My Take On The Press Conferences Of E3 2017

Now that the pressers of E3 have concluded, I thought I’d offer up my personal thoughts on each one. In chronological order, here we go.

Also, please keep in mind these are simply my opinions. Being opinions, they are entirely subjective.

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EA

I fully admit I wasn’t the target audience for EA’s presser, but I was left underwhelmed. I had hoped for more than the usual fare of sports games and Star Wars properties and, while a handful were there, we didn’t see anything out of the norm for EA. This year we saw an influx of footage of streamers mixed into the presentation and I found that detracted from the games shown.

A Way Out (from Hazelight) was the most out of the ordinary title, but it just didn’t move me.

I was also surprised there was no showing of Amy Hennig’s Star Wars title. I’m sure it would have made a lot of people very happy to see more of it.

My favorite thing about this presser was Janina Gavankar onstage discussing Battlefront II. She was adorable and genuine and made me a teensy bit interested in Battlefront II.

For more, here is my recap of the EA press conference.

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Microsoft

I may not use my Xbox One all that often, but I’d be remiss to say Microsoft’s presser wasn’t solid. Sure, their verbiage on “exclusives” and “launch exclusives” was confusing, but they brought the games in spades.

I was concerned far too much time would be spent on the technical aspects of the Xbox One X (more about that name in a moment), but I felt they explained the specs without going overboard.

Though I do enjoy the word “teraflops.”

I’m not crazy about the name Xbox One X, as I think it’s both confusing and silly enough to be a Nintendo-generated name. I hope it does well for them, though, and I mean that sincerely.

I was intrigued by the Metro: Exodus trailer, I was wowed by Assassins Creed: Origins, but I was ecstatic to see PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds would be coming to the One this year. That just might get me to turn on my Xbox One again.

I was interested in State of Decay 2, but it was Cuphead that thrilled me with a September release date. It looks brilliant and I can’t wait to play it.

I liked that this presser was filled to the brim with games. Even if they weren’t true exclusives, I was glad to see so many games focused on.

For more, here is my recap of the Microsoft press conference.

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Bethesda

Hoo boy, this was a strange one.

From the moment Pete Hines took the stage, he seemed very nearly bored. I’m sure there’s a better descriptor out there for his demeanor, but, for the sake of this piece, it will have to do. It almost seemed like he didn’t want to be there.

And look, I understand Skyrim has been a huge title for them, but we are now six years out from its release. Let’s look forward instead of looking back so often. I know there are many people out there who still love to play it, and I’m glad for them that Bethesda is still giving it attention, but I’d like to see what will follow.

I’m glad everything they showed will be available in 2017, but the conference was spare to say the least. Had it not been for the announcements of The Evil Within 2 and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, the presser would have been a wash. And when Pete Hines returned to the stage to close the show, he seemed like he’d rather be anywhere else.

It was an odd show start to finish, and I’m curious to know what the story was behind the scenes because it very much felt like there was one.

For more, here is my recap of Bethesda’s press conference.

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Ubisoft

Ubisoft had one of the more solid shows of this E3. It was a consistent stream of games from start to finish with some titles that definitely have my attention.

The highlights for me were the extended looks at Assassins Creed: Origins and Far Cry 5. The more I see of both, the more interested I am. I can’t wait to get my hands on them.

I may not have feelings about Beyond Good and Evil either way, but I love that people who have been waiting so long finally got the reveal they were hoping for.

One thing that caught me off guard? Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. It was adorable.

I was also quite interested in the new IP: Skull & Bones, but I’m hoping for a single player campaign in addition to the multiplayer.

For more, here is my recap of Ubisoft’s press conference.

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Sony

Sony’s presser was the one I was most excited for. Unfortunately, something about the presentation fell flat.

In an un-Sonylike manner, there were very few surprises. What we saw were further looks at games we already knew were coming. It’s good to see progress, but it also didn’t give us much new to look forward to. In addition, some of the games I think people were looking forward to potentially releasing this year were confirmed for 2018, instead.

