E3 is the best time of the year to be a gamer. Exclusive titles are announced, new IPs leave our jaws on the floor and we get a steady rush of gaming excellence pumping through our veins. This year’s E3 has been no exception. With the momentum of next-generation consoles having been built all year it’s hard to pretend that anyone expected E3 2013 to be anything other than exhilarating. Now that the three major players have departed the stage, it has left us with an equally exciting and terrifying glimpse into the future.
As someone who has been a loyal fan of the Xbox 360 console for over seven years, it pains me to see Microsoft effectively red-ringing themselves out of the competition, and fast. Even as they delivered on the promise to focus on games at E3, it simply isn’t enough to overlook the DRM restrictions of the Xbox One console. It’s a horrendous error on Microsoft’s part that may very well leave them struggling to gain ground again with the hardcore gaming demographic.
Meanwhile, the President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, Jack Tretton, seems to have completely destroyed the competition this year. In spite of Sony’s slow start focusing on PS3 and App support, they proved that pleasing gamers is their only goal. Saving the best for last, Sony announced that the PS4 is set to launch with a retail price of $399, $100 cheaper than the Xbox One. PS4 will also be launching free of DRM restrictions, but what truly delivered the knockout blow was Tretton’s statement that “PlayStation 4 won’t impose any new restrictions on the use of pre-owned games.” Tretton’s smile and the resounding applause from the crowd sounded to me like the final move towards checkmate.
Nintendo’s presence feels to me like it’s only ever as strong as the newest Smash Bros. game, which they showed. Oh yeah, there was Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong too, so hooray? Who are we kidding? Nintendo’s pretty much that kid in the back of the class, raising his hand to be called on, but just keeps getting passed over. We all know he’s got the answers. It’s just that no one really cares anymore.
- Sony
- Microsoft
- Nintendo
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