Dedicated scores the E3 conferences (Day One)!

Hey, readers, let's dive in to my biased and completely unfair scores for today's major E3 announcements. In the spirit of good sportsmanship, the final score for each conference will be solely based on the conference itself. So, no, I'm not going to mark down Sony for that idiotic free-to-play Destiny of Spirits game, nor am I going to mark down Microsoft for boring me with yet another Kinect Sports game. Who won E3? Who had the worst conference? Read on to find out!

Overall E3 impressions for today:
I'm satisfied. By the middle of the day I was rolling my eyes at all of the stupid tablet/smartphone integration things, but I guess that's the world we live in, huh? It doesn't surprise me that E3 had a lot of games because we're moving into a new generation, but daaaaang, I saw a lot of games that I liked today. Thankfully, no conference was a through-and-through bomb, although we will surely have lots of ammo for new memes.

Microsoft:
If you've been following me around N4G (hi MikeMyers!), you know that I have no love for what Microsoft has been doing with the Xbox brand over the last few years. Things went from bad to worse once we all began learning about the DRM-in-a-box known as Xbox One. However, Microsoft's conference was their best in the last four years. I have to hand it to them. They did a good job. While they did have some unfortunate hiccups, Microsoft definitely delivered on their promise to show games, games, and more games. As a Metal Gear fanboy, I loved seeing more footage of MGS5. I need to leave it at that, because my entire blog post will be overwhelmed with MGS glee (save it for another blog? You got it. Keep an eye out for later this week). Dark Souls II? Looks great, but let's hope it doesn't become too hack 'n slashy. Insomniac's new zombie shooter seems inspired by Team Fortress, and that is not a bad thing at all. Dead Rising 3 also brought its own brand of zombies, which was neat, and you can tell that CAPCOM is really expanding the breadth and depth of the game (let's hope crafting has more meat this time around). Forza 5? I'm the wrong guy to ask because I don't really play racing games, but the graphics look phenomenal. Witcher 3? Looks awesome. Geralt's armor looked dumb. PC version for me but I'm thrilled more people can play this game (Xbox 360 gamers, do your duty and support CDProjekt by getting Witcher 2!!!) Titan Fall (coming to 360, X1, and PC) could be the Xbox's new Call of Duty in terms of popularity, and if you paid close attention, while the maps weren't exactly “open world”, they were a very defiant break away from the corridor shooters we've come to expect. Project Spark is bound to be called a LittleBigPlanet clone, but I think that's unfair. The internet gripes because of Microsoft's sluggishness at introducing new franchises, so let's not crucify them simply because they're actually trying to make something different. New Halo? Good. Microsoft needed to announce this, if only to make up for the huge gaffe of announcing the TV show and tablet game first.. I'm also a fan of both Capy and Superbrothers, so it's nice to see them making a new title.

Yet, despite the glut of games, many of them were multiplatform, and portions of the presentation fell flat, like the lack of sound in Crimson Dragon and BF4, the awkward demonstration of Killer Instinct (“Just let it happen, it'll be over soon” is a new meme), and the less-than-stellar reception of Ryse (remember, that hardcore game you all bought Kinect for?). Oh, speaking of Ryse, I never thought a game could make me think that God of War was light on the quick-time events. Holy Jupiter, that was annoying! Remedy's stunning new game, Quantum Break, got an official confirmation of being exclusive to Xbox, but the trailer/gameplay explained nothing about the game itself. Several of the games (like D4 and Black Tusk) seem like their trailers were accidentally added, on account of them lasting only a few seconds. On top of that, Microsoft failed to give any compelling reasons why their vision of next-gen was worth the $499 price bomb (and an even bigger price bomb: roughly $660 in European territories). They barely showcased the cloud, the need for 24-hour check-ins, and stuff like that. I can appreciate the games, but Microsoft failed to answer some of the biggest questions gamers had going in to E3 this year.

