Which E3 2018 Presentation Takes the cake?
With E3 closing up shop for this year, it’s time to reflect on all of the incredible announcements and conferences we’ve seen to judge which presentations blew us away, and which ones fell short of our expectations. It’s time to revisit our school days and letter grade each and every major conference to determine who ultimately won E3 2018.
EA
EA kicked off the weekend with a pretty decent conference, showcasing a few major follow-ups to the Battlefield, NBA Live, Madden and FIFA franchises. They made a point to emphasize the indie studios they have partnered up with, including the announcement of an intriguing little title called Sea of Solitude — a single-player adventure created by Jo-Mei games that tells the story of a girl battling loneliness and its effects on her humanity.
While no huge shocks or surprises were delivered aside from the reveal and release of Unravel 2, an official announcement for the new Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order game was made and an incredible Anthem trailer was shown preceding an informative Q&A with the developers about what to expect. Overall, the session wasn’t particularly mind-blowing, but there was a solid delivery of notable titles — and that fantastic Anthem gameplay sure bumped their letter grade up in my book.
Letter grade: B-
Microsoft
We really just have to come out and say it: Microsoft knocked it out of the damn park. Although Microsoft receives their fair share of complaints for their lack of Sony-rivaling exclusives, their conference packed a serious punch due to their rapid succession of about 50 game trailers over the course of the session. There were very few dull moments, and the trailers were so well-delivered that it became increasingly more difficult as the conference progressed to decide which single game to be the most hyped about. Halo Infinite? Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice? We Happy Few? The Division 2? Cyberpunk 2077?
Let’s not also forget that surprise visit from Todd Howard, who came to show the world premiere of Fallout 76; giving us our first glance at the gigantic wooded wasteland that will be enjoyed entirely online.
Not only did we see a multitude of great trailers, but we also learned about the acquisition of new studios such as Ninja Theory and Playground Games: something that hints at an exciting future for Xbox fans.
Letter Grade: A+
Bethesda
Bethesda’s conference had some ups and downs, with certain speeches being somewhat awkward to watch and others (cough, Todd Howard) redeeming them, but overall it was a satisfying session. We got ample coverage of Rage 2, Doom Eternal and Wolfenstein: Youngblood, but the real star of the show was Fallout 76. Howard spent a decent chunk of time showing gameplay footage and reporting details of what to expect, and with how much anticipation was built after seeing the fun new multiplayer installment, it’s good news that we’ll be able to play it this fall.
One of the surprises revealed was a brand new franchise called Starfield, a space RPG that we learned virtually nothing about thanks to the vague teaser and lack of any information given.
Following the suit of vague teasers, Bethesda wrapped up the show by confirming The Elder Scrolls 6, and we could not be more excited. Almost seven years after the release of Skyrim (which is still not done debuting on different platforms, apparently), you can finally rest easy: a new follow-up title will be coming out sometime in our future.
Letter grade: B+
Sony
Sony really separated their E3 press conference from the others with their attention to the entertaining and immersive aspect. They turned it into a true show with beautiful live musical accompaniment and even decorated the first venue with glowing lights to mirror the same setting as the scene in the trailer for The Last of Us Part 2.
While switching venues part of the way through broke the flow of the show for some, any complaints are easily wiped away by the amazing tracklist of trailers broadcast at the conference and the deep gameplay we got to see for many of the games. Trailers such as Days Gone, Ghost of Tsushima and Resident Evil 2 delivered strong and did not disappoint, and lengthy gameplay was shown for The Last of Us Part 2 and the new Spiderman game — both of which are coming exclusively to PS4.
Letter grade: A
