That definitely wasn't Sony's best E3.

People are claiming Sony's E3 was the best in History. Okay. So they start off showing the The Last of Us, Beyond and a few more games that will close with this console generation. Then they show vita and all that, until finally they show the PS4. I like the console, looks great. So then they start talking about Movie/Music unlimited... Okaay.. They show the 4 PS4 exclusives that were already announced at their conference back in January and show new gameplay, cool. Then boom, Tetsuya Nomura pops in. This.. THIS RIGHT HERE was when Sony could've won E3. They show Final Fantasy 15 and right after that, they show Kingdom Hearts 3. Do you know how many people have been waiting for those 2 games? THOSE TWO GAMES ARE CONSOLE SELLERS. But guess what? They're multiplatform.. okaay moving on, we see a new ip which looks very interesting. The Order looks very good except for the fact that.. no gameplay was shown. After that, all I saw was INDIE GAMES, MULTIPLATFORMS AND EXLUSIVE DLC AND CRAP. WHERE WERE THE EXCLUSIVES GAMES? Sure we can share used games and play offline and 400$ is a great price for the PS4 but I saw no exclusive game that made my jaw drop like MS did! After today I honestly believe that MS did in fact murder Sony. MS was like bam exclusive, bam exclusive, bam exclusive, a multiplatform, bam more exclusives! Why are people saying Sony won E3 and Next gen because of a price tag and because it supports used games? Where were the freaking games Sony? And why did they let two games that could potentially sell PS4's like never before be multiplatform? BOTH OF THEM?

So let me summarize Sony's conference:

They show the console
They show a new ip with 0 gameplay
PS4 400$ with used games support and not always online
To play online you'll have to be PS+
Show gameplay of 4 PS4 tittles we already saw back in Jan.
Talk about Music unlimited and video unlimited.
Mutiplats multiplats and moreeeeeee multiplats.

And Microsoft's conference:
A few multiplats
Exclusives exclusives exclusives exclusives exclusives exclusives AND MORE EXCLUSIVE GAMES FOR THE XBOX ONE.
500$ console.

And people are still defending Sony? They showed barely no new PS4 exclusive games. That's a console's main seller, the exclusive games. Why do most people think PS3 won this gen? Because Sony provided a whole lot of PS3 exclusive awesome games. And I can't wait to get my hands on The Last of Us but I'm not so excited for the PS4 anymore and if I don't see something that can change my mind from here to November.. I'm sorry but I might end up buying an Xbox One until Sony gets their **** together. So you people need to stop being blindfolded by the price and the used game supports and open your eyes. Well this was my opinion and let me say that I've owned Sony consoles from Ps1 to PS2 to PSP and PS3 so I'm clearly not an Xbox troll. I'm just a hardcore gamer who enjoys playing great games. I have TLOU and Beyond waiting for me at Gamestop and I can't wait to get my hands on them. Wish I could say the same thing about the PS4.

[ReconHope]

They didn't show any exclusive like they should have but they did say 20 exclusives 12 of which will be out in the first year. We will wait and see. As of now xbox is still showcasing a better lineup. It got glossed over because the used game issue being cleared up and the monster price announcement i suppose.

[Black-Helghast]

Sure they promised 20 exclusives but man that was E THREE. The best time of the year to show new games. Just look at The Last of Us, Sony showed gameplay at the end of E3 2012 and look how popular the game is. Sure most of that popularity is because the game looks absolutely amazing but E3 helped a little. Microsoft's exclusive lineup for Xbone is killing PS4's exclusive lineup right now. Sony needs to step up.. or they might lose some hardcore gamers.

[HammadTheBeast]

This is the thing. Sony doesn't give a **** about showing those things right now. Gamescom isn't far off, and this E3 conference was about clearing EVERYTHING up, and showing MS what's up.

The games they showed were great, they showed that they have the publishers backing them despite lack of restrictions, and , moving on from their reveal, this time they focused on the console itself rather than the games in particular.