Favorite game: Project Spark (or MGS5, but that's multiplat)
Biggest disappointment: $499 US, ~$660 in Europe
Biggest surprise: Killer Instinct! I can't believe they're doing one.

Final Microsoft Score: 8.0/10

Electronic Arts
I am not – personally – a fan of EA's games. Dragon Age and Mass Effect have lost my interest, I do not play sports games, and Battlefield (or any other modern-day military shooter, for that matter) does not hold my attention any more. With that said, EA had one of the best conferences of E3, hands down, and I really hope to emphasize my non-love for EA, because writing down praise for EA is something I don't really do. A new Star Wars Battlefront and a new Mirror's Edge is enough to seal the deal in most people's eyes, but EA also did a good job of showing off their full lineup of sports games, the new Battlefield, and they even gave a teaser for Dragon Age Inquisition (but no gameplay? Lame). Not bad, EA. Not bad. Need for Speed Rivals was cool, I guess. I'm not a racing fan, and although the trailer was fun, it didn't convince me to try the game. I'd try it before The Crew, I guess. Plants versus Zombies: Garden Warfare was their biggest announcement. Don't laugh. Don't laugh. It really was. As long as they give it polish, give it depth, and give it advertisement (who am I kidding? This is EA), the game has the potential to skyrocket into popularity. How so? Think about it. It's a hybrid between Team Fortress and League of Legends wrapped in a colorful third-person shooter package. Partially due to its PvZ license, it has tremendous potential for reaching out to the too-young-for-CoD crowd, and I have a hunch that older gamers will give this one a try, too. Titan Fall could be a game-changer, or it could fail to ignite any passion. It's always a gamble whenever EA acquires a new developer.
Favorite game: PvZ: Garden Warfate
Biggest disappointment: No Dragon Age 3 gameplay footage. ;_;
Biggest surprise: Star Wars Battlefield? Truly surprised.

Final EA Score: 9.0/10

Ubisoft
I'm a bit torn. Do I give Ubisoft a high rating for their excellent stage presence, their solid list of games, and the huge amount of gameplay they showed off? Or, do I mark them down for playing it safe and not showing us anything new? I'm going to do the latter. Believe me, I'm thrilled to buy Rayman Legends and am willing to reserve judgment until Watch_Dogs and The Division actually come out, but compared to what we saw on display at EA's booth, not to mention Sony and Microsoft, Ubisoft feels decidedly last-gen. Nothing about their conference stood out to me as something I would buy a next-gen system for, and even then, there are a dozen titles shown by Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, and EA that I would rather try before I gave any of these games a chance. Watch_Dogs and The Division are brimming with potential, but games like M.A.G, Prototype, Fable III, and even Ubisoft's own End War have shown us that potential means nothing if the fundamental gameplay isn't entertaining. And that word – potential – is what kept coming to mind while I watched Ubi's conference. AssCreed4: Black Flag has a lot of potentially-cool ideas, but will the game pull it off? The Crew looks neat, but I'm not a fan of racing games, and even if I was, will this pull my attention away from Gran Turismo 6, Forza 5, Drive Club, or Need for Speed? Probably not. Tom Clancey's The Division could potentially be a huge hit, but it's yet another drab-gray post-apocalyptic shooter in a genre that is becoming increasingly crowded. Watch_Dogs has gotten a lot of well-deserved praise, but will the hacking be as fluid, overarching, and usable as the trailers and gameplay suggest, or will we simply get a typical open-world game with some nifty scripted interactions every so often? Time will tell, but for now, color me...cautiously optimistic.

Favorite game: Rayman Legends
Biggest surprise: Tom Clancy's name is being revived?
Biggest disappointment: Tom Clancy's name is being revived...for this?

