Ah… the long awaited follow-up to my fluff piece about E3.
Originally I was going to do a piece after every conference, but then I
realized there’s just not enough to write for all the ones that aren’t Sony and
Square-Enix. The dust has settled and E3 is past us for another year. I don’t
want to go on the fan-war argument on who “won” E3 (but my smart answer is
Japanese Games won) nor do I want to tackle the bummer arguments of that E3 is
a sham and a capitalist hype machine that will shepherd all us sheep to
consume. I’m not just a fan of either of those narratives personally. Instead I
just want to quietly reflect on what I saw at the show in a small casual essay.
This reflection is mostly one of
celebration. I actually enjoyed this year’s festivities quite a bit. I didn’t
really know what to look forward to, but it resulted in the most surprising,
and in my opinion, best E3 I’ve ever seen. This E3 season just felt like a time
where so many people felt legitimately excited about the future of games. This
was an E3 of “Miracle Grade Happenings” as I called it. The Last Guardian,
Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Shenmue 3 are real. They were once legends of the
seemingly decaying Japanese AAA games industry. They’d be the butt of jokes
every year, but they, at least for now, are real products that are happening.
Personally, I’m mostly looking forward to Final Fantasy VII’s Remake. I’ve been
revisiting the original lately and it’s absolutely winning me over from my
complicated negative relationship with that particular title (that I might go
into detail later on). That’s not to say I dislike The Last Guardian or Shenmue
3, but those are just projects I have no personal investment in.
That’s not to say this year’s show
was just three megatons. There are also other announcements that get me really
excited about finally buying into this “Next Generation” of gaming. Like I said
in my earlier piece, Halo 5, Gears of War 1: Ultimate Edition and Gears of War
4 are games that were there on the Microsoft side that I am very excited about.
Sony of course showed off The Last Guardian, but also showed products like
Horizon: Zero Dawn that I feel have potential. Nintendo held their Nintendo
World Championships which was a blast cheering on Cosmo along with other
favorite speedrunners. Also, Nintendo finally showed us Star Fox: Zero, which
originally I had little interest in until I saw it in motion and it reminded me
of Star Fox: Assault, the only Star Fox game I personally enjoyed. Platinum
Games being on the Star Fox project also helps instill confidence in that game
as well. Bethesda showed off Fallout 4 which I have a lot of mixed feelings
about but ultimately I am pretty excited for it. Electronic Arts brought Mass
Effect: Andromeda, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, Star Wars: Battlefront, and that
adorable Unravel presentation. Square-Enix, along with the Final Fantasy VII Remake
bomb, brought with them a new Kingdom Hearts III gameplay trailer and a Nier
sequel of all things developed by Platinum Games of all people. Even Ubisoft
had… well… that sword fighting game has some potential, I hope.
Also, this was a BIG E3 for women in
games. There were lots of women protagonists representing in full force this
year. Also, Link wore a dress, and not even as a joke (you know like the
shameful display on that Fallout 4 trailer). Come on, you cannot say no about
Link wearing a dress. He looks so adorable. I am so happy. It seems that
perhaps the silent AAA industry is actually listening to us lowly bloggers,
journalist, and feminists looking for better representation. They still have a
long way to go, but at least we’re on this track.
Overall, this was a really fun E3 to
watch. I watch a ton of hours of Street Fighter V on stream. Nintendo brought
back their Treehouse show which was just a blast to watch. I feel a huge amount
of optimism after this show about the AAA game industry, or at least the games
they are putting out. I feel this optimism is something that a lot of us
needed. Video games have been rough lately. I’m glad that we at least had a
brief moment of celebration and optimism for the future.
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