And I think a lot of the multi platform stuff was about letting it out that pretty much every game will be "Better on PS4".

Overall, not bad, and they didn't even have to put all that much effort in after riding at the top of the MS Bad PR wave.

In my opinion, 8.6/10.

I was hoping for more details on SSM's new games, the new Naughty Dog game that team #2 is working on, and various other games from Sony's first party, but I'm sure that this year, Gamescom will definitely be about the games.

[ABizzel1]

I'll post this once again:

MS's conference was about making up, and proving to the gamers they have games and that their console wasn't all about media.

vs.

Sony's conference was all about showing gamers they're putting the developers and the consumers first, by showing the improvement with 3rd party developers, indie developers, and making sure the consumer knows that their putting them first and foremost, which is why Sony won in the eyes of the majority of gamers, journalist, and developers.

That being said game for game I agree Microsoft showed better games and demos. But that's where it ends. "They showed better games and demos", not they have better games.

Microsoft said they would have 15 first party exclusives in the first year of Xbox One, and they just showed everything they have until 2014 (although there could be a few more 3rd party exclusives coming for E3 2014), vs. Sony showing launch titles only.

Sony spent a decent amount of time on PS3 and Vita, because they're still supporting those platforms vs. MS who dumped first party support for the Xbox 360 to completely focus on the Xbox One.

Just because: The Last of Us, Beyond 2 Souls, Gran Turismo 6, Puppeteer, Rain, Killzone Mercenaries, Tearaway, God of War HD1 & 2 Vita,
Final Fantasy X HD & X2 HD, Flower Vita, Dead Nation Vita, Dragon's Crown, Warrior's Lair, and Kingdom Hearts HD Remix aren't coming to the PS4 doesn't mean you can't count them as exclusives.

[ABizzel1]

On top of that 2014 is already too crowed as it is, so why would Sony release a barrage of PS4 exclusives and have all of these huge releases competing with each other forcing many of the games to fail financially due to the sheer amount of quality titles. I'm sure we all can think of 10 - 20 games were looking forward to for launch, but realistically most core gamers are going to buy their console and maybe up to 5 games ($700 for the console and 5 games), so why risk having one of their first party games not be one of those 5. And he majority of gamers miss a game day one they either neglect to pick it up, or wait until it's super cheap used, or hits the bargain bin.

What I will say is that Sony failed in showing off other games that could have made their demos and showing better. All the Free 2 Play games should have been demoed, and are EXTREMELY important, because as I said gamers are more than likely buying no more than 5 games; however, I can guarantee you that they'll be downloading every Free 2 Play game to see if they're worth keeping. On top of that it's another way to show how the PS4 is cheaper than the Xbox One in another way beside the $100 console price difference.

When you looks at exclusives and console exclusive things start to look completely different.

PS4: Drive Club, Infamous: Second Son, Killzone: Shadowfall, Knack, The Order: 1886, Primal Carnage: Genesis, Secret Ponchos, Homesquare's game, Blacklight: Retribution, Daylight, DC Universe Online, Final Fantasy 14, Octodad, Outlast, Planetside 2, War Thunder, and Warframe are all console exclusives.

17 (30+ if you count PS3 and Vita)

vs.

Xbox One: Below, Crimson Dragon, D4, Dead Rising 3, Fantasia: Music Evolved, Forza Motorsport 5, Untitled Halo Project, Killer Instinct, Kinect Sports Rivals, Loco Cycle, Project Spark, Quantum Break, Ryse: Son Of Rome, Sunset Overdrive, Minecraft: Xbox One Edition, and TitanFall.

16 (18 if you count Xbox 360)

All those exclusives on top of multiplatform games like:

GTA 5, Assassin's Creed 4, Watch Dog, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty Ghost, Batman Arkham Origins, Lost Planet 3, EA Sports franchises, 2k Sports franchises, XCOM Declassified, Need for Speed Rivals, Castlevania, Saint's Row 4, South Park, Dark Souls 2, Final Fantasy 13-3, and soooooooo much more.

