We Talk Over the E3 2018 Microsoft Press Conference

Microsoft is killing it this year. Best Conference by far !

You realize you don't have to reply, right? The only person getting worked up over the course of your entire exchange is you.

I think two days out, you notice that 4/5 of the 50 games shown were not exclusive, not even timed exclusives.

It will be nice next year for MS to have those five studios producing. I hope MS makes two more aquisitions in the next ten months, that will bring them up to good production level.

I thought this conference was solid. Maybe it's due to low expectations, because I don't like Halo, Gears, or Forza, but I actually thought the showings for Horizon 4 and Gears 5 looked pretty good. Sekiro looked great, DMC5 was a neat surprise, Cyberpunk was the game I was most excited to see and thought that trailer looked amazing, even if it seems far off.

The announcement of acquiring studios sounds like they're really gearing up for their next console launch and kind of seceding this one to Sony. I hope they can get it together and really start to bring it with fresh new exclusives, since strong competition benefits consumers.

ffs thought my computer crashed at the 2h mark, thought it was weird that I didn't get a BSOD

I actually didn't consider that perspective. I guess there's been some worrying news, like Microsoft changing their E3 show floor presence. But, I personally never doubted Microsoft would come back strong next console generation. The Xbox One is nowhere near the total disaster the Wii U was and Nintendo is currently thriving.

I think this disagreement between us is a perspective issue. If I put myself in the shoes of someone who's actively gaming on the Xbox, you're right, I would probably be pretty happy. They're doing right by their fans, and if that's their strategy until next gen, its totally valid.

However, you can count me among the still interested hold-outs and from that perspective I'm gonna disagree with you about exclusives.

I would say that if you took away their old, somewhat tired, standbys(Halo, Forza, Gears), you aren't left with many heavy hitters. Pretty much just Crackdown 3, We Happy Few and Session(whatever that ends up being) and I'm worried af about Crackdown 3's development. The 18 exclusives count things like Black Desert(a console exclusive but a 3 year old pc mmo with mixed reviews), PUBG coming out of early access, and Sea of Thieves DLC. Indie games like Ori, Tunic, Battletoads, and Cuphead DLC all look solid, but they're also aren't a reason to drop $400 on an xbox(I can't find a comprehensive list of all 18 exclusives so maybe their's more i'm missing). Hopefully Crackdown overcomes its troubled development and Session is ambitious in scope. I'm actually kind of excited about We Happy Few(I'm not actually sure if this is an exclusive, Microsoft acquired the studio right?).

You may be right that most people have made their choice and closed their minds. But, for people who are still actively looking for a reason to get into Xbox like me or AngryJoe, the one thing we want is big new Microsoft IPs. Its why we're not quite as excited as you think we should be. That said I'll still play the fuck out of a new Halo game.

@qrowdyy: Nah man, if you're not excited, you're not excited. I largely agree with you and I get where you're coming from. If you're already firmly entrenched in Sony's ecosystem, your needs from Xbox are going to be much more niche and narrow - unsurprisingly, this press conference will largely not be for you. And that's ok. There are multiple perspectives here, and the shame is that the broader cultural conversation is largely ignoring the most important one - current Xbox gamers. Do outsider or press or influencer perspectives matter? Sure, of course they do. But, maybe they get too much attention.

Angry Joe took his own unique perspective based on his position and used it to suggest that Xbox is doomed. He went on stage and (instead of talking about the many exclusives that were shown) complained that most of the games shown were multiplatform… What? Why is that a bad thing? He literally criticized Microsoft for showing off more games. Missing the forest for the exclusive trees. People are so firmly behind Sony because they believe in the platform and its ability to deliver what they want, even when they do stupid things. Xbox has work to do there, but it's quietly regained its footing.

If you won't buy an Xbox console because it doesn't meet your unique needs, that's understandable. But man, what a great time it is to be playing games on an Xbox (or a PS4 or a Switch or a PC).

PS: (We Happy Few is not exclusive. Even if Microsoft could change Gearbox's publishing decisions, that would be a dumb move).

Did Sony have a different conference this year because they knew Microsoft would announce all the third party games for them?

year of the ring

Loved the reaction to the Cyberpunk trailer. Good stuff!

How does Dan even have a job in this industry when he knows next to nothing about current, relevant games? If I didn't know any better I'd think he was some random pulled off the street who only has a cursory knowledge of games through a nephew or something.

I am being harsh but it is mind boggling to me.

this.

btw whats with the hate on this game its hard yes but its not shit.

and yes i know its the guys opinion.