E3 2013: Microsoft and Sony Conference Reactions & Why I'm Torn
By _Mattallica 10 Comments
Wow. Is everyone else still trying to recover from all of yesterday's events? We hoped E3 2013 would be one of the biggest yet and it really didn't disappoint. After the next gen console reveals there was so much to be talked about and boy did we get those answers. First, let's start from the beginning with the Microsoft conference.
After the reveal I was very lukewarm on the Xbox One. We hoped they were saving the games for E3 and luckily that turned out to be exactly true. Microsoft came out with a bunch of new exclusives which is almost unheard of when they usually rely on 3/4 franchises. I'm most excited for Dead Rising 3. I love the first game and thought the sequel was still fun (let's not mention the spin offs) so I'm really hyped for this game. I like the seemingly more serious tone but it's only one demo so who knows how the final game will turn out.
We got to see more of Quantum Break and it looks as fascinating and as intriguing as it was in the reveal. It's still unclear exactly what we will be getting. Seems it will be released in episodic format like The Walking Dead and will also have an accompanying TV show. I'm looking forward to hearing all the details ironed out but anything by Remedy has my full attention.
A game that I really didn't think I would be interested in but really liked the demo shown was Ryse: Son of Rome. OK, so the QTE's suck and we don't know how scripted it is but once again it definitely has my full attention. Multiplayer seems interesting also and these sort of new IP's are exactly what I'm looking forward to on the new consoles.
Trials Fusion was announced which will be awesome because it's a Trials game and we also got a new IP from Insomniac in the form of Sunset Overdrive. I really liked the trailer but it was pure CG and we been tricked before with early Fuse concepts so I'm not thinking too much about this one right now.
Titanfall was the big new FPS shown off from Respawn and looked cool but wasn't I blown away. People also seems to think this is an Xbox One exclusive which it isn't. It's also coming to Xbox 360 and PC.
I think that's it for exclusives. Lastly came the price which is very high indeed. I wasn't too bummed out at the time because I assumed all the consoles would be expensive (which I'll get to later) but overall it was a great showing from Microsoft. They showed they care about games and more importantly exclusives and that's what I wanted. But Sony had an ace up their sleeve.
Their conference started slow, showing us the upcoming PS3, Vita and previously announced PS4 games. We got to see the box which is just a typical black box (happy internet?) and then there was a lull. Where were the big exclusives we have come to expect from Sony? All the best looking games they showed are cross platform and that isn't the reason to buy the console. But then came arguably the biggest move in E3 history.
The PS4 supports used games, doesn't require to be online once every 24 hours and encourages game trading/lending. Oh, and it's €100 (£79) cheaper. BOOM. Shots fired! Shots fired! What a move from Sony and from the reaction of the room and all over the Internet it may just be the biggest move that will be made this new generation.
So why am I torn? Well I'm still way more excited for the Xbox One exclusives than I am the PS4 but do I really want to support a company that makes such bad decisions. The DRM/used games issue didn't bother me if both consoles did it but now with only Microsoft doing it, it makes you wonder why? It's just creating unnecessary problems that I frankly, I don't need. Also, I use game rental services and that seems highly unlikely to be an option on the Xbox One.
Of course the games will come eventually with the PS4, they always do. The next big things from Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch and Quantic Dream alone will surely be worth the purchase. Until then there's the awesome cross platform games like Metal Gear Solid 5 and countless others to enjoy. I find myself gravitating towards the PS4 more as they seem to be catering to the hardcore gamer like myself. But not being able to play Dead Rising 3 or Quantum Break is gonna suck. And that's what I'm torn. All I know right now is that Microsoft needs some serious damage control after the bomb Sony dropped on them last night.
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