The annual video game convention has come to an end with a plethora of exciting announcements and showcases, but not without an equal amount of disappointments. This year’s E3 was a bit different than previous ones, as Sony chose to sit out this time. It was interesting to see if others would capitalize off Sony’s absence or if they’d fall to the pressures of the bright lights. With that being said, let’s take a look at the winners and losers of E3 2019.
Winners:
Final Fantasy fans: Square Enix knows exactly what fans want and they finally delivered. The Japanese publisher and developer showed extensive game play footage of the much-anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake. We saw more of the combat mechanics with Cloud and Barret, but also the reveal of everyone’s sweetheart, Tifa. She still packs a heavy punch and it was great to finally see the three of them take down Shinra soldiers together. But what really surprised everyone was Square Enix dropping a release date for the first installment (yes, Final Fantasy VII Remake is still going to be episodic) for March 3, 2020. Just having the extended footage and release date would satisfy any Final Fantasy fan, but Square Enix wasn’t done yet. They revealed that Final Fantasy VIII is in fact being remastered and released sometime in 2019. To say this is a surprise would be an understatement, as many believed we would never see Final Fantasy VIII get the same remastered treatment as its fellow Final Fantasy counterparts. Props to Square for giving fans what they’ve been hoping for.
Ubisoft: Coming into E3, Ubisoft was in a very unique position. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is arguably the best game in the series, but the company announced previously they wouldn’t reveal the next AC game this year. Furthermore, the odds of them showing off Beyond Good & Evil 2 or anything related to Splinter Cell (Sam Fisher where are you?!) was extremely low. So instead, Ubisoft decided to blow us away with Watch Dogs: Legion. Set in a near-future London, the third game in the Watch Dogs franchise appears to be a tremendous step in games innovation. The extensive game play footage showed the player being able to recruit basically everyone they encounter in the city. Being able to build this “legion” if you will, is great and all until you realize why exactly this is a main mechanic in the game. Ubisoft decided to employ permadeath, meaning if the character you’re controlling dies they’re gone forever. This is an interesting choice by Ubisoft, because with many RPGs nowadays people get attached to their characters. Removing that element from Watch Dogs: Legion does allow players to not get overly dependent on people they control, but it’ll still be sad to watch your comrades fall. Besides showing off Watch Dogs: Legion, Ubisoft teased a new IP called Gods & Monsters. Not much was revealed in the short trailer, but it did explain that the Greek gods are in some sort of trouble and you’ll be the hero to save them.
Bethesda: Following the not so great launch of Fallout 76, Bethesda needed to come into E3 with a solid plan to re-energize that player base. It appears they did just that, by introducing a 52-player Battle Royale mode called Nuclear Winter coming this fall. In addition, Bethesda added NPCs to Fallout 76 with full dialog trees and new quests. Hopefully these changes are enough to satisfy die-hard Fallout fans and create the game many envisioned Fallout 76 to be when it first released. Bethesda also revealed two brand new IPs that definitely caught the attention of many: GhostWire: Tokyo from Tango Gameworks (creators of The Evil Within) and “Deathloop” from Arkane Lyon (the studio that brought us Dishonored). The reveal trailer for GhostWire: Tokyo showed a very realistic Tokyo with people waiting for public transit, checking their phones, and generally going about their normal business. However, things turned for the worst as people suddenly disappeared, a la Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet. Ikumi Nakamura, former lead artist for The Evil Within and now director of GhostWire: Tokyo, said that the title will be an action-adventure game and you’ll be tasked with saving humanity from a supernatural evil of some sort. In addition to GhostWire: Tokyo, Bethesda showed “Deathloop”. The reveal trailer showed two assassins determined to kill one other, but the catch (as indicated in the title) is they appear to be stuck in a never-ending loop of carnage. It’s always exciting to see new IPs get announced, but these two especially seem to have some promise.
Sony: You might be wondering how is Sony a winner for E3 when they didn’t even attend it. I’ll explain more later when I breakdown one of my losers, but ultimately Sony made the right call to not attend the convention. They didn’t have any new games to showcase, they’re still working on their next-generation console, and the emergence of Sony’s State of Play mini conferences and PSX made the decision to not show up easier. Why attend E3 if there’s no real substance to show to fans? I applaud Sony’s decision to take a step-back, survey what the other conferences did in their absence, and comeback when they have a slew of material.
