Well at least Microsoft is being reasonable about one thing. They have announced that first-party games from their development studios will cost $59.99. Some have wondered if the high price of development would be cause for a price hike to $69.99, but it seems we are safe for now.
Who else thinks it would just be funny as all hell if Sony announced tomorrow that games for the PS4 would be $49.99 just to f*** with Microsoft more? Won’t happen, but still…
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.
*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.
*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.
Take a look a Microsoft’s big money deal with Pepsi and realize that as absolutely stupid as this may seem, it is still a smarter business move than anything Microsoft did this week at E3.
How would you get one of these Xbox One “packages”? Just go here and tell Major Nelson why you want this future heart attack at 55 more than anyone else. You should just tell him that you walk around with a t-shirt that says “If you don’t like DRM, you are a tool”.
Now, if you do not have an internet connection, Microsoft is suggesting that you take your poor ass to Wal-Mart and buy your own Mountain Dew and Doritos and don’t even look at these special ones with your dirty, grimy, hobo sack on a stick lives.
Mr. Matt Lees at Videogamer put together these hilarious videos for the Microsoft and Sony press conferences that should leave you with a cheerful tear in your eye. If you are wary about if they will be worth your time, the best way I can describe them is they are like the Honest Trailers for movies, just with a video game twist.
http://youtu.be/XlkZNNaYBro
http://youtu.be/71H69yDZ6W4
The Facts
All of the ins-and-outs around the Xbox One’s always-online requirements are slowly coming to the surface as E3 wears on, and the latest update is Microsoft’s announcement that only a select list of countries will have full XBox Live support at launch. Since the release of the list, gamers (and even developers) in unsupported countries have been curious as to what happens if they just pick up a console from across the border. The official response from the Xbox Support twitter feed? “Unsupported countries would not have the full experience, and may not work.”
So who are the lucky winners in Microsoft’s global denial-of-service agenda? The full list of launch countries is below.
The Opinion
Is this a fucking joke? Japan isn’t on your little list? JAPAN?! I’m sure Hideo Kojima is real glad MGS V is mutli-platform after this turn of events. Also absent is Poland, home of Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt Red. Their co-founder and joint CEO Marcin Iwinski spoke with Game Informer about his country’s absence: “I was just in a restaurant and saw the list. I was surprised, and I really hope that it isn’t final. I think Polish gamers will speak out loud. From my perspective, it’s a sad situation.” Also absent is the Ukraine, where Metro developers 4A Games is based; I took that one a little personally, I’ll admit. I would like to hope that community backlash might make Microsoft rethink their position, but considering earlier today one of their reps essentially said “Fuck You” concerning active military servicemen not having access to constant internet connections, I doubt it. I’ll also go on the record as saying that this is a way in which they are trying to combat the server loads (and crashes) that are sure to arise from their new system. I hope it’s worth it, assholes.
OK, so Sony basically turned their press conference into a prison rape scene from OZ the other night. But it’s not lost Microsoft. Just stay on point and keep focused on games and above all else, for the love of God, don’t say anything stupid.
Shit, who let Don Mattrick talk again?
Geoff Keighley at GameTrailers interviewed Mattrick about the always online aspect of the Xbox One and what this means for people without internet connection.
Check this shit out:
“Fortunately we have a product for people who aren’t able to get some form of connectivity; it’s called Xbox 360. If you have zero access to the Internet, that is an offline device.”
It gets even better when you hear of Mattrick’s loving way of saying that our military personnel would not be able to play their favorite games on an Xbox One.
“Seriously, when I read the blogs and thought about who’s really the most impacted there was a person who said, ‘Hey I’m on a nuclear sub.’ And I don’t even know what it means to be on a nuclear sub but I’ve got to imagine it’s not easy to get an internet connection. But hey, I can empathise; if I was on a sub I’d be disappointed.”
Doesn’t it make you all warm and fuzzy inside?
You should do yourself a favor and listen to the entire interview here.
“Free to play?!” I hear you exclaiming as your hearts get all a flutter with anticipation.
Pull it back a bit and let me explain. Didn’t you notice the asterisk in the title.
Yes, Killer Instinct will be free to play on day one on the Xbox One…with one character. When you download the game you will be given Jago for free to combo people’s asses to your heart’s content. Then if you want any additional characters get ready for microtransactions up the ass. Each character can be bought individually or in packs. Microsoft did not discuss pricing of the characters or if you will be able to just purchase every character in one fail swoop (you know, like buying the actual game).
Now while I do see the benefits of the one character, free-to-play model, something about this just doesn’t sit right with me. Maybe it is just because of Microsoft’s whole message as a whole with the Xbox One and when you hear about KI get microtransactioned to hell…I don’t know. Maybe it is just me.
While I will readily say that Sony stole the E3 show last night, I was still very impressed with the games that Microsoft brought to the table at their press conference. The lineup was equally as strong as Sony’s (with Sony pulling ahead because of all the indie support) and the game that impressed me vastly was Ryse: Son of Rome. The Crytek developed action game has you in the role of Marius Titus as you lead the Roman army back to glory.
And how exactly will you accomplish this? Why by epic, brutal, bloody combat! The demo shown at E3 had a very “Roman Saving Private Ryan” feel as they storm the beach as arrows spill down around you. Combat looks to be a mix of real-time slashing and quick-time, eye-wincing kills delivered with your sword, shield or even sandal.
The game is stunning to watch the entire time and shows that Crytek has a firm grasp on next-gen gaming. But then again, it is Crytek, so no surprise there.
Ryse: Son of Rome will be a launch day title only on Xbox One.
ZeniMax Online is bringing The Elder Scrolls Online to both the PS4 and the Xbox One in Spring 2014. The announcement was made tonight at the Sony press conference and also said that PS4 owners will have access to the beta for the game before anyone else due to a new agreement with Sony.
This is insanely great news for people like me who don’t have a quality PC to run the game like I would want.
Damn you, Microsoft. Damn you, all of you. I went into the Microsoft press conference hard pressed that I was going to wait to get an Xbox One and you had to go and throw Killer Instinct in my face.
RIGHT IN MY FACE!
I have very few weak spots as a gamer in my hard heart, but Killer Instinct is definitely one of them. The 30 second video has KI stalwarts Jago, Glacius and Sabrewulf putting out the combos on each other with ferocity. I got goosebumps when I heard the ever familiar ULLTRAAA COMMMMBOOOO. And as we all know, goosebumps are akin to tears for a nerd.
Killer Instinct releases this fall only on Xbox One.