E3 2013 – The Winners

Find out what MP1st thought about this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. Who had the best announcements? Who had the best presentations? What were the best games?

But before reading on, be sure to catch up on everything that went down at E3 2013 by visiting our dedicated event page right here, or check out a wrap-up of our hands-on and behind-closed-doors experiences at E3 right here.

It was a big year that included some major announcements and even a first look at the next generation of gaming. Having let it all sink in about a week after the events concluded, we discuss, in general, our personal and overall winners and losers of E3 2013.

James

Winners

  • Nintendo
  • EA
  • Sony

What? Nintendo? Well, I’m going to be honest. They showed games that really interested me during their Nintendo Direct conference. They pulled some big guns, even though the announcements were expected. With EA, they announced Star Wars: Battlefront and showed off Battlefield 4 multiplayer, which, for me, was all impressive. Sony comes in third just because they stole a lot of thunder from the competition, showed some impressive IP’s, and, overall, the information regarding the console was extremely pleasant.

I would mention Ubisoft with The Division, however, their whole entire show was just bad.

Thomas

Winners

  • Sony
  • Ubisoft

The hands down winner for me is Sony. Hearing the uproarious and genuine applause for no used game DRM and the $399 price tag is enough to convince me the PS4 will have the early lead. Sony seemed to learn from their mistakes in 2005 when they announced the PS3 at a whopping $499 for the 20GB model and $599 for the 60GB model. This time around they showcased a versatile game library covering quality first party titles, a good selection of third party titles, free-to-play and MMO titles, and strong support for indie devs (i.e. lots of great games for under $20). To top it off, they’re doing it at a price point that is $100 less than their strongest competitor in Microsoft (which could be used towards your first game and a subscription to PS Plus). While paying to play online might be a disappointment for long time Playstation fans, its clear Sony has been listening to its consumers more intently than Microsoft.Another winner I have is Ubisoft. Hidden inside what was a decidedly unwatchable conference, Ubisoft actually has a pretty strong collection of games in the works for next-gen. Take it or leave it, but Assasin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will have its fans and undoubtedly sell millions. Watch Dogs unique take on the ‘big brother’ scenario, timed with the current PRISM scandal unfolding in the media, will make Watch Dogs a big seller. The Crew looks like a solid racing title taking place in a persistent online environment. A little bit down the pipe line, the open-world third person shooter The Division will be released and let’s not forget Rainbow Six: Patriots is still alive. Although none of these titles will be on the same level as the Call of Duty orBattlefield series in terms of popularity, the collection of all these quality titles will make for some very strong sales and have Ubisoft potentially moving up into the ranks of EA and Activision.

Losers

  • Microsoft
  • Nintendo

How the mighty have fallen. It seems a bit of role reversal has occurred here from 2005. Sony is now playing the underdog trying to become #1 and Microsoft is now playing the overconfident market leader who misfired and failed. Microsoft did little to conjure up excitement in its next-gen console pertaining to games. I don’t see launch titles such as Killer Instinct andRyse: Son of Rome being deciding factors in what console to get. Almost everything else showcased will be multiplatform titles. Factor in the $499 price tag, no backwards compatibility for retail or XBLA titles, exclusives such as the next Halo not launching until next year, not to mention the Xbox One is less powerful than PS4 and you begin to wonder: Where is the value for the consumer?

I know Nintendo wasn’t at E3 and instead opted to do Nintendo Direct. It was great for showcasing upcoming first party titles, but it still doesn’t change the fact that currently there isn’t much to play on the Wii U. Furthermore, it just emphasizes the point we already know: third party support is on life support. Not since the days of the Nintendo 64 have third party companies been able to achieve sales comparable to first party Nintendo titles. Whether it’s the less powerful hardware than its competitors or Nintendo’s general lack of support for third party games, it seems a full on rebellion is happening in our midst. Titles such as Mario and Zelda feature solid gameplay mechanics, but the decades of slight variations in each new game have led to my outright fatigue of all Nintendo franchises. The catsuit in Super Mario 3D World seems interesting, but not interesting enough to buy a Wii U for it.

