Tag Archives: e3

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E3 2013 is now over. Pre-orders were made, money was spent and discussions were had. It was only a few days ago but at the same time it feels like several weeks have gone by.

I pre-ordered my PlayStation 4 at Amazon.ca and paid only a small fraction of the price out of pocket. My brother traded in his PlayStation 3 160GB Slim, a couple of controllers and a few games and paid less than $200 out of pocket. With games pre-ordered via FutureShop and consoles coming, we’re ready for the next generation.

In the meantime, let’s review some of my predictions from last week.

  1. Price drop for the Wii U - It didn’t happen but at least they have compelling software lined up for it.
  2. PlayStation 4 Pricing  – I thought they were going to announce multiple SKUs but there was only one and it was $399.
  3. Xbox One Pricing  – Again, I foresaw a dual SKU approach and again I was wrong. There was only one SKU and it was on the higher end of my prediction.
  4. PlayStation Network Services  – I was wrong about the multiplayer remaining free as well.
  5. Xbox Live! Services - I was right but this was a weak prediction.

1/5. What a terrible record. It’s a good thing I don’t do this for a living.

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E3 2013 Day 2 Impressions

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Today it was about pre-orders for me. I was checking in on Amazon.ca for the PlayStation 4 to go back up and refreshing FutureShop to see when they will get their act together and put up the recently announced titles.

My haul is as follows:

  • The Order: 1886 – Santa Monica Studio & Ready At Dawn. New original IP. Neat setting. It’s about time Ready At Dawn got their hands on high end console development. 
  • Infamous: Second Son – Second Son looks to be a wonderful evolution of Sucker Punch’s franchise. The protagonist is also voiced & modeled after the prolific and talented Troy Baker.
  • Battlefield 4 – The more I see, the more I’m reminded of the transition between Unreal Tournament 2003 & Unreal Tournament 2004. It’s not going to be wholly original — just a precision refinement and enhancement of an established idea.
  • Call of Duty: Ghosts – I haven’t seen anything revolutionary for this franchise but what the hey? It’s the first Call of Duty game to run in a high definition resolution.
  • Killzone: Shadow Fall – I was done with paying over $20 for a Killzone game after Killzone 3. The multiplayer ran awful on the PS3 which casted a shadow over anything Guerilla does when they cannot control all the variables. Then I saw how pretty it was and couldn’t resist a showcase piece for the new console.
  • Destiny – It does remind me of Borderlands but there’s something about it that draws me to it. I’m not sure if it’s the look, the size or the fact that it leans so heavily into the online element. Hell, it could just be the fact that it is the next Bungie title.
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds – I’ve never played A Link to the Past, so I thought to myself: “What better way to experience LTTP then to play its sequel”. I should really play LTTP before this arrives.

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E3 2013 Day 1 Impressions

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Nintendo and burglarized GiantBomb studios highlight today’s E3.

Nintendo Direct for E3 2013

By forgoing the traditional big stage press conference, Nintendo managed to squeeze in their E3 presentation down to a 47 minute Nintendo Direct. Non-stop games without awkward banter and technical glitches? I will take it.

I was very impressed by what Nintendo showed off. Everything from Super Mario 3D World to the Wonderful 101. Of the big three, Nintendo showcased the most games that I actually wanted. They showed enough for me to warrant a Wii U purchase in 2014.

  1. Super Mario 3D World
  2. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
  3. Wonderful 101
  4. Super Smash Bros.
  5. Bayonetta 2
  6. X

And those are just Wii U titles. Nintendo also showed off footage for The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and other 3DS titles of note.

A Wii U price cut wasn’t announced yet but I will likely pick the console up in 2014 when it will undoubtedly be slashed.

Overall Grade: A+

Other Notables

GiantBomb’s live stream didn’t happen last night after their A/V equipment was stolen.

Killer Instinct is a free to play title.

Sony’s PlayStation 4 DRM policy clarified.

E3 2013 Day 0 Impressions

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e3-logoDay one of E3 2013 is done. Time for some impressions, some cheers and some jeers. I’ll collect some trailers and other media tomorrow but for now it’s just text!

Microsoft’s Press Conference

Microsoft promised games and delivered on that promise. They started with Metal Gear Solid 5 and ended with an incredible in-game demonstration of TitanFall. In-between the two were a flurry of exclusives.

Microsoft confirmed a gameplay recording and streaming feature for the Xbox One along with Xbox Live! Gold features such as Gold membership sharing on one console and a PS Plus-esque free game offer. All of these features sound great, if I were to pay for Xbox Live! Gold. I refuse to pay for online multiplayer.

As expected, the Xbox One will debut this November for $499.99. I’m surprised there wasn’t a different lower priced SKU or a subsidized offering but there’s still lots of time to announce the latter.

If we’re strictly looking at the games being offered, I am in for an Xbox One. Three exclusives including Forza MotorSport 5, TitanFall (PC as well but I rather play with controller) and the next Halo game in 2014 are enough to push me towards an early purchase.

I mentioned the highlights but there were many announced Xbox One titles that just didn’t show well. However, when I consider it was a 90 minute presentation, it was decently paced. In the end, I was able to grab a trio or so of games that I would purchase an Xbox One for.

Overall Grade: B

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Checkpoint: E3 2013 Edition

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E3 2013 begins tomorrow and it’s going to be the most interesting E3 in half a decade. We’re done with the preliminary reveals and fluff, it’s time to get down to the games.

This E3 will also hold many genuine surprises. In previous years, the audience was privy to numerous leaks and predictable announcements. This is the time for new original titles and  crazy new ideas that may or may not survive beyond infancy of the next generation of consoles.

Oh the possibilities.

This is the first time that I’ll be home during E3 week. I didn’t exactly plan for it but since I had other appointments and obligations, I decided to go ahead and book off the entire week.

I am going to jot down some predictions here. Most of them will be surrounding the new hardware prices and platform services.

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Checkpoint: Post E3 2012 Edition

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If we were strictly viewing E3 wins and losses through press conferences, then the big three were all losers.

Microsoft played it incredibly safe with no real game surprises. Sony thought it was a good idea to suck the life out of their presser with the Wonderbook. And Nintendo? They were the most disappointing with their lack of must have software for their upcoming Wii U.

Thankfully the rest of the trade show yielded many promising titles for the end of this year, early 2013 and perhaps even late 2013.

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E3 2012: GiantBomb Edition

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e3-logoAs exciting as E3 announcements are, I actually derive a large part of my E3 enjoyment from GiantBomb’s coverage.

So many great interviews like the John Carmack one I mentioned yesterday and Brad’s interview with The Last of Us developer was enlightening. The Dishonored interview convinced me that this is something I would like to play very much and it’s not just an awesome trailer.

I wasn’t as smitten with what I saw from the Dead Space 3 demo and this interview didn’t exactly sell me on it. Trying to justify all their design decisions by falling back on the overarching fiction is just lame.