Keanu Reeves: In what was easily the most WTF moment of E3, a new trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 ended with Keanu freaking Reeves being in the game. And just to add onto the chaos, Keanu Reeves himself came on stage to further promote the game. We’re starting to see more and more movie stars make the crossover into games, such as Norman Reedus in Death Stranding, but it was still a huge surprise to see Reeves. His character in Cyberpunk 2077 is named Johnny Silverhand, and based on how he looks, he’s definitely seen some serious sh*t. The trailer ended with another surprise: Cyberpunk 2077 is scheduled to release on April 16, 2020.
Losers:
Microsoft: Before I dive into why I believe Microsoft was ultimately a loser at E3 2019, I do want to highlight the good parts of their conference. Game Pass is clearly a huge part of Microsoft’s plans moving forward, as they announced the service will be available for PC players. Microsoft’s service is currently the best deal in games to date, so them investing in that even more is a smart decision. In addition, Microsoft unveiled xCloud, their counter to Google’s Stadia. This streaming service will turn your personal Xbox console into a personal server that allows you to play games on other platforms, such as smartphones and tablets. The first public test is scheduled to happen in October, and will be a main component for Project Scarlet. Now, the not so good stuff. Speaking of Project Scarlet, Microsoft touched very briefly on their next-generation console. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer explained that Project Scarlet will be four times more powerful than the Xbox One X, have frame rates up to 120, and the console will release in Holiday 2020 (along with Halo Infinite). Maybe I was too optimistic, but I expected Microsoft to go all out with Project Scarlet, at the very least a name reveal. Now, I think it’s safe to assume that Microsoft will completely draw the curtains back on their console at E3 2020, or a separate press conference sometime next year. From a games standpoint, there wasn’t many first-party announcements. We saw a new trailer for Halo Infinite and an extended look at Gears 5, but other than the sweet Games Pass deal, there still isn’t that must-have game that’s exclusive to Xbox. I understand that Microsoft’s mantra recently has been players being able to play anywhere and steering clear of trapping players in exclusives, but I still would like to have a reason why I should purchase the next Xbox. Sony has done a tremendous job of pumping out story-based narrative games like Spider-Man and God of War, and yes, Microsoft has been stockpiling studios to start working on first-party games, so why then did they attend E3? I thought the quality of information that Microsoft presented did not warrant a full-on conference and ultimately left me disappointed.
Overall Game Play: Throughout most of the major conferences, there was an extremely low amount of game play footage. Sure we saw new IPs, so I expected only cinematic trailers, but for certain games like Gears 5 that releases in September, we didn’t see any game play demo whatsoever. As E3 went on, it became more and more surprising to see actual game play during the conferences. Maybe this year was meant to be more of a transition year for most of these developers? Nonetheless, the lack of game play was not a smart decision and left many feeling unsatisfied and confused.
Marvel’s Avengers: Once it was announced that Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics were teaming up to create an Avengers game, the amount of hype was astronomical. However, that hype came crashing down to Earth after we got our first-look at the title. The game features Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, Captain America, and Thor (sorry, Hawkeye). The trailer began with the Avengers celebrating A-Day in San Francisco, but things quickly go wrong when a group of baddies start attacking led by the deadly Taskmaster. There wasn’t any true game play footage, but it did appear as if we we’re being shown “hidden game play” with the camera being placed behind the characters just without a HUD. The biggest criticism from the reveal trailer is the appearance of the superheroes. Square Enix explained that this game would not follow the MCU, so it’s understandable why the characters would look different from their movie counterparts. It’s possible that the amount of hype for this game was too high to begin with and that caused many people to feel disappointed or letdown, but maybe it’s also partially our fault for dreaming too big? Either way, we’ll see the final product from Square and Crystal Dynamics on May 15, 2020.
Dr Disrespect: The famous Twitch stream Dr Disrespect decided to do some IRL streams down at E3 this year. Well, it’s all fun and games until someone films in the bathroom. The streamer was subsequently banned from Twitch after filming not once, but four times in the bathroom at the convention. Not entirely sure what he or the person behind the camera were thinking. Currently, there is no timetable on the ban. Dr Disrespect did stream an apology stating that mistakes were made and he would do better in the future. He added that he would be taking a break from streaming to spend more time with his family. Hopefully he’s being sincere and he learns from his mistakes, we’ll have to see.
Well everyone, that about does it for my E3 2019 coverage. There were plenty of surprises, but also plenty of letdowns. We saw amazing new IPs, incredible presentations, and a glimpse at the future of gaming. I hope everyone enjoyed the convention and while it might be sad that it’s over, we can start the countdown to E3 2020. For more gaming news, be sure to follow me on Twitter and check out our podcast “The Outhouse”.
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