What is the 2014 holiday lineup?
The last few weeks leading up to E3 has seen some delays for games originally set to release later this year such as The Order 1886 and Batman: Arkham Knight. The more delays announced, the more worried this writer has been getting. Aside from the usual suspects (Assassin's Creed, Battlefield and Call of Duty), the lineup of games releasing this holiday season are much slimmer than years past. With everything still up in the air, there is nothing that truly stands out among the deluge of similar experiences. Destiny may be the exception as this writer sees this game generating a large of amount of sales due to Activision's aggressive marketing, but Destiny is just one game that releases at the very beginning of the holiday season. All video game publishers especially the console manufacturers (Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo) need to make their plans for the holidays clear with firm release dates and a mix between sequels and new properties. The holiday season is the most crucial time for any business especially video games. To come out of E3 2014 without a solid holiday lineup set will be bad news for console manufacturers that are looking to push hardware sales and game publishers hoping to sell large quantities of software.
What is Microsoft's and Nintendo's plan to fix their current woes?
Out of the three big console manufacturers, Sony is the only one currently on solid footing. While the Vita and its games may not be selling much, Sony has written off the handheld as a peripheral for the PS4, a non-factor in their current business plan. As much as eyes will be on Sony to see if they can keep their momentum, there are more eyes peering at Microsoft and Nintendo to see what they can do to fix their current situations.
Although the Xbox One is selling, it is significantly lagging behind the PS4. All of the Xbox One's woes come from Microsoft's debacle from a year ago. Alienating their primary audience with no used games policy, always connected requirement and forcing Kinect on every Xbox One owner was not the best decision for Microsoft to make leading into the next console generation. With the recent announcements about a cheaper Xbox One and more benefits for Xbox Live Silver, it seems Microsoft has finally learned from their mistakes and is looking to reconcile with those they alienated a year ago. The effort may come too late to fix anything in the immediate future, but making these adjustments now will benefit Microsoft farther down the road. Their E3 2014 press conference is the next step in the healing process and Microsoft better make the most of this opportunity because they will only get one shot. A subpar to decent performance will not be tolerated, Microsoft needs to come out with games and experiences that gamers can only get by owning a Xbox One. Microsoft was once a great first-party developer, but has significantly scaled back in the last decade. It is fine time to flex that software making muscles again and show why Microsoft deserves to be making video games.
Nintendo's issues are on a whole different level. To get an extensive break down of the problems this writer believes is plaguing Nintendo, check out the A Link to the Wrong post from a few months back. What Nintendo needs to do at E3 is make steps in fixing the elephant in the room-- the Wii U's dismal sales. Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. will definitely move a ton of units this year, but those two games can only push console sales so far. Nintendo needs to show consumers why they have to own a Wii U and key part of convincing people to buy their console comes from showing how their games will take full advantage of the Wii U's tablet-like controller. Nintendo has to hammer home the Gamepad's full potential with every game they show. Every game does not need a fancy gimmick, they just need to make the Gamepad relevant for gamers. Speaking of games, time for Nintendo to drop some information on new titles such as the next entries in The Legend of Zelda and Metroid franchises or Shigeru Miyamoto's super secret project along with release dates for already confirmed titles like Super Smash Bros., Bayonetta 2 and X. Much like Microsoft, the stakes are high for Nintendo this year. Anything short of amazing will be considered a failure by critics and gamers alike. Positive buzz absolutely needs to be generated at E3 2014 around the Wii U and the Nintendo brand as a whole or things will continue to slip for the Big N this cycle.
Why should I buy a next generation console?
A year has passed and it seems like we have not made any progress whatsoever with this question from a year ago. The next generation is here and there is nothing that truly differentiates it from the last. All we got so far is a massive game drought, shinier graphics and a hike in video game prices. To make matters worse, most of the quote-on-quote next gen experiences these major game companies brag about are also available on the previous console generation. The graphic fidelity may not be as spotless and the frame rate may not be that smooth on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but there is little to no difference between these cross-generational games. These issues give little to no incentive on consumers to drop close to six hundred dollars on a brand new console when there is barely anything that they cannot already get on the consoles they already own. Every publisher and developer has a huge task this E3 in providing the games and experiences that can only be conceived with the power of these new consoles. Time is not currently on anybody's side as consumers are already losing patience with these systems. Moves need to be made this coming week on all fronts to keep consumers from getting too anxious and to ensure people their six hundred dollar investments were worth it.
Seeing as the industry is currently in the middle of a game drought, it is time to get people excited about what is coming in the weeks, months and even years ahead. E3 is arguably the most pivotal event of year for video game companies. As seen with the PS4 and Xbox One respectively, E3 can generate enormous amounts of buzz around a product or completely derail a product altogether. More than ever before, this year's E3 has to deliver with the games announced, the surprises revealed and the excitement generated because it will be the event that launches the video game industry into the next stage of this eighth console generation. Come June 9th, all eyes will be on Los Angeles, the LA Convention Center and the video game industry as a whole. Time for the video game industry to put up or shut up.
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