Final Ubisoft score: 7.5/10

Sony

Microsoft zigged. Sony zagged. The entire conference was summed up in a brief 60 seconds nearly 1 ½ hours into the conference: no restrictions on used games, no restrictions on trading, no restrictions on lending, gamers own the game forever, and there will never be any authentication requirement or online requirement. This, fellow gamers, is what a megaton feels like. While I am disappointed that online multiplayer will no longer be free on PS4 like it was on PS3 (it now requires PS+), gamers around the world gave a collective sigh of relief hearing that their library would be their OWN library. And as if that was not enough, Sony undercut the Xbox One by $100/100 Euros, which is certain to play a large role in which console people pick later this holiday. The games? Sony did okay in this department, mostly because they didn't announce very many brand-new titles, opting instead to further showcase a lot of the games we already knew were coming. Destiny looks like a Borderlands that I actually want to play. Ready At Dawn's new game? Genuinely cool (we don't have enough Steampunk games out there). Knack, Drive Club, and Killzone will be at launch, as opposed to games like new Halo and Quantum Break on the Xbox One, which are 2014 titles, possibly giving the PS4 an edge this holiday when both consoles release.

While Microsoft impressed me and showed off some neat games, Sony actually managed to get me thrilled for the next generation of gaming. If nothing else, Sony's devotion to indie developers is going to give the console industry a much-needed breath of fresh air. Final Fantasy vers...er, I mean Final Fantasy 15 debuted, and it looks like a sprawling open-world game (really, really impressed by what I saw). Kingdom Hearts 3 was also briefly shown. This could actually be a negative: v13 was once slated as a PS3-exclusive, and how it's a possibly-multiplat next-gen game. Lame. Still, good to see that the game wasn't forever lost in development hell. Sony had its own share of glitches with Assassin's Creed 4, though nothing as awkard as the Battlefield 4 stage demo during Microsoft's conference. Setting aside all of these other factors aside, what placed Sony's conference apart was that the console felt truly next-gen. The eye-pleasing graphical tech of The Dark Sorcerer, the Halo-esque color scheme of the new Killzone, or the nearly-CGI-quality graphics of Ready At Dawn's new title were just part of it. Sony seemed to have a much more forward-thinking approach to what the next generation of gaming will look like. If you actually review the conference, there weren't a lot of brand-new AAA exclusives announced. However, that was partially due to the fact that Sony already showed off a lot of their upcoming PS4 library earlier in February.

This E3 was Sony's to lose, and yet they did not waver or slip up on any of the important points regarding the Playstation 4, especially in regards to DRM and always-online. The console shell was a lot slimmer than I expected, sort of a modernized PS2. I know they had to get the movie crap and Facebook crap out of the way, and thanks for keeping it relatively brief, but you still get marked down for that. As someone who owns a top-tier gaming PC, I went into this conference with no need to buy a new console. Yet, Sony made me a believer. Day One? Perhaps. Vita was, sadly, neglected, and while I'm not willing to write off the system completely, I'm simply hoping that Sony isn't writing it off, either. Sony gets marked down for that, too. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure they'll show off more Vita stuff on the show floor and later in the conference, but they really dropped the ball there. I mean, you REALLY dropped the ball, Sony, when it came to the Vita.
Favorite game: Destiny (inFamous: SS was cool, too)
Biggest disappointment: Vita was almost completely neglected
Biggest surprise: $399 price point

Final Sony score: 9.5/10

Overall picks
Favorite game demonstrations/game confirmations: MGS5, Destiny, Star Wars Battlefront, inFamous SS, PvZ: Garden Warfare
Megatons: Price war and DRM war between MS and Sony, Kingdom Hearts 3 exists, Ffv13 is now FF15 (likely multiplat, a megaton on its own), Titan Fall is exclusive to Xbox brand, Mirror's Edge 2 exists. SW Battlefront exists.
Biggest disappointments: c'mon, Microsoft. No clarification on DRM?

Stay tuned for tomorrow. I'll be watching Nintendo's direct and blogging my own biased thoughts on all of the games they show us. PLEASE, let the N4G community know what you think in the comments below! Who won E3? What was your favorite game? Don't hold back. Let's hear it!

