How EA can win E3 2014

When it comes to “winning” E3 — a fancy, schmuck way of crowning the company who had “the best” showing — we always limit it to the big three: Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Let us not forget, there are two other press conferences on Monday: Electronic Arts and Ubisoft. Seeing as how these companies have provided the majority of games available on Xbox and PlayStation, especially this new generation, I think it’s quite possible they could win it all this year. For EA, a company that is no longer “the worst in America,” it comes down to just a few key things.

Star Wars

With a multi-year agreement with Disney to develop and publish new Star Wars games for a "core gaming audience,” Star Wars is easily one of EA’s biggest factors this year. Don’t let us down.

During last year’s E3, EA very briefly teased a new Star Wars Battlefront. This year, they have to show us more, and they’ve said they would. But as exciting as that would be, EA still has two other studios rumored to be working on Star Wars games: Visceral Games (also developing Battlefield: Hardline) and BioWare (developers of Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO). I think we’d all agree that a new Knights of the Old Republic game would be amazing.

Battlefield: Hardline needs to not succeed off name alone

Visceral is taking a different approach with Battlefield: Hardline. The studio is ditching the traditional military war zone setting and instead bringing the fight to the streets: cops vs criminals style. It’s a bold approach, but the key here is for Hardline to be appealing because of its coolness factor and not name alone. A teaser released earlier this week certainly set an exciting tone, but it really just looks like Battlefield 4 in an urban setting.

Show me how The Sims 4 differs from The Sims 3

I feel like I’m the only Sims 4 fan in the GameZone office, but seriously, there’s a huge market for this. Maxis has some great ideas with The Sims 4 in terms of character and housing creation, but I need to see more gameplay. I need to see how it differs from The Sims 3 because, quite frankly, the two look just about the same.

Mirror’s Edge 2 needs more details

At last year’s E3, EA shocked the world announcing Mirror’s Edge 2. Details were vague, however, and we really haven’t learned much about the game since then. Let’s start with some gameplay and then maybe talk a release date. “When it’s ready” just simply won’t do. The good news is that we definitely know Mirror’s Edge 2 will be present at E3. Let’s just hope it doesn’t disappoint.

SPORTS!

EA gets a lot of crap for its sports games. “It’s just a roster update,” is the ccomplaint I hear every year. But with next-gen systems, EA has the chance to really make a sports game that feels different from its predecessors. I’m not just talking Madden. I’m talking NHL and NBA LIVE as well. We’ve seen screenshots; we’ve seen trailers; we’ve been told promises. I want to see more.