As you can see it just doesn’t make sense, and we’ve seen all of MS’s first party 15 games for the entire first year (Holiday 2013 - Holiday 2014).

Finally to finish things up, Sony generally has a Gamescon and TGS conference, whereas MS rarely has one and rarely attends either outside of demo stations. At these conferences Sony generally announces a couple of new games, as well as price drops for their consoles, so there should definitely be more coming for the PS4 in the next few month especially with PC developers and indie developers embracing the PS4 significantly over the Xbox One.

I will say most people are judging it based on the fact that Sony was bold enough to step and and take a stand for the consumer and stop all these MS and publisher enforced restrictions, and speak up for gamers by telling them "No". That message combined with the fact the PS4 is a more power console and $100 less than the Xbox One is why people are calling this the best E3 for Sony. It may not be the best game wise, but it was probably the biggest moment in E3 history, because a big corporation stood up for it's consumers rather than it's partners, and that's something that Sony deserves EVERY OUNCE of praise and hopefully success that the PS4 brings.

[dedicatedtogamers]

Sony blew a lot of their load when they first showed off the PS4, so I'll cut them just a bit of slack, especially considering that three of the big games shown (Drive Club, KZ:Shadows Fall, and Knack) are going to be launch titles, with inFamous 3 coming a few months later. Many of the big exclusives shown during MS's conference and Nintendo's Direct won't be available until 2014.

I dunno. Unfortunately, E3 this year was not about the games, and Microsoft is to blame for that. People wanted to hear about their consumer rights, because for a lot of people, it was impossible to be excited for games wondering if their game ownership would be restricted.

[Nicaragua]

you make it sound like sony didnt get a chance to show games because they had to address the big DRM & consumer rights issues. In reality however those issues took all of 5 minutes of stage time to clear up meaning that the rest of the presentation was pretty much free to focus on the games.

Sony's presentation was a bit aimless, unfocused and bumbling. They showed off some good stuff but not enough for my tastes.

Xbox showed off quite a few third party exclusives, whereas sony talked about exclusive content - thats the kind of shit i hated when MS did it constantly. Exclusive content is lame, i want exclusive titles.

Sony definitely won E3 but they did it on autopilot just because MS screwed it up and Nintendo are practically a no show. But thats not the Sony i want,

I want the sony of old who had top notch first party games and bucketloads of third party exclusives like the era of MGS4 & Demons Souls. Now it seems that the coin has flipped and MS has all the big third party exclusives with TitanFall, Dead Rising 3, Minecraft etc.

I guess i just wanted more from sony, it was far from their best.

[chadboban]

"Unfortunately, E3 this year was not about the games, and Microsoft is to blame for that. People wanted to hear about their consumer rights, because for a lot of people, it was impossible to be excited for games wondering if their game ownership would be restricted."

Holy crap dude you hit the nail right on the head. However, I will say that Tretton essentially taking Microsoft down blow after blow and hearing the crowds reaction was a great moment for E3.

A little off topic, but I'd like to know your thoughts on the Nintendo Direct since you're one of the most level headed people here. A lot of folks were disappointed by the lack of surprises, the only one being retro working on Donkey Kong again(not the surprise people were looking for). But overall when I want back and looked it over, I think they had quite a solid showing my main gripe being that the new 3D Mario didn't blow me away the same way I was when I first saw Galaxy. I was shocked at how impressed I was with Mario Kart 8, I wasn't expecting much they really stepped it up. Also "X" looks so damn good!

http://abload.de/img/quicko...
http://abload.de/img/autobo...

[dedicatedtogamers]

If you want, I put down my thoughts for Nintendo's conference in my blog post here: http://n4g.com/blogs/detail...

tl;dr Nintendo played it conservative and safe when they absolutely needed to be aggressive and show us the goods.

[longcat]

all the consumer focus was on drm and console price and appearance....any new game announcements would probably have been lost/diluted in the shuffle.