Santiago

Winners

  • EA
  • Ubisoft
  • Nintendo

In my opinion, the winner was clearly EA with huge announcements like Star Wars: Battlefront. Although not much was shown, it is a game heavily desired by gamers (and that, in my opinion, is in good hands with DICE) and it’s simple announcement was enough to hype everyone. Another example is Mirror’s Edge 2, which after six years, was finally announced. Battlefield 4‘s 64 player showing was pretty impressive too, and I’m sure there was more than one jaw dropped with that building collapsing at the end of the multiplayer presentation (including the awesome returning feature: Commander). Respawn’s Titanfall looks simply amazing, I can’t wait to see how its multiplayer is going to be. I’m sure it will at least be interesting. I’m not a big fan of the Dragon Age series, but Dragon Age III will most likely be a really good game. I know shooters are everywhere nowadays, but Popcap’s Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare, for me, was an amazing and funny idea and it looks like it’s being executed perfectly. Let’s be honest, PvZ is a funny game, and this one looks incredibly promising.

I know many readers here might not be fans of sports games, but releasing a UFC game is pretty big, and let’s not forget FIFA 13 itself had the most successful launch of 2012. NBA Live‘s announcement was pretty big (considering it had been cancelled the last two years). Need for Speed: Rivals is going to be interesting too with all its online features, but only time will tell how the game will be.

While looking at what EA plans this year, I can only wonder how the “Worst Company in America” gets to have the most awaited as well as the best games I’ve seen in a long time. Oh, the irony.

Joel

Winners

  • Sony
  • EA

At first, their presentation was just a mediocre conference. Not a lot of games that they showcased really wow’ed me, aside from some of their free-to-play title, but losing exclusivity to some of their biggest games like Kingdom Hearts 3 didn’t exactly help either. Sony did, however, manage to bounce back from it and made everyone forget their less-then-stellar conference when they delivered probably the biggest news in E3. The Playstation 4 will have a NO DRM policy and gamers will be able to play used games without jumping through hoops. This left Sony to receive, without a doubt, the biggest ‘pop’ from the audience, winning the hearts of many worried gamers through out the world.

When it comes to games, EA, without a doubt, had the best line up for this year’s E3. This is mainly in part to the folks over at DICE. The’ve delivered on everything fans could ever wish for, from the blockbuster Battlefield 4, which absolutely left me in awe, to announcing the heavily requested Mirror’s Edge sequel, and most importantly, a new Star Wars: Battlefront game.

In addition, it look likes EA is making big improvements on all of their popular sports games such as FIFA 14 and Madden. Though the announcement of NBA Live ’14 was a nice touch, we will have to wait and see if it actually see’s the light of day. If it does, it will have to prove itself to the current reigning basketball franchise, NBA 2K.

Alex

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Winners

  • X
  • Kingdom Hearts 3
  • The Division

X, which is a follow up to the Wii’s Xenoblade looks to be one of those games that could be a franchise for the Wii U and Nintendo in much the same way that Final Fantasy is.  A diverse world with fantasy characters, mechs, and some very nice visuals really drives X home for me as a game looking to take the Wii U as far as it can go. Of course, more “Nintendo” games like Smash Bros. and Mario Kart will be the priority purchases for Wii U owners, I think X is for sure a must buy.

I could spend an entire article fawning at how amazing this title could be considering Square has free reign to use characters created by the likes of Pixar, Marvel, and George Lucas, but I’m not going to.  All I can say is that if you’re a fan of the Kingdom Hearts series, Disney movies, or just fun games, this is going to be the title to buy for your next-gen console.

While Watch Dogs is busy making reviewers and gamers alike drool with anticipation, to me, it seems kind of been-there-done-that.  Yes, the characters and story all look and sound fascinating and I’m sure it’s going to be a wonderful game.  But the bottom line is it’s what Ubisoft is using to kill off the Assassin’s Creed franchise.  Everything I’ve seen of Watch Dogs reminds of a mix between Splinter Cell and the AC franchise.  So to me, The Division was the best title revealed at E3.  Not only did we really know nothing about it before E3, it managed to wow just about everyone that’s seen it.  If it’s not the graphics, then it’s the gameplay.  If it’s not the gameplay, then it’s the teamwork and PVP.  The Division looks to be the first next-gen MMO title that really takes the MMO genre to the next level.  It has a real-world setting, focus on squads and teamwork rather than hordes and bug boss battles, and it looks visually amazing.  While I’m sure Destiny is going to look great and play well, compare it to The Division.  Maybe they aren’t the same kind of game, but how many games like Destiny have we seen before?  An MMO about aliens and mysterious creatures in a far-away fictional universe… or WoW and Defiance.

