(Apologies for the lameness of the title)

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has been called the gaming Super Bowl by both fans and professional journalists. I try my personal best to watch every conference live, and when I miss out on one, I do go back and watch it once I have the time to. We had eight conferences this year (not counting the PC gaming conference, which I do not watch), and while I will keep my thoughts mostly on the showmanship, I will now share my final opinions on the conferences as a whole.

EA

https://www.ea.com/games/sea-of-solitude

EA unfortunately manages to usually be the least interesting out of all the conferences, and this year was not only no exception, but they seemed to drag themselves down more than usual. EA presents their conference the same way that you may present a slideshow in a business meeting. This may be pleasing to the suits and the stockholders, but to the average joe, it's particularly boring. A few things stood out to me personally, and the most important one being just how surprisingly well EA has been treating their indie devs. EA is notorious, but I will give them major props for supporting indie devs as well as they seem too. The only games that left a positive impact on me from the conference were Unravel 2 and Sea of Solitude, which seem like the kind of "art game" that not only would I manage to enjoy, but would only exist thanks to EA and their budget.

HOWEVER, they lose a lot for the false apology about moving forward. I assume the backlash will last a while, as it deserves to. When you mess up, you don't apologize because some people wren't happy, you apologize because you plan to learn from you mistake, and that is not what that was in the slightest.

Microsoft

Of the "big three", Microsoft has been in dead last this console generation. True, I can't help but believe they must have sold better than the WiiU, but with the Switch now in existence, that point is completely minute. As a fan of underdogs, and a believer in the spirit of competition, I've been hoping for Microsoft to have better E3 conferences for years now. They have been getting better, and this one was their best.

I cannot say it was E3 perfection, but having watched this one last, they certainly beat their competition this year by far. They had the least amount of slow spots, kept the talking briefer than they ever do, and avoided a lot of the faux pas the company often does on stage. No more car on stage for Forza, no more pointless video telling us Minecraft stills exists.

There was a bigger emphasis on exclusivity this year. Admittedly, I long for the day Microsoft stops overusing the word just because they want too more than need to. Also admittedly, many of the exclusives are games that are on both Xbox and Windows 10 devices, and some simply get on Xbox first. I'm fine with using the word for the former, and it's still a platform exclusivity, but the term needs to stop for the latter. Sony doesn't do it, and it is annoying.

Still; Battletoads, Gears 5, Halo Infinite, all great ways to remind gamer to care about the Xbox One and it's future. Plus, they dared to mention the next console, and that takes something to admit to. Great show.

Bethesda

Bethesda has only been holding conferences since 2015, where they nailed it on their first try. The following years failed to measure up, with the 2017 conference being confusing and fairly boring. This year, a more traditional show with the Bethesda quirks was back in full force. Self-deprecation, potshots, cuss words, and a line-up of games that ranged from interesting to uninteresting. The ending teasers for the newest Elder Scrolls and the new IP Starfield were a nice touch, even if we truthfully saw nothing aside from a panning shot.

I appreciate Todd Howard's honest feeling approach to the new direction presented in Fallout 76. He did a fantastic job in explaining how this game would be different, but still fully a Fallout experience. Howard also said he understands the hesitation and nervousness from the fanbase in this new direction, even admitting to the internal division that was hinted at from a press leak. I am willing to play it, but I do also admit I have some lower expectations for the first year or so, based on what I heard from Elder Scrolls Online.

Still, a lovely little conference, with noticeably some downhill moments to be completely fair.

Devolver Digital

While not as mind-blowingly fresh and new as last year, Devolver presented a perfect satire of the corporate business world and the fact the whole conference really is just a commercial we go ga-ga over. Now with an overarching arc (which I wouldn't be surprised if they ignore next year because that would also be funny), I am excited for the future endeavors and the harsh humor to follow. A short and loving sweet conference that even if it's a joke, deserves a high spot on the list. Also, the games are still real, so you can still be excited about the games. Sometimes you actually have to do the thing you're satirizing to do it just right. And honestly, they were really good looking games.

Also, special mention to Tiny Build, who also tried doing something like Devolver this year. A much shorter joke video, and it wasn't as funny, but a nice attempt nonetheless and hopefully this is how indies do it from now on. I can't praise their one game as much though, wasn't my kind of game nor did it look like it would leave too much of an impression through a trailer. Maybe the full game will be amazing, willing to believe that without a doubt.