[Black-Helghast]

Actually no. Go to Youtube and look for Kingdom Hearts 3 PS4 trailer. 444k views.. in a single day. And FF XV has 220k. Problem is neither of those two games are exclusive. If they were, I wouldn't be so disappointed at Sony because at least they showed some exclusive PS4 gameplay but turns out both games are multiplatform. So I doubt new game announcements would've been "lost in the shuffle".

Edit: Make that 570,000 views in only 17 hours.

[iamgoatman]

Did you watch the conference? The focus on DRM and price came right at the end and was over in 5 minutes. They had well over an hour to show loads exclusives that wouldn't have been overshadowed at all, but they didn't. They wasted a bunch of times yapping on about media features and TV.

[InTheLab]

I like how since we've seen Killzone, Driveclub, Knack, Infamous, they suddenly don't count. I like how GT6, Last of Us, and Beyond Two Souls don't count.

The only good shown off for MS was the multiplats, That create your own game game, Forza 5, and that's it. Titanfall is already the most overrated shooter in gaming and is multiplatform. Ryse is already being picked apart by critics. Killer Instinct is a F2P trap. Halo is Holiday 2014.

I think you're being a bit generous with the exclusives for MS and a bit to stingy with giving credit to Sony. While I agree that MS' conference was good for those interested in the Xbone, it simply cannot compare with Sony's conference.

Lastly, MS dodged the only thing that anyone attending that conference cared about, while Sony tackled it head on.

There's no comparison there. Support for all 3 of it's platforms versus DRM, No used, and 1 game for the 360...

[Loki86]

You comment here is so full of misinformation it is ridiculous.

[InTheLab]

how so?

[grimmweisse]

I would definitely agree with the first part of your statement. But as for basically writing off MS's titles is a little premature and hasty. Although I am surprised that Killer Instrict is F2P and being developed by a different studio with a mediocre track record.

I think the reason why so much attention is being given to MS at E3 is because the games are new where Sony has already unveiled most of their PS4 title with it's initial unveiling.

Overall, Sony had the better conference because MS screwed up so bad with it's unveiling. But that's just my opinion.

[InTheLab]

I'm not writing off the good titles I mention. I actually forgot about D4 and still cant remember the name of that LBP-like game, which looks amazing. And of course, a next gen Forza looks stunning. But everything else that's actually exciting is multiplatform.

So Sunset Overdrive and Ryse look meh. Lococycle? Meh. Titanfall. What did we see that's exciting there? The dudes that made CoD are now making a very similar shooter with mechs. No one would care if it were coming to both consoles and people barely care now since no one is talking about Titanfall.

So I think I was pretty fair with MS. I've always maintained that they had a great conference, but they showed off more exclusives for the Xbone than Sony did with PS4 because no one gives credit for the PS3 heavy hitters coming in a few days, weeks, and months. Meanwhile...there's nothing coming from MS for the Xbox...which they claimed to still support.

[SeraphimBlade]

I do share the desire for wanting to see more games. But to repeat the annual lecture: E3 is ultimately for investors, not gamers. It's investors who (correctly or not) think people want these "all-in-one" experiences from their console. I can hardly lay blame at sony's feet for giving them what they want.

I think it says a lot that this E3 made me feel more relieved than excited. I'm not gonna reserve PS4, but they did manage to make me second-guess building a PC this summer. Depending on early titles, one of those will wait until next year. Xbox One needs to do some serious, highly unlikely backtracking on DRM policies to get my attention again.

Also, I'm ASTOUNDED at the backlash for Kingdom Hearts going multiplat. I feel like I'm back in 2006. Square obviously gave up on exclusivity this gen, and they've been moaning about multi-million-selling games not selling enough. The only reason the handheld KH games have been exclusive is, well, because they're on handhelds. I don't see what the surprise is. I guess I was expecting groans and sighs, not screams.

[maniacmayhem]

I'm really surprised too that anyone would think that Square games would be exclusive to one console. Especially going into this next gen.