Overall, I think The Division is the most exciting title to come out of E3.  While it might be a Rainbow 6/Ghost Recon-feeling game, it’s MMO design and enviroment are very fresh and I have no doubt that it’s going to be a fantastic game and worthwhile purchase.

David

Winners

  • DICE
  • Titanfall
  • The Division

It’s safe to say Digital Illusions CE had a pretty good E3 this year. I just can’t imaging how excited they must have been while waiting backstage for their turn to essentially pleasure every gamer into total nerd-gasm with announcements like Star Wars: Battlefront and Mirror’s Edge 2. I love Star Wars and I love Battlefield, and while I can see concern amongst some gamers who don’t want to see the Battlefront series turned into a re-skinned Battlefield game, I couldn’t be any happier. I’m happy for Mirror’s Edge 2 not only because I simply want more Mirror’s Edge, but because I am relieved to see that, despite not meeting the mass success EA had hoped for it, the franchise has survived and will see the light of day yet again.

Despite being so early in development, Battlefield 4‘s multiplayer showing was very impressive. It’s not common for a fall release to have multiplayer playable at E3 and work as well as it did. I think, and am hoping, that DICE still has a lot more in store that will convince gamers that Battlefield 3.5 this is not.

I have high hopes for Titanfall. I want it to be that game that crashes the FPS party and says, “hey, I’m different, I’m taking risks, I’m breaking the mould, and everyone’s going to love me for it.” Honestly, it’s biggest attraction is that it simply looks fun. I’m sure it’s going to have that familiar, fast-paced Call of Duty feel, but the jet pack-assisted parkour elements that are being introduced, along with the ability to control giant mechs, looks really refreshing and exciting. Respawn also didn’t have that much to hide, demonstrating an entire multiplayer match from start to finish during their presentation, which is promising. I’m also a bit of a sci-fi junky who’s getting a bit tired of the modern military setting, so bring on the space mechs!

Ubisoft’s The Division was a bitter-sweet announcement. At first, I was like, “dude! Where is Rainbow 6: Patriots?” But after sitting through the game’s presentation, it left me wanting more, more so than any other showing at E3, besides some of the teasers I mentioned above. When the game’s E3 demo came to a close, I was left with one question: “How?” How is the co-op gameplay that we just saw so smoothly integrated with tablet players and PvP multiplayer? How does item retrieval play into the game’s survival elements? How will the gameplay feel when I have my hands on it – like a refined Ghost Recon? I just want to learn more about this game, and soon.

To touch shortly on the console wars, Microsoft admittedly had me pumped as I walked out of the Xbox One conference, mostly in due part to the games. We learned Call of Duty: Ghosts will be getting DLC first on the Xbox, as has always been the case, and that even Battlefield 4 would be receiving at least one DLC first on the Xbox One. Being a buff of both franchises, a part of me took a lot of comfort knowing I could get DLC first for two of my favorite franchises, as unimportant as it might sound. Of course, I also knew that I simply need to play Titanfall and Halo Xbox One. No question.

By the end of the day, however, Sony had me back at a state of indecisiveness after learning the price points of both consoles and some of the PS4’s features and policies. The PlayStation 4 won the hearts of many, I’m sure everyone would agree, but I remain cautious. Despite the PS4 sounding like the better deal, both in terms of price and performance, I admit that we don’t really know much about what Microsoft has planned with some of the Xbox One’s forward-thinking features, nor do I know what “catches” Sony might have up its sleeve. Currently, I could not tell you which console I prefer, but I’m sure I’ll be able to closer to launch.

Overall Winners

Based on the picks of the MP1st staff, we’ve determined the following as the overall winners of E3 2013.

Third Place

Sony (PlayStation 4)

Second Place

Ubisoft (The Division)

First Place

EA (Battlefield 4, Titanfall, Star Wars: Battlefront, Mirror’s Edge 2)

What do you guys think? Agree? Disagree? What were your personal winners at E3 2013? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear it!

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