E3 is finally over! It was a rollercoaster ride for video game fans that saw Xbox bring its A-game, Sony make dreams come true, and Nintendo give the Wii U its last rites. Now that the moments have passed and heads are beginning to level, let's take a look at the top five worrying post-E3 realities.
S​henmue 3 is a Kickstarter title
Shenmue 3 is off to a great start. As the fastest video game to reach $2 million through crowd funding, it's well on its way to overshadowing other Kickstarter darlings Yooka-Laylee and Bloodstained. Fans are excited because it means Shenmue 3 is confirmed for release. Except it doesn't.
Having a successful Kickstarter isn't a guarantee of anything. There are some pretty massive Kickstarter failures. Undoubtedly, Sony wants to avoid a black eye from their first official support of a Kickstater, and will throw some money and muscle into making the process go smoothly. Yet this causes another concern.
Knowing when to say no, that enough is enough, is arguably the most important aspect of game development. Many projects, Kickstarter or otherwise, tend to spiral out of control when given excessive support. Shenmue's history makes this a very valid concern. Everyone that followed Shenmue has heard this story: Every Dreamcast owner would have to buy the game twice for it to turn a profit. This meant it was doomed to be a financial flop long before its release.
Yu Suzuki's Shenmue 3 is a dream project, but without deep pockets, self restraint, or some balanced combination of the two it will stay a dream.
Nintendo has learned nothing about supporting third parties
Remember how Fatal Frame V, Rodea the Sky Soldier, and Devil's Third were third party exclusives for the Wii U that took up notable sections of the Nintendo Digital Event? Oh that's right, Nintendo didn't even mention them in their highly anticipated event, which was a flop due to lacking content. They had more content, they just refused to show these 2015 Wii U games in a presentation focused on titles that would be released in 2015 and early 2016.
There are only a few Wii U third party exclusives, one of which has been relegated to a weird trailer and an Amazon.jp exclusive retail release. I understand that Devil's Third is only happening because Nintendo stepped in to save it, but if you were a developer with a choice would you want to work with a publisher offering that level of support? Not if you cared about your product.
One would think Nintendo had learned that enough marketing can sell a bad game, just look at Watch Dogs. Seeing these games not even get a trailer in the Nintendo Digital Event is baffling. Especially after Nintendo seemed to have learned the importance of marketing with Splatoon.
The NX is coming too soon.
Nintendo hid away its two biggest known projects in Zelda U and the unannounced Retro game, claiming they wanted to focus only on games coming in 2015 and early 2016. There was also the confirmation (via the Nintendo Digital Event) that we would learn about the NX in 2016, with Reggie Fils-Aime inadvertently confirming the NX is the next home console, It's more than likely Zelda U and Retro's next project have been re-purposed as NX launch titles, or at very least will have cross-gen launches.
The Wii U is less than three years old and its replacement is already announced. Once the NX hits, the Wii U is dead. Nintendo will focus on the NX so it doesn't have the same abysmal launch lineup and nobody else wants to make a Wii U game. That really kills the desire for anyone in the know to buy a new Wii U this holiday season. The only exception is if the Wii U and NX can function synergistically, but I can't imagine anyone wanting to yoke their new hope with their old failure.
Normally moving on would be a great idea. The Wii U is obviously dead if they're chasing "Nintendo-like profits," but that's not necessarily the case here. Nintendo is painfully behind the times in the modern development sphere. They have an archaic account system, their online is lacking, cross-buy is an almost foreign concept, HD development has given them fits, and their relationships with third parties are in the toilet for the most part. Nintendo is even hesitant to allow common features like voice chat, despite building microphones into their damn systems,
The NX is coming, but Nintendo doesn't have the support network needed to make it competitive. They better pray DeNA can work faster than they do, or that they somehow catch lightning in a bottle once more.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is made by Square Enix, not Square
It's hard to find someone who wasn't excited about the Final Fantasy 7 Remake when it was announced without digging deep into the douchiest side of your social circle or the internet. This is a dream almost twenty years in the making. Even if it's not for you, so many have wanted a remake for so long that it's hard to not be happy for them.
Then it happened: Nomura opened his mouth.
They're not going to just enhance the visuals, they're going to make changes they know that not everyone will enjoy. Considering Square Enix's downward trend when it comes to coherent stories, fun gameplay, inspired character design, or anything that is not amazing visual fidelity, this is really disconcerting. Square Enix has already run the Final Fantasy 7 story into the dirt with mediocre to bad sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. Now they turn their eyes to the original. "Enough is enough," said no one at Square Enix as they added another strap, the fourth belt, androgynous features, and more particle effects.
It's ironic, that in a time when everyone is complaining about too many HD remakes, the most desired game in the world right now is an HD remake. It doesn't stop there though: All fans want is Final Fantasy 7 with awesome graphics, period. Yet Square Enix, typically the first to cut corners and half-ass it for their ports, has finally showed a bit of gumption to go out and do something different, when fans are begging them not to.
The Last Guardian has no release date
The reveal of The Last Guardian at E3 2015 was so jam packed with anticipation that people were more than willing to over look its flaws. Who cares that it was pretty mediocre in the graphics department? Who cares that the animations aren't the greatest? Who cares that the footage was as interesting as paint dry? It's The Last F@%#ing Guardian! It has the pedigree of champions. We've wanted it for so long, those things don't matter.
Then we see there's no solid release date, just a 2016 release window. Followed shortly thereafter by Sony claiming they're not 100% certain that it will release in 2016. Basically, there's no real proof that The Last Guardian is anything more than a ghost that Sony conjured up to give their conference more pop.
In reality there's still the possibility The Last Guardian footage could appear as E3 hype fodder in 2021. Sony has already won the day, the game doesn't actually have to release now. It's not like the game will sell well enough to recoup its losses anyway..The Last Guardian is destined to be a critically acclaimed financial failure at best. At this point putting more money into it is like casting it into a fire. It might be better for business to just keep it around for when Sony is in need of big announcements.
Hype with no substance won the day, and that's the most worrying reality of all E3 2015