And yes, MS needs to do some backtracking with their own confusing, stupid DRM issues. But being that they are MS and are known for thinking they know their consumer better than we do I doubt this will change anytime soon.

[Software_Lover]

Meh.

You have a 399 console and a 499 console. Who do you think people will determine the winner, even if everything was equal, no drm on both?

[BillytheBarbarian]

I'm a multiplat player that wants to own my NBA 2k14 purchase. PS4 is a no brainer. Exclusive titles are overrated. Especially shooter fps games. I'll keep my 360 for my Gears fix. That's about it.

[Godmars290]

May not have been their best E3, but they still won it.

At this point really wondering more why MS held their pre-E3 show. Given what they talked about then isn't going to be there at launch.

[maniacmayhem]

It is interesting that people were up in arms about MS's conference that showcased the console and features only and N4G fired on them for doing this even though that the showcase was stated for that purpose only.

Sony hardly shows anything new or exciting and mostly shows multiplatform games and most on here say their conference was a slam dunk or they won hands down.

If MS had done what Sony did at this years E3, this website would be on fire.

[Godmars290]

Not getting where you're coming from.

The killing points for Sony was the $100 price difference, and not following MS on DRM and used games. Everything else was fairly decent.

And if you're talking about MS's pre-E3 conference, that *was* a disaster worth complaining about. They talked about TV and sport, confirmed the worst rumors, and then they showed a dog.

A dog.

[maniacmayhem]

If MS had the same conference Sony had this site would sh%t all over them for not showing anything new or less than stellar games.

And...

MS's conference was about the unveiling and the features as they stated many, many times before. Anyone going in expecting more as I'm sure you were would have been disappointed. The CoD and EA showing were the only disappointing and unnecessary showing in that showcase.

$100 difference? Not that big of a deal especially since the Xbox One comes with an upgraded Kinect. Was there any doubt because of this it wouldn't be cheap?

The only thing Sony did right was the DRM/Used games. But seeing as how the emphasis will be on third parties and mostly all third parties hating used games we'll just have to see what direction they go in.

[Godmars290]

Neither showed anything which was truly "stellar" and games really weren't what were on everyone's mind. This particular E3.

MS's conference should have been about trying to address DRM and used games in an honest and direct manner. Instead they tried to whitewash it, and only wound up getting hurt more when Sony basically... did nothing.

They did nothing. They did not make any major changes in how they've done business for years and won this E3 whereas MS is still set to destroy the industry. Their part of it anyway depending on how the public responds to the restrictions they've placed on consumers.

As for Kinect that's likely the $100 difference. It was also something MS failed to feature or even talk about all that much during their game-centered conference. The success of Kinect 1.0 is arguable at best, does not have a popular non-group party game, and MS gave Kinect 2.0 no time whatsoever to prove itself when they've made it mandatory for the system. Ryse and Crimson Dragon, both of which where both announced with Kinect when it was 1.0 and prove it, now aren't really Kinect titles. The thing's become an albatross.

[Godmars290]

" There is nothing else to discuss. We already know the answers. Either you are fine with and may buy the system or you are not and may not. "

Except as you say that, MS is readying ads meant to target people who don't understand the issues with the console. People complaining about it now don't understand the issues with it. You don't.

Kinect 2.0 isn't and hasn't been shown being used. The voice command system, something which could have been done though a mic, has. Motion gesture commands are used sparingly in both Ryse and Crimson Dragon, which at one time were suppose to be flagship titles for full functionality. And Smartglass is a whole other product which if you count controller use are three separate things you're suppose to be using when Kinect was originally being pushed as an all-in-one control method.

This is honestly becoming ridiculous for me. Arguing with people trying to defend MS's boneheaded decisions as they make ready to push something which has strong anti-consumer implications on people who wont know better. And if they get away with they'll only use their position and influence to make more companies adopt their policies.

This is all just getting redoing-damn-diculous!

[e-p-ayeaH]

So much hipocrisy in this article...

