E3 Day One is over - What's your verdict? #E32013

[Yeargdribble]

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My general thoughts above.

Microsoft - I was just underwhelmed. To be fair, I wasn't super optimistic going in, but I figured after the debacle a few weeks ago, they'd really bring their A-game, but was just bored.

EA - These guys already have the deck stacked against them. They are the worst of what a game company can be it seems, but overall, I was at least enough interested to not be overwhelmed by my loathing for them as a publisher.

Ubisoft - A little better than EA. Overall, it really wasn't terrible, but Aisha Tyler made it hard to enjoy. She's the type of "gamer gurl!" that tries too hard to be one of the boys... you know, with lots of crass sex jokes or something. Except, if a guy was leading a presser and talking about banging chicks to Alice in Chains and how fun it would be to have sex with a guy like himself... he'd be a creep. And that exactly how she came across. Creepy AND trying too hard.

Sony - They blew it out of the park. I mean, looking back at it, it was a thing of beauty. It was amazingly paced. First off, Jack grovels at the fans and makes us feel like we're important (which would be their message the whole night). I know it was shameless pandering to the base, but done well. They opened with old hardware so as to make sure it got covered but didn't bring things down mid-presser. They show the box, then hit some high notes soon after, then they hit the media stuff, which seemed a little agitating, but they moved on quickly.

When the SE stuff came out, I just lost my mind. Seeing VersusXIII re-christened as XV was exciting... then to see the Disney logo and know what was coming. I haven't even played a KH game and it got me excited because I know how important this is for those fans and what that means for that being behind Sony.

Later on, Jack, keeping classy but with a moderately smug smirk, brings up the used games issue to thunderous adulation. When it finally dies down, he starts addressing online stuff which again brings the din of the crowd up. Then he just takes a full on swipe at Microsoft mentioning the 24 hour thing. A master-stroke followed later by the guide to sharing games on PS4 which just rubs MSs face in their mistake.

When they finally announced the price coming in at $100 under the XB1 even though it a more beastly machine with a lot of perks that only exist because they are viewed in contrast to XB1... man. I sort of lost it. I couldn't believe it.

I think they hit every note that players wanted to hear. I was masterful. They were even sneaky about the PS+ requirement for online play, which at worst puts them on par with XBL and in the afterglow of their amazing event, I can't fault them for. Besides, PS+, which got some laughs early on, is apparently an amazing service now with so many free games.

And luckily, because of the way PSN works, I feel more safe buying digitally from Sony than from MS. They are much more like Steam and I feel I will own them and have access to them under an account, not bound to a piece of hardware like the Wii, 360, and DS.


TL;DR - I went into today super excited (WWDC and E3). I was underwhelmed by almost everything all day and then Sony blew my freakin' mind. The Sony presser seemed like it was a major historic event or something... so momentous. Afterward, as I look at my unchecked news feed and podcasts, I feel like there was a world before and after that press conference.