I’ve been
having a hard time writing on this blog. Not that I don’t have anything to say,
just I hold myself to an impossible standard and never get anything done. Maybe
what could help me is to just relax and write up some more casual pieces.
…And what better time to casually
write about videogames than E3!
Are you excited? Do you “Believe the
Hype”? Are you ready for the Superbowl of business men trying to sell you
videogames? Are you ready for buzzword filled speeches written by a madlib, delivered
by mediocre actors or business men little charisma? Are you ready to be led
through the AAA game industry hype cycle like the sheep that you are?
I kid, I’m excited for E3. Honestly, probably more excited
than I am for most E3s. Almost entirely because for the first time since
probably middle school I have no idea what to expect. That’s likely a positive
side effect from lessening my focus of games reading about the big AAA releases
and the ongoing trends in the industry. I haven’t kept my ear obsessively to
ground for leaks and rumors. Instead I’ve been spending more time reading more
critical pieces on games and… well, actually playing games.
So what am I excited for E3? Nothing, or more accurately I
have nothing I am particularly looking forward to seeing in the show since I
don’t really know what to expect. There will inevitably be news about the big
AAA games that are there every year. I look forward to seeing what Call of
Duty: Black Ops 3, Halo 5, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS, and others have
to offer. Of course there are always the favorite developers to look for as
well. Excited to hear if Platinum or Square Enix have any big surprises for us
(especially considering they seem to be saying that FFXV and Scalebound won’t
have a major presence this year).
If I have any worries going into this year’s E3, it’s that I’m
worried this will be The Year of VR. Not that I dislike VR, but it seems to be
the big new “gimmick” that the industry is pushing. I could go on about how I’m
skeptical of that ever catching on, but that’s a whole other exhaustive topic.
I am just worried that we’re going to see a repeat of the motion control push
but with VR headsets. Not that, again, I dislike either or think they are
equivalent, but that its going to take up to majority of the show. Also, wow is
it really difficult to present to a stage audience with their naked eyes the
joys of VR, maybe even harder than trying to act out motion controls. At the
time of writing this, the Pre-E3 Oculus Conference has already passed, and that
was a pretty cringe worthy impression of things to come.
Of course there’s also specifically which conferences I’m
interested in seeing. Typically I tend to really go out of my way to catch The
Big Three, but I’ll catch the others if I’m not busy at the time. The only one
of the “side” conferences I have a lot interest in is the Square Enix
conference, but sadly it’s overlapped with Nintendo’s Digital Event.
Sony
Sad to say Sony is the conference I’m the least excited for,
and mostly because Sony has the least to offer me. Sony doesn’t have the wealth
of properties like Nintendo or the favorite new age IPs like Microsoft holds
for me. It’s a shame because the PS4 and the Vita are probably the BEST
consoles of their markets, but they just don’t have the pull of exclusivity for
me that the others have. I’m sure Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts III, and
Persona 5 will run their best on a PS4, but the slight difference in resolution
is just not enough to get me on board with Sony. A bummer considering they won
so much good will when they choose to side with consumers with the various next
gen console scandals from a while back, but sadly I don’t buy consoles on good
will or hardware specs. Also, ironic that Microsoft got dragged through the mud
for talking up TV a while back, but last year Sony spent so much of their
conference time talking about services and that POWERS PS Plus exclusive show
which just doesn’t hold any interest for me. I WANT Sony to prove me wrong
though. I WANT their console more than the competition. I’m even holding a PS4
controller RIGHT NOW… that I use on PC to play emulators with. I’m not sure
what to expect or what exactly I want, but please just make me want to buy
these consoles because I will… eventually… when I have money (I need a job).
Microsoft
Previously the villain to Sony’s hero, or the heel to Sony’s
face, Microsoft is a company and the Xbone (yes I still call it that even as I
search for deals to buy the damn thing) is a console that I have such mixed
complicated feelings about. There’s a lot of mistrust, but also optimism I feel
around Microsoft, and I likely buy into the latter because they have Halo,
Gears of War, and a new game by Platinum (which is apparently going to be a no
show sadly). Even the way I came into owning an Xbox for the first time was a
complicated situation of mixed feelings. I got an Xbox 360 for Christmas one
year because the Nintendo Wii was too rare and the PS3 was outrageously
expensive. With Microsoft I pretty much know what I want. I’m already sold on
the console because I hunger to put that Spartan armor on after a leave of
absence. I want to see Halo 5 and hopefully the new Gears of War. I hope they
are good like their predecessors I enjoyed so much, but also fresh new
experiences all their own. Other than the big two shooters on the box I’m not
sure what else exactly I want, but likely that will be enough for me. I’m
already sold on getting an Xbox One, but make me much more excited for the
eventual purchase. Also, please don’t be nearly as embarrassing as you have
been in the past. I want to own an Xbone, but I also don’t want it to feel like
I’m making a pact with a demon… the capitalist kind, not the cool kind with magic
powers.
Nintendo
To no one’s surprise, Nintendo is once again the odd duck
this year. Once again they are hosting a pre-recorded Digital Event instead of
a big bombastic stage show. I have mixed feelings on that topic specifically,
but at the very least it still gets across the same news and like I’d ever be
able to see these shows live anyway. Nintendo is also hosting yet another big
tournament at E3, though this time a reboot of the Nintendo World Championships
instead of a Smash event. I suppose this is Nintendo trying to understand the
concept of eSports or other competitive games, which outside of maybe Pokémon,
they have a difficult time understanding (then again Nintendo has a difficult
time understanding anything current). Honestly I had very little interest in
this competition when it was announced, but then they announced that the competition
will include newer games instead of just NES classics including the new and
exciting Splatoon. Also, they invited a few special guests to compete that
happens to be another competitive game scene that Nintendo has been almost
historically opposed to, the Speedrun Community. Well, there’s also a few
YouTubers thrown in the mix because of course (also an extremely ironic choice
since Nintendo handles that scene poorly as well). Not sure if this will be as
good as the Smash tournament last year, but at the very least I’m excited for
it. Oh yeah… there’s also games to be announced… that’s a thing that happens at
E3. Well, at the very least I like that they have a separate event pre-E3
scheduled to get the inevitable Smash news out of the way. Guess there will be
more time during the Digital Event for other things. Though what won’t be there
is the new Zelda revealed last year. There’s a bit of trend of these publishers
announcing that they’re not showing their most anticipated properties at these
shows. Still that’s yet another inevitable announcement that won’t be eating up
the clock at the Digital Event. I look forward to being surprised. I’m already
sold on their consoles considering I already own a 3DS and a still unopened
copy of W101 that I bought new because I just could not ignore a Platinum game
that released on my birthday (I wish I could just open and play the damn thing
already).
Wow that short little write up became really huge after I got
started. Maybe I can do this writing thing after all.
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