This year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo is in full swing. Sunday night marked the inaugural press conferences presented by the biggest gaming studios in the industry. The showcases in question were worth tuning in, some being an entertainment gaming extravaganza, the likes of which have never been seen before, while some were…not so much.
In case you weren’t there for the live streams, here’s a full breakdown of every E3 2016 conference, ranked from the worst to the best of the weekend:
6) EA
While no one can really show hate towards EA as a whole considering the major contributions they’ve made, their showcase this year was subpar at best. With the exception of their new EA Originals division directed at independent developers, the majority of the show was focused on nothing new, except for the latest Fifa and Madden games, which are essentially the same every year. The miniscule remainder of the show went over a non-specific new Star Wars game, the new Titanfall 2 trailer, and some info on the next Mass Effect.
5) Nintendo Treehouse
Despite Nintendo’s notoriety, their Treehouse presentation consisted mostly of the latest installment to the Legend of Zelda series, Breath of the Wild, and more info on the next Pokemon generation, Sun and Moon. While these games are anticipated to be great additions to their respective mythos, they were still the only two things shown.
4) Ubisoft
Ubisoft’s conference was relatively enticing, despite the awkward opening dance number to plug ‘Just Dance 2017’, and a few cringeworthy intros from host Aisha Tyler. Aside from the upcoming hits South Park: The Fractured, but Whole, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, and the behind the scenes footage for the new Assassin’s Creed movie, the clear frontrunners from the showcase were the new VR experience, Star Trek: Bridge Crew, the action sports game, Steep, and of course, the highly anticipated sequel to the stealth/hacker, Watch Dogs 2.
3) Bethesda
The Bethesda conference was a definite must watch. Even though a good amount of time was spent on Elder Scrolls news, including the latest remaster for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the prominent titles were several of the latest downloadable content additions for Fallout 4 and Doom, as well as the reboots for Prey and Quake. The one game that stood out above the rest has to be the new Dishonored sequel, which promises all the excitement of the first game, with new powers and gadgets with which to wreak your own brand of havoc.
2) Microsoft
Several of the Xbox announcements focused on the latest hardware, namely the new Xbox One S and the new customizable wireless controllers available on their website. Much of the excitement was for the latest Gears of War title, which looks to become the worthy successor the previous trilogy and features a new elite controller available upon the game’s release. The rest of the show had an emphasis on some brand new titles that look to make way for a new generation of gaming like We Happy Few, Sea of Thieves, and Scalebound.
1) Sony
Without a doubt, Sony’s Playstation conference was the frontrunner for E3. Not only did the gaming powerhouse deliver their presentation accompanied by a live orchestra, but the entire show was a venture into the imagination and wonder we’ve all come to expect. Much to the dismay of many, there was no Kingdom Hearts 3 presentation as previously rumored, but they did present the only thing that could trump that news: Hideo Kojima making a surprise appearance and dropping the bombshell of the secret game he’s been working on with actor Norman Reedus entitled Death Stranding.
If that wasn’t enough, the lineup was more than hype-worthy, to say the least, with the newest trailers for God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn, the Crash Bandicoot HD Collection, and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. As far as new games, they delivered such top tier titles as Detroit: Become Human, Resident Evil VII, Days Gone, and arguably the most exciting Spider-Man game thus far.
