E3 is done, not so much as the expo is finished forever, but E3 has come and gone. This year has shown us a ton of new information of games, consoles and the industry as a whole. From the unveiling of Xbox One's games to PS4's actual look and price, we've seen a lot. There were a lot of discussions carried out about who won E3. I think it's kind of absurd to have this black and white notion towards the event. On the other hand though we, as human beings, strive for competition and well it's in our DNA with "survival of the fittest" after all. Right off the bat many would call Sony the winner, they've obviously listened to everyone about our doubts with digital DRM, limitations on used games - which is for some the only way they can afford the hobby - and suspicious that under all that power of a system a big fat price will correlate.
The new Xbox One/PS4 controllers
However Sony's big E3 press conference was heavy on the talk and not enough on actual gameplay of the coming next-gen games. On the contrary though Microsoft's E3 press conference was the exact opposite - as previously they stated they'd be bringing part 2 of their Xbox One to E3 focusing on just the games. They showed lots and lots of gameplay footage of next-gen games but never once talked about their perspective moving forward towards a connected digital gaming "utopia". Some would say dystopia, the Kinect ever watching you - what a great time to announce a device like that with the NSA being such a hot topic these days - limiting the consumer's rights to resell their product and having an online check to make sure you're not a gaming pirate.
No seriously, I legally bought this game!
Arrgggghhhh, pirates are awesome though? At least that's what the latest trend from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and what we see with Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Of course in that sense the damn Empire deserves the justice as they've got it way better off than the common folk, (the British are in a luxurious lifestyle and the common folk are struggling to meet ends meet). Us gamers are the common folk and the big gaming companies are the governing British Empire. It's even comical to listen to the big timers at Microsoft tell people to play a Xbox 360 if you don't have good enough internet for the Xbox One. Ouch, that's kind of harsh.
In a small sense I can see that reasoning, heck in less favored gaming communities people are still playing on PS2s. There was actually one PS2 game shown at E3 this year and can you guess what the title was? Yup, it was the latest edition of FIFA, soccer is the world's sport after all. I think Sony talked to the common folk better off than Microsoft did and that's why they "won E3". What do people want, no limitations, good games and a fair price. Yup Sony announced no DRM and no limitations for the used games market, showed off some next-gen games as well as the price of $399 for the console. Everyone in attendance at Sony's press conference cheered and gave applause. It wasn't until the next day when we found out that Sony had lied to the masses and ironically previously were being adored for it. Sony's letting the DRM and used game situation be put in the hands of 3rd party publishers. Hmm, where have we seen this move before? Sony and Microsoft are fairly similar here, both requiring a membership to play online, both specialize in media other than games (they're both entertainment boxes), and both haven't really told us enough for a reasonable purchasing decision.
As you can see, they're about the same.
With Sony's PS4 price at $399 many were happy with the price point Sony had envisioned for the launch of their next-gen console - especially after their disastrous $599 reveal from their PS3's days. What wasn't talked about was discovered later on - we are the internet after all - with the fact that the Playstation Eye, a tweaked version of the previous Playstation Eye, will not be included with the purchase of the system. Well with a purchase of this new device, that was discussed at Sony's PS4 reveal event earlier this year, retailing at an estimated $60 we now have a PS4 costing $40 less than the Xbox One. That's not as big of a sense as $100 feels is it. It's obvious that Microsoft's Xbox One console, bundled with the new tweaked Kinect as well, helps make up its $499 price tag. The inclusion of this device shows the reassurance to developers that the platform is there, as previously developers could only develop for a limited optional device that probably less than half the Xbox 360 userbase didn't have. Some great games were shown off for the Xbox One but that lingering yeah what about the DRM situation was on everybody's mind. One thing's for sure I think I'll be grabbing a PS3 or WiiU since they'll be cheaper alternatives with a stack of exclusive games - Uncharted sereis, Mario Galaxy series and more - that I have not yet experienced.
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