be bundled with Destiny at the game's launch later this year, and it was announced the beta for Destiny will begin first on PlayStation on July 17, 2014, while the full game and bundle will be available on September 9, 2014. Sony continued to impress with new details on the $99 PlayStation TV that will allow gamers to stream content from their PlayStation video game systems including games, television and music to other televisions in their home with ease. After all of these announcements, PlayStation fans definitely have reasons to be excited about the future of their brand as well.
Best of the Rest
There were tons of other surprises for fans during the first day of E3 2014 that didn't necessarily come out of the Microsoft and Sony press conferences. EA Sports showed off new content from upcoming titles including the first ever gameplay from Madden NFL 15, NHL 15 and EA Sports PGA Tour 15. Ubisoft showed off some stunning new content for the main antagonist featured in Far Cry 4 as well as new footage from The Division, Assassin's Creed Unity and other upcoming titles. Indie gamers got first looks at plenty of upcoming titles that includes Hotline Miami 2 and its newly announced level editor. Konami possibly stole the day though with a very intense cinematic trailer for the highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. As if fans needed any more reasons to be excited for the upcoming game's release, Konami and the Kojima team dropped a visually stunning and emotionally gut-wrenching trailer that really touches home for soldiers and the hazards of war. E3 2014 has not disappointed so far, and we can't wait to see what surprises are left for the show as we move through the week! Look for exclusive hands-on previews, news and other content over the next week on the BioGamer Girl website.
For more information on the event, check out the official E3 website.