E3: Why saying the word ‘innovate’ should be a punishable offense.
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So E3 has begun!
Yes, fellow humans, game devs and geekwads from all over the world have gathered in LA, the city of angels, to look in awe at pre-rendered content and pre-order bonuses. But while it’s amazing to see such a thing become so popular, and so successful, I feel as though we’ve begun to miss the point of all the hype around conventions like E3.
First off, we have the unspoken (and sometimes very obvious) rivalry between the three main games companies: Sony with their platforms PS3-4 and PSVITA. Microsoft, with the Xbox One, and 360. And Nintendo, who have too many consoles to list, but things like the 3DS and the vastly underrated Wii U. Every year we see these rival conglomerates trying to one-up each other, and every year they pull the same tricks to get us all on side.
Xbox’ll say they have some new exclusives, and by exclusives we mean the same regurgitated IPs like ‘Halo’, and ‘Minecraft’. But this year, they’ve pulled some big moves (or moves that we could say are big but are actually pretty weak in the grand scale of things), like Backward compatibility! Oh look, you can play 19fps games on a maximum 30fps console! Woohoo! OR you could just use the Xbox 360 that you didn’t trade in, and play them on that? Oh you did trade it in? Ah….well…this is awkward. Honestly, didn’t they promise all the stuff they’re releasing now like…2 years ago when they announced the ‘next gen’ console? Or am I just going mad?
Sony brought out some equally big moves. With stuff like the newest addition to the ‘Final Fantasy’ IP, and the much anticipated ‘Kingdom Hearts III’, which is said to be the first game in the series to be released on a Microsoft console (Xbox One). Plus, a remake of ‘FF7’, a treasured favourite in the eyes of their fans, which looks to be as gorgeous as the PS4 can make it. There was also the first official look at Destiny’s next expansion (because Destiny is still relevant…apparently), called ‘The Taken King’, said to come out in September this year…so everyone mark your calenders exactly 2 months after that.
Finally, we have Nintendo. Like Scotland entering the World Cup, they’re just happy to be there. In collaboration with Square Enix, they announced some massive titles, like the new ‘Tomb Raider’, and the upcoming ‘Deus Ex’ game (which, to be honest, even I’m looking forward to). And then they spoiled it all by talking about Amiibos. That’s a money train that ain’t stopping any time soon. Other than that…nothing else really happening with Nintendo, other than more Mario plugging and ‘Animal Crossing’. Essentially ‘the Sims’ for people who felt ‘the Sims’ would be better with a blobby art style and annoying neighbours you have to keep happy by buying them a sofa.
Look, while it may seem like this is a rant at the event, it is not. Merely an observation that the whole point of E3 was to show some amazing stuff, and it would be that amazing on release, and you’d be able to get all the content of a game that isn’t locked behind a pre-order bonus paywall. But, that being said, 2015 looks to be an interesting year in terms of game development, and the advancement of integrating new kinds of tech into gaming also…I’m looking at YOU ‘Hololens’.