With E3 officially complete and the major press conferences finished, people are beginning to ask the big question: Which console won?
While each company brought out their A-game, I would have to say Sony was able to emerge victorious. They did so by simply being more visible to gamers than Nintendo and by using Microsoft’s bad press with DRM measures in their favour to ensure that the PlayStation 4 was the crowd favourite.
By stating that all of their first party games on the PlayStation 4 will have the same policies as their current console, Sony was able to gain attention and interest from Microsoft’s fans who are unhappy with the Xbox One’s used game and trading policy. Sony also pleased current fans by showcasing some new footage for a collection of exclusive games along with the exciting announcement of Final Fantasy XV and the long awaited Kingdom Hearts III. While they did announce that playing online games will require a monthly subscription, people were already used to the idea thanks to Xbox Live, so it’s no biggie.
That is not to say Microsoft didn’t perform admirably. The various exclusive titles announced for the Xbox One still look very promising. In particular Sunset Overdrive, D4, Dead Rising 3, Killer Instinct and Titanfall caught my attention during the conference. However, the five hundred dollar price tag makes it very hard to consider purchasing the console when the PlayStation 4 is a hundred dollars cheaper and also features multi-platform high profile games like Watch Dogs and Battlefield 4.
Meanwhile Nintendo, despite having an impressive lineup to showcase, played it very safe at this year’s conference with news and announcements citing projects that are mostly sequels from well-established franchises. Of course, it is exciting that Mega Man will be coming to the next Super Smash Bros. game, but when that is the biggest news a company has when its competitors are announcing brand new consoles, it’s hard to keep the spotlight for long.
Nintendo, however, is a well established game company and never seems unduly concerned with competing against the two other consoles, as they already have a very dedicated fan base and a large grasp of the casual gaming market. In addition, their idea of simply doing announcements to specific global regions via Nintendo Directs is a clever way to stay in contact with the fans while avoiding the costly price of holding giant press conferences.
- Sony
- Nintendo
- Microsoft
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