[DragonKnight]

Sony absolutely murdered it at E3. I haven't seen this kind of dominance at an E3 since the PS2's glory days. Absolutely phenomenal. I'm definitely pre-ordering that beast right away.

[MikeMyers]

Sony's show itself wasn't that great. All that will be discussed is no DRM for discs and the price. While yes those are major points as a show it was poorly paced and could have been reduced by an hour. Movies and a 10 minute delay of nothing. What was that all about? It took well over half an hour before anything interesting even happened and the Vita is pretty much D.O.A.

We all waited to see games on the PS4 and sadly that isn't much to talk about because we already knew most of them. Infamous looked awesome and the demo from Quantum Dream was great but I don't trust Cage one bit. You never know what you can actually control with his games.

So as a whole, not that exciting but major props for paying attention to indie games.

So yeah, as a show it was average. Microsoft's was balls to the wall games like they said it would be. It wasn't filled with Kinect stuff like you fanboys had hoped. It had lots of new ip's, lots of exclusives and was fast paced.

As if you two would EVER give Microsoft a higher score. Now watch as each of you who probably hated Xbox live's paywall will all of the sudden stick up for Sony's new vision because they didn't support DRM for discs. That's what Sony fanboys do, they are quick to attack the competition over any tiny detail while trying to do damage control when those they worship have a hiccup or two.

Game of the show, easily Forza 5 and Destiny.

Best highlight, Jack Tretton talking about used games.

Worst moment, prior to showing Battlefield 4. I felt sorry for the guy trying to get it going.

[DragonKnight]

"Sony's show itself wasn't that great. All that will be discussed is no DRM for discs and the price. While yes those are major points as a show it was poorly paced and could have been reduced by an hour. Movies and a 10 minute delay of nothing. What was that all about? It took well over half an hour before anything interesting even happened and the Vita is pretty much D.O.A."

LMAO! Sure there Xbox One fanboy. The beginning segments of Sony's conference were admittedly boring, but the overall conference was amazing and dominant. You don't have to admit it, everyone else already is.

"We all waited to see games on the PS4 and sadly that isn't much to talk about because we already knew most of them. Infamous looked awesome and the demo from Quantum Dream was great but I don't trust Cage one bit. You never know what you can actually control with his games."

LMAO again. Talk about reaching. I'm sure all of the Xbox One's games were huge surprises right? I guess you forgot about all the indie games that Sony showed? or how about The Order, yep, nothing new from Sony at all.

"So yeah, as a show it was average. Microsoft's was balls to the wall games like they said it would be. It wasn't filled with Kinect stuff like you fanboys had hoped. It had lots of new ip's, lots of exclusives and was fast paced."

Can't admit it can you. That's fine, you don't have to. You're pretty much the only person who can't.

"As if you two would EVER give Microsoft a higher score. Now watch as each of you who probably hated Xbox live's paywall will all of the sudden stick up for Sony's new vision because they didn't support DRM for discs. That's what Sony fanboys do, they are quick to attack the competition over any tiny detail while trying to do damage control when those they worship have a hiccup or two."

Read my blog. You'll see my stance on the pay wall. But, that hasn't been confirmed anyway.

**EDIT** @Ducky: Thanks for the effort, Mike doesn't really care though so don't waste your time.

[Ducky]

I think you jumped the gun a bit there.

He already wrote a blog and was against Sony's decision to make PS+ required for online multiplayer.

Edit: I am too slow.
VGS

[dedicatedtogamers]

I'm already a PS+ subscriber so I guess this new requirement....just....doesn&# 39;t...affect....me *wink wink*

Both conferences (Sony and MS) were clogged with multiplats, so I don't understand why you think Sony should get marked down because "we saw them all before", which isn't actually true. That's because at Sony's reveal, they actually showed off games.

[maniacmayhem]

@Dragon

How can you call Mike an Xbox Fanboy when you yourself are a Sony fanboy who blatantly says:

"Sony absolutely murdered it at E3"

"I haven't seen this kind of dominance at an E3 since the PS2's glory days."