Prior to E3, Sony released an E3 teaser trailer and Red Dead Redemption 2 was shown in it, however at the actual press conference, it was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps that’s due to the delay in release, but I did think it strange there was no mention of it.

The end of the conference was clumsy. It seemed even the audience wasn’t sure if it was over or not, and the cameras showed people awkwardly getting up and leaving when they realized it was, in fact, over.

And no new announcement from Sucker Punch. Color me sad.

For more, here is my recap of Sony’s press conference.

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Nintendo

This one was surprising for me.

Nintendo had a short presentation, but it was chock-full of announcements. We saw trailers and gameplay, but some of the biggest announcements were downplayed with either a title card (Metroid Prime 4) or a brief confirmation of its existence (a core Pokemon game for Switch).

One of the biggest announcements didn’t happen until after the presser: Metroid: Samus Returns for 3DS. At long last people will get a 2D Metroid, though, to be fair, it looks like 2.5D.

Super Mario Odyssey was wacky and wonderful. I may not want a Switch yet, but if Nintendo keeps up this level of support, I may be on board sooner than later. I’m still holding out for a new Animal Crossing release for Switch, but I may buy in before then. Time will tell.

For more, here is my recap of Nintendo’s press conference.

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And there you have it! I know I’m forgetting dozens of things, but these were my broad takeaways from the pressers.

What were your favorite moments? What did you think of each press conference? What did you think overall? Let’s discuss!

Here’s to all the announcements we get from the show floor this week!

11 replies »

  1. Wooooooooolf
    Eeeeeeeeeeen
    Steiiiiiiiin!!!

    I didn’t really get to see much of the shows themselves – always at work, or other obligations kept me from watching them, so I got all my news from YOU!

    Liking what I’ve seen of Far Cry 5 and Assassin’s Creed (hoping this series comes back with a vengeance). But the show winner for me was – how ever did you guess – Wolfenstein: The New Colossus. The first one was such an out-of-left-field surprise, and my GOTY for 2014. I didn’t think it did well enough to get a sequel, and I was skeptical that it would ever happen. I’ve never been happier to have been wrong. My hype is at full throttle, and I may explode well before October 27th.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I’m not sure I understand; are you excited about Wolfenstein?

      :)

      Awww, really? HOORAY!! I’m glad I could help!

      I can practically feel your excitement buzzing through the computer. I hope the sequel is everything you’re hoping for!

      Like

    • Colton & Rebekah, I concur 100%. The conferences felt off. Especially, if you’re talking Sony & Ubisoft. EA did enough to keep our attention span. Nothing special was shown, imho! It left me feeling slightly jaded or disappointed, not sure of the verbiage to use here. Thoughts?

      Like

  2. Overall, it was a rather humdrum E3 this year.

    Highlights for me included: The Evil Within 2, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Beyond Good & Evil 2, Metroid Prime 4, Skull & Bones, Cuphead and Super Mario Odyssey.

    Cheers!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Ah my work life has taken over and so I’m glad that E3 began over last weekend which allowed me to enjoy the early conferences. For me, the biggest surprise (and sadness since I don’t own a Playstation 4) is that Miles Morales is in Insomniac’s Spider-Man game. Nothing fundamentally changed my video game future. I’ve a ton of games to play before I can be excited about some sequels. But I’ve loved getting rapid fire news and updates about games. Now I just need some time to play.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. My overall E3 experience was that it was average. The games that we knew about look good and there were a few surprises that came from unexpected places, for me being mostly from Ubisoft and Nintendo. My personal favorite press conference was Nintendo and my least favorite was Bethesda. On a positive note, there seemed to be something for everyone to get excited about.

    From the amazing games we’ve gotten for the first half of this year, we’ve still got some promising titles to look forward to both this year and in 2018. I really enjoyed reading all your E3 coverage Rebekah! I didn’t even realize that there was also a 2.5D Metroid announced as well till I read it here!

    Liked by 1 person

    • I’m right there with you.

      And I agree on both the remainder of 2017 as well as 2018’s prospects.

      Aww, thank you! That means a lot to me! And no way! I’m glad I could bring some news! :)

      Like

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