1) Sony
This year Sony changed things up, by moving from a large sports arena to the noticeably smaller and more intimate Shrine Auditorium. It was a surprising change, and one that I originally questioned, but it made complete sense once everything got going.
Much of Sony’s E3 2016 presentation relied upon theatrics, and that was evident right from the get-go, when its hired orchestra took their seats and began to play an epic tune. What followed was the reveal of a brand new, Norse-themed God of War, which was met with a lot of evident fanfare. I must admit that I clapped heartily, because I was quite impressed with what I saw and was happy to see the series move away from the typical structure that it had worn into the ground. I mean, I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I’ve been bored of the series’ repetitive gameplay for quite some time now.
Sony did a great job of making its press conferences about the games, themselves, and had an incredible-looking lineup to show off. Going further, it also made a conscious decision to keep vocalized dialogue to a minimum, which was greatly appreciated. It all exuded confidence, proved that there’s a lot coming down the pipeline at Sony, and left me feeling glad to be a gamer. Of course, the badass orchestra and neat-looking, 3D backdrops also helped.
There wasn’t a lot that was unique about Sony’s press conference, which leaves little to really describe. Simplicity was its guiding principle, and it succeeded and supplanted itself as E3’s winner because of that. Perhaps other companies will take notice and try to do something similar next year, because the talking ends up being a bit much after a while.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Sony’s after party, as it was an integral part of our E3 2016 experience and featured a surprise appearance by Conan.
That particular event took place right next door in a second great hall that I didn’t even know existed. It was there where Sony had a bunch of PlayStation VR demo stations set up and both Shaan and I had our first opportunities to go hands on with the impressive new tech.
Overall, it was a very memorable affair and combined with everything we saw, made for the best press conference of E3 2016.