Sony's was the worse by far. The games they showed were not only multiplat but the few exclusives they did show didn't impress at all. There was nothing that made me say: "I have to have that game".

And now even though Sony said no DRM they still made it clear that 3rd dev/publishers can implement any form of DRM they see fit for the system. Plus now Sony will have their own form of DRM with gamers needing PS+ to play multiplayer. A LOT of sony fanboys hated this about Xbox and used it as ammo against Xbox fanboys.

The games MS showed were far more intriguing than anything Sony showed. Ryse looked great, the massive battles and everything going on around the character was stunning. Deadrising 3 looked fantastic and since I'm a huge Deadrising fan this was great news. Sunset Blvd(?) looked interesting and seems to have this open world massive online shooter appeal. Very curious to see what that brings.

Then there's the Project Spark(?) which looks to be LBP on steroids, seriously how could anyone not be excited about that. And the hidden gem on the 360 side for Summer of Arcade was the game Flashback. Anyone who is an old school gamer will know that Flashback was a masterpiece for the SNES.

And then theirs Titanfall...probably the most exciting game (besides the new Mario Kart) I have seen in a long time.

Just because someone has a different opinion of the show than yours shouldn't automatically label them a fanboy especially when you are giving the same over the top praise for the other company of your liking.

[Ducky]

I thought The Division was pretty cool.
Granted, the setting is cliched, but the details in the gameplay were pretty impressive.

At the very least, I was happy to see so many games go for a more open-world feel.

[KrisButtar]

I was very impressed with Division as well, was a bit upset that its an MMO type game and not supporting offline play. Which actually got my thinking more on Ubisofts games and the fact that they seem to be leaning on making games require Internet. Makes me wonder about Watch Dogs if it can be played offline since they showed the demo where the hero called in help from a tablet user.

[dendenmooshi]

I agree! I feel like The Division isn't getting the attention it deserves. I believe it was among the best game shown in E3 along with FFXV.

[Software_Lover]

Most games from both conferences were multiplats. This is my stance on the positives from both.

Sony
Price is cheaper
Indie games (I'm not that big on indie games and most of them looked generic)
No online authentication

Microsoft
Killer Instinct looked....... ok
Titan Fall looked ok
xbox live family on one account (doesn't affect me but for others it's good)
Crimson Dragon

Multi
The Division
The Crew great
Destiny looked ok
Watchdogs
MGSV
Final Fantasy 15 looked ok but over the top
Battlefield 4

Sony surprised me with the charge for multiplayer. I suspect they used playstation plus as a breeding ground to see if it would work. I just find it funny that Jack was so upfront and manly on the DRM and trading games issue, but was girly and skated around the wording on this. Be a man at everything Jack, lol.

It was a wash for me, but the ps4 pricepoint is a big + for Sony.

[theEx1Le]

You didn't like the look of the division? I thought the premise and game play looked great.

[vega275]

i have to say i did enjoy MS show a lot better due to the fact MS can out swinging with games and many of them being exclusive to the xbox one. not to take anything away from sony's show. it's just sony showed a lot of multiplat games. i thought sony kind of picked up when they announced FFXV and KH3. but when they failed to mention them being exclusive left me wondering did they really have anything of interest that will make me run out and buy the system.

what did give the ps4 a boost in my opinion was the price and the no used game restrictions. which won me over. but their conference as a whole was lacking. until the very end. what hurt MS was not speaking more about the DRM and the price of the system (which honestly isn't as bad as people make it out to be...PS3 anyone)

all in all. i say both companies did ok for the message they were trying to convey. but there is only so much you can tell in a hour.

sony 8.7 for the price and no DRM. show wise was a 7.0
MS 8.5 for the exclusives. a 0 for not discussing in more detail about the DRM issue.

but that's my opinion of E3

[Software_Lover]

I totally agree with you.

The people saying that Microsoft got "destroyed" are really kidding themselves. In the games department, Microsoft had a good if not great show. Everything else belonged to Sony.