E3 highlights: Sequels galore

And just like that, another E3 came and went. This time, there was no major console rivalry where one made fun of another, no absurd claims of so and so game being the best ever. Instead, there were sequels everywhere, and needless to say fans of those series are probably going to be very happy. Here are some highlights from the event:

Bethesda

With their first ever conference, Bethesda certainly set the bar for hype generation. Not only was there a new Doom game coming along, but there was also Dishonored 2 where you get to play as a grown up Emily Kaldwin who has apparently followed in the steps of an assassin, and Fallout 4. With a host of new features such as settlement building and armor and weapon customization, as well as mod support for the Xbox One, Fallout may very well be the game that every other game has to beat this holiday season.

Microsoft

As expected, Halo 5 made an appearance showing off both the multiplayer and singleplayer portions of the game. Perhaps some of the most interesting news however, were hardware related, with a live demonstration of how Hololens will perform with Minecraft and closed demonstrations of how Halo 5 will incorporate Hololens as well as the announcement that the Xbox One will soon not only have backwards compatibility with the 360, but it will also have cross platform multiplayer.

Sony

Of course, Sony had show off some of its flagship titles including Uncharted and Ratchet and Clank. Leading the conference though was a gameplay trailer for The Last Guardian as well as an announcement that Shenmue 3 will be in development following a record breaking Kickstarter campaign to fund the project. Furthermore, Destiny will have a new expansion pack in September, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 made its debut with gameplay that is rather reminiscent of a mix between Titanfall and Deus Ex.

Others

Star Wars Battlefront, Assassins Creed, XCOM, and a whole host of other games made appearances throughout the event, though one thing is clear: while franchises are still going strong, smaller game developers are still at the forefront with interesting presentations of Yarnie and No Man’s Sky.

So who won?

Being gamers, at the end of the day our language is one of winning and losing, for better or worse. While it can be said without a doubt that the consumers won, Microsoft did present a stronger showing for features that might play a bigger part in the years to come, especially with such a strong push for Hololens and the unprecedented announcement of mod support for Fallout 4. Although Sony catered to its audience very well with a strong showing of games, in the long term it is the hardware and how it evolves that makes or breaks consoles, especially if this generation is expected to last as long as the previous generation.