How was that for an E3? After a lackluster event last year, things sure did take a massive upswing this year with Sony and Microsoft bringing out the big guns for their new consoles. And it wasn’t just new shiny black boxes that stole the show. Developers brought their full support with a host of shiny new next-gen offerings. So let’s take a look at who the big winners and losers were from E3 2013.

WINNERS

*Sony

To say Sony won E3 is an understatement. They knew what they had to do to get people talking about the Playstation 4 and they did it. Show off the console. Check. Bring a quality lineup of games including a number of wonderful looking indie titles. Check. Punch Microsoft directly in the mouth when it comes to used games and online restrictions. Check. Absolutely floor everyone, me included, with an insane price point ($399). Check. Mission accomplished Sony. You have my pre-order.

*CD Projeckt Red

The Witcher 3 had already been revealed a few months back, but when you actually see the game in motion and realize that this is just the first generation of next-gen games, it truly excites to know what is coming. Plus, you know Geralt will probably totally bang one of those mermaids.

*EA

Talk about a surprise. I knew EA would be bringing their EA Sports lineup and a new Need For Speed to the table, but then they announced two of my most anticipated dream games ever I knew this was a different EA. A new Mirror’s Edge is coming to next-gen and even though it will not be a true sequel, but a reboot of sorts that gives Faith’s back story, I could not be more excited. Wait…now I am more excited because EA also hit us with the news that DICE is hard at work on a new Star Wars: Battlefront. Nicely done EA.

*Bungie

Bungie showed off the first gameplay for Destiny and showed just how ambitious this project is and how they how trying to blur the lines between single and multiplayer gaming.

*Crytek

Say what you will about quick-time events in games, I easily overlooked the abundance of them when I watched the Ryse: Son of Rome demo. That game caught my attention in the best way. Maybe it is the sheen of next-gen or just the fact that I would like a game to fulfill my bloodlust now that Spartacus is done, but either way, me likee.

*Ubisoft

Yes they have another Assassin’s Creed this year. And yes it looks beautiful. Here is hoping that the pirate setting can freshen things up. Ubisoft is on the win list because of Watch Dogs…for the second E3 in a row. The new demo gets me excited for a new IP from Ubisoft. Kind of like when the first Assassin’s Creed was released. Enjoy it now, because we will be complaining about Watch Dogs V in 2018.

LOSERS

*Microsoft

This is not an indictment on the quality of the games Microsoft showed off at E3. They did a great job with the titles that were shown and there are some that I would genuinely consider purchasing an Xbox One for. This is for Microsoft’s complete lack of tact in the way they have handled the blow back from the perceived “problems” of the Xbox One. From Don Mattrick’s completely asinine statement about buying an Xbox 360 if you have no internet to the incomplete list of countries that can “enjoy” Xbox Live on Xbox One come launch, it was one stumble after another on the PR end. It was a weird week for Microsoft. So weird in fact, that I am not sure if it was a solid showing for a new system or a complete clusterfu** that gave control back to Sony.

*Nintendo

This was the second E3 Nintendo needed a home run and it is the second time in a row they fell short. Last year they failed to sell people on needing a Wii U and this year they did the same thing. You would think that with what was delivered people would be clamoring for their own Gamepad and system. Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D World, a new Donkey Kong game from Retro and yet it felt…flat. I liked the new gravity defying antics of Mario Kart and after that it gets disappointing. While Super Mario 3D World is a 3D Mario game (which was promised), I think we were all expecting something more along the lines of Super Mario Galaxy and not a sequel to a 3DS game. Retro doing Donkey Kong is great and all, but the way it was being teased you would think they were bringing back Metroid or working on a new StarTropics game. And there was no Zelda which is cool if they did not have anything ready…but they did! Nintendo has said that they were going to show off the new HD Zelda and decided not to. They do realize their system is tanking and they HAVE TO give gamers a reason to be excited, right?

Well, at least there is Smash Bros.

*Ouya

Yeah, the Kickstarter darling was at E3, though not in a traditional way. It is quite the funny story of tit for tat that makes both the Ouya and ESA look a bit childish. Just give this a read and see that the most fun stuff may have been happening outside the complex.