Sony as plenty of good exclusives as well there´s nothing bad about this conferece watsoever just go and complain about Microsoft like everyone´s doing because that´s the logical thing to do.

[iamgoatman]

"just go and complain about Microsoft like everyone´s doing because that´s the logical thing to do."

Thank you Mother Sheep, but no thanks.

[e-p-ayeaH]

Feel free to buy an xbox one instead if you like those 3rd party exclusives so much and keep complaining how Sony as games like Killzone Shadow Fall, Infamous Second Son and DriveClub as launch titles not to mention the huge amount of digital releases that Microsoft doesnt support at all so therefore their exclusives as well.

Youre just one of those clowns that enjoy hating on the cool guys.if both companies were uncool there was nothing for you to complain about.

[iamgoatman]

"Youre just one of those clowns that enjoy hating on the cool guys."

Oh boy, that's just gold!

[Black-Helghast]

Okay first off, Hypocrisy? Where did you find hypocrisy in this article? All I did was say why I don't think that this E3 wasn't Sony's best and that I didn't enjoy it that much except for the price and used game things. I'm hella excited for KH3 and FFXV tho having them BOTH multiplat is a little disappointing from Sony.

The logical thing to do is to complain about Microsoft? I'm sorry man but I found MS's conference good and solid overall. It had its flaws, yes. A few flaws but I enjoyed it because I saw GAMES. Watching Sony's one (which was the one I was looking most forward to) had me really bored at times. I've already seen games like Watch Dogs and Assassins Creed. See, people like you is what's wrong with this site and with GAMING overall. You want me to f*cking complain about a conference because everyone is doing so? and its the 'logical' thing to do? What if I liked MS conference. Does that make me un-logical? Everyone has a different opinion on something, I won't change my opinion on something just because of logic. "nothing bad", "plenty exclusives" you're the pure definition of a fanboy. You can't even admit what Sony did wrong. Just look at you man.

[e-p-ayeaH]

The huge amouth of Indies titles on day 1 dont count aparently.

MS isnt supporting the indie business btw so automaticly their console exclusives

[spektical]

xbox fanboys make it seem like these titles will be releasing on launch. many will be launched next year.

[Loki86]

MS already said more titles coming at Gamescom and TGS so I still haven't decided, leaning more towards the X1 because of certain titles and ultimately that is what I care about games.

[smashcrashbash]

What I am laughing about the most is how people defended Microsoft to the death for not showing anything really for their reveal and kicked Sony around even though they showed plenty.and now that Microsoft jumped on stage to make up for their crappy reveal and Sony simply taked about the stuff they already showed people are on the war path.The point of the original reveal was so they could take up the time they needed to 'yap on' as people keep calling it.Knowing they already showed us a whole lot before hand.Now everyone is defending Microsoft left and right trying to make it look like they were doing it right all the time even defending the higher price that if Sony had said would have had a million articles saying Sony was committing suicide.But now we have a million fanboys saying 'It's okay Sony was bad Microsoft was good' even with them being all dodgy about our concerns about the console and them showing mostly third party games that are going to be on the PS4 or PC too.

And yet you are not disappointed with Microsoft for showing mostly third party games but incredibly disappointed for Sony showing them.They showed off one of the games that just about EVERYONE wanted KH3 and people are still trying to play it down because it isn't exclusive. I could bet my head if Microsoft had pulled out KH3 that people would be shaking their hands left and right and asking Sony 'Why couldn't you have shown that?'Most people are just upset that they thought Sony would trip over their own feet and instead tripped up Microsoft and has the media tearing them apart and fanboys jumping for excuses and damage control.And it's funny.I am still laughing at people trying spin the lower price. All non gamers will see is that the PS4 is cheaper and hardcore gamers will still reject Kinect no matter what lies Microsoft does this time.'Don't worry.Kinect will fix it.Yeah tell that to a non gamer who is trying to buy the less expensive system. And who is less expensive? Wii U and PS4.