Ubisoft
Ubisoft had a very strong presentation from start to finish, featuring titles that cater to a wide range of gamers. Ubisoft started with the worst kept secret in the industry, officially announcing Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle with the legend Shigeru Miyamoto himself joining Yves Guillemot to make the announcement. From there, it was Ubisoft title after Ubisoft title: Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Far Cry 5, The Crew 2, and Steep DLC. While Ubisoft also announced Skull and Bones, it was not the pirate game that most fans were hoping for after Black Flag, but rather a game focused on multiplayer naval combat. Lastly, Ubisoft ended the show with a bang, re-revealing Beyond Good and Evil 2 with a spectacular trailer. Ubisoft did a great job in balancing the presentation with gameplay, while simultaneously avoiding being boring. Ubisoft easily had the best third-party conference, but would it be enough to take the top spot at E3 2017?
Letter Grade: A-
Sony
Sony’s E3 presentation started off with a bang, showcasing heavy hitters Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds, and Days Gone despite some audio issues. In addition to some necessary VR titles to appease PSVR adopters, Sony then showcased titles that were expected such as Detroit: Become Human, God of War, and Spider-Man. Perhaps unexpectedly, they also unveiled Monster Hunter World and a Shadow of the Colossus remaster. Sony played it relatively safe, showing most of their big upcoming titles peppered with some VR and a few reveals. However, Sony’s omission of even mentioning some 2017 releases was questionable. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is set to release shortly, Lawbreakers is out in August as a console exclusive (for now?), and Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom and Gran Turismo Sport are also set to release this year. While Sony’s commitment to their big releases is admirable, it is a bit confusing they didn’t show more games, especially as their conference was shorter than years past and they have some significant exclusives coming shortly.
Letter Grade: B
Nintendo
If I had to pick the best E3 2017 conference/briefing/showcase, it would be Nintendo just above Ubisoft. Saving the best for last, Nintendo opted for a much shorter showcase than everyone else, but packed it nicely with a delicious mix of upcoming short-term releases, long-term releases, and reveals of both Kirby and Yoshi. Perhaps the biggest “get hyped” moments for Nintendo were games that were simply mentioned, that being the new core Pokemon RPG title for the Nintendo Switch as well as Metroid Prime 4 for the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo’s showcase was the best because it was pure content with some crowd-pleasing moments, even their DLC announcement was impressive. Opting for just a 25 minute showcase, Nintendo fans were worried that Nintendo did not have much to show, and boy were they wrong. Nintendo’s big title at E3 won our “Best in Show” award and their titles won a couple others as well. When multiple hype moments occur in a 25 minute showcase, you know you’ve done it right, congratulations Nintendo.
Letter Grade: A
Overall, despite Nintendo having the best showcase, the real winners of E3 are the gamers. While some conferences were better than others, I would hesitate to say that anyone really “lost” this year. Every major conference had titles, features, and hardware that people are sure to be interested in. Which conference did you enjoy the most? What games are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below or tweet at us with your thoughts.