It has been quite a while since my last post. So I feel that a week after E3 has passed and all of the DRM follies of the Xbox One have now been silenced, there is no better time than now to write something up.
This E3 seems to be the most cut throat and exciting E3 since I heard of its existence. So what I want to do with this post is not to determine a victor, but rather analyze what each major company has to do to pull ahead.
I guess I'll start with Sony. To say Sony came on stage and said fuck you Microsoft then dropped the mic and walked off casually while putting on sunglasses is probably an understatement. With the echo chamber that the gaming community is, you would have thought Sony cured cancer while riding a velociraptor. But in all honesty, I couldn't have cared less about their incoming lineup. So far every game I am interested I are basically multi-platform. The one exception to this is, "The Witness." But maybe for now, that is enough to tide me over. I mean I have fallen in love with the indie game community and Sony seems to be going in the right direction with this and I'm quite frankly hopefully optimistic.
One thing I found interesting though, is the fact that they have seemed to abandon all support for the playstation move. Maybe this is to cut the pricepoint by $100 that made everyone excited by the $399.99 price. Regardless, Sony hasn't found a way to interest me in this technology in any way.
Sony also announced that Playstation Plus will now be required in order to play multiplayer. For me this isn't a big deal because I'm already used to paying such a price through XBL, without the bonus games they throw in here and there. Basically what I am saying is that it seems that Sony as of right now has double downed on the hardcore gamers by promising more games from both AAA titles to indie titles and essentially are bending over backwards to please this crowd.
Now we are on Microsoft. What a clusterfuck of an E3 for them. Every time they opened their mouth they pissed off the gaming community more and more. From Don Mattrick snide remarks for those who aren't able to connect online to the failure to clarify why their new direction is something we want. The things they should have emphasized, like family sharing, weren't clear and the things they addressed left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Their failure was totally in their PR. Instead of promoting the awesome new technology of the cloud and what it will do for developers and your gaming experience, they struggled with their harsh DRM policies and misinformation.
Where Microsoft did shine, was in their game line up. From Titanfall to Project Spark left many, including me, speechless. The only thing that left me wary was the kinect.
First let me say, the kinect 2.0 technology, if it work is a great leap for video games with regards to motion controls. I will not bash on this piece of tech because its pretty damn impressive. With that said, I'm still unsure if who this is for. Early adopters of any console usually could give two shits regarding kinect controls. On top of this, if the current gen kinect software is any indication of what is to come, I have no hopes for the device.
Now, you notice how I didn't start with the privacy settings. People were flipping out that the kinect was going to watch you like the fucking NSA. Microsoft has come out and said that you can turn off any feature that makes you uncomfortable. In that sense there is no reason to bitch.
This post is getting really long and I promise it is coming to an end. I didn't say anything about Nintendo. The reason for this isn't because of a lack of fondness to them, but more or less they are not building a console that interests me. There is always room in my heart for Nintendo, but frankly I am getting sick of newer renditions of old ip's. They did a great job at E3 in all honesty, but for now they will be in the back of my mind.
Finally, I have been a part of the hate echo chamber that was reddit in outrage over all the news surrounding E3. I have taken some time and reflected on this and I have come to this conclusion. I will not be getting either console at launch. The plan is to sit back and watch what the second year holds then move forward. If you had to put a gun to my head and ask me what one I would get, I would lean towards Sony. It come down to three things. The first is the community. I love multiplayer and and the people I play with and leaving them behind will be difficult for me if I make the jump. The second is the direction of new and old ip's. And lastly, the controller. Frankly, I love the current Xbox controller and will have to see what they both feel like at some stores.
Well, this post was way too long so I'm done.
-Smiley out
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