Square Enix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZhh-fZFX-Q

I'm a little torn. This was like a Nintendo Direct, but from Square. I do not miss their live conferences, as they were typically very weird and disjointed on accident. On the other hand, they showed too little. The new Tomb Raider looks great, but I have forgotten the new IP already despite thinking it looked good at first. I'd look it up, but I'm afraid this helps my point too well by not remembering it. The rest was footage we'd already seen. I was excepting this to be the Kingdom Hearts conference, but that honor went to both Microsoft and Sony.

Ubisoft

https://store.ubi.com/us/game/?dwvar_5b0586e3ca1a64ed97625eaf_Platform=switch&pid=5b0586e3ca1a64ed97625eaf&edition=Starter%20Edition&source=detail

Ubisoft make fun conferences. always starting with Just Dance really sets a great mood, and I was happy to see them embrace it so well. I was glad to see more of Starlink: Battle for Atlas, a game I was excited for and now fully remember the name of. I'm not a Star Fox fan, but seeing the crossover for the Switch version makes me appreciate the close relationship Nintendo and Ubisoft are now showing. That may be the version I have to pick up.

Sadly, there's not much else to say for excitement. I did enjoy the Beyond Good and Evil 2 footage, but with it came the notice that the audio on the mics was messed up this year. They were not aware they were still on. Hearing "We killed it! I think we killed it!" may have been cute, but as someone who has editing audio before, it's a headscratcher. Same with the Donkey Kong live orchestra. Hearing Grant Kirikhope talk with everyone beforehand about how they changed his blocking is not information I should have heard, but sadly, I did. Still, good orchestra, it's a shame I mostly remember the discussion instead.

A middling performance, especially after being the favorite of many last year, but they did far from the worst.....

Sony

https://www.suckerpunch.com/category/games/ghost-of-tsushima/

Sony used to be the king of E3 conferences. This year, they changed up the format, which they have every right to experiment. Not all experiments are good.

They started in an actual tent for the first trailer, and had Shawn Layden seemingly stall for time while trying his best to be entertaining. I give the man props for trying, it was clearly awkward and not thought-out well enough, and yet he still tried his best. The audio was also abysmal in the tent. Layden was not only hard to hear, but so was the footage for The Last of Us: Part II. I seriously could not hear some of the character dialogue while watching, and in a story-heavy game, we as an audience lose important details when that happens.

During the venue switch, we waited seventeen minutes, and were shown two commercials. Not trailers, commercials.

Thankfully, when it picked up, it picked up. The gameplay trailers were all interesting, however, almost nothing was new save for the announcement of a new VR game from Justin Roiland, and a trailer that like with the Square Enix conference, I have forgotten the complete existance of. Some of the gameplay went on too long for my interest, and we noticeably lacked release dates. These were anticipated games, and we still don't know when a good number of them come out. Still, these trailers did get my interest, including in games I did not have much hope for or interest in. I am completely sold on Tsushima by this point, and last time I saw it, it was just a picture.

I hope this is an experience Sony learns from, as I know they can do better.

Nintendo

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-06-12-metroids-ridley-is-getting-the-amiibo-treatment-for-super-smash-bros-ultimate

Once again a Direct instead of a conference. But, unlike in some years, Nintendo kept me interested and were fast with announcements while still having the breathing room I believe E3 really needs in their showcases.

It's also interesting how both Ubisoft and Sony made me lose interest by taking too long with gameplay, Nintendo showed almost half an hour of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and still managed to keep me interested the whole time. By changing up the pace after segments, having us watch segments instead of just one mission I would have rather played than watched, and showcasing how much they are trying to make this the best Smash experience, I found myself entertained throughout.

I understand people who will not give Nintendo highs marks due to lacking a real conference, but now that we have imitators, it's clear Nintendo now fully knows how to use their own format. It's a shame their other announcements during the expo will not be tied to this showcase, but, I still think it was one of their better ones.

Final Ranking

1. Microsoft

2. Bethesda

3. Devolver Digital

4. Nintendo

5. Ubisoft

6. Sony

7. Square Enix

8. EA