The difference a year can make is astounding. Just under a year ago at E3 2014, Splatoon made its debut to a lukewarm response. The announcement of a brand new property for Nintendo was exciting, but showcasing the multiplayer mode of Splatoon made the game feel smaller than it actually was. Many came out of E3 with the impression that Splatoon was a downloadable experiment instead of full retail experience. In a similar vein to the hype surrounding Super Mario 3D World, Splatoon's stock has only gone up with every new detail, preview and trailer. During all this time, Splatoon has slowly become one of the most anticipated Wii U games of 2015.
First and foremost, Splatoon is a team-based online multiplayer shooter. Instead of racking up the most kills, players are tasked with covering their surroundings in ink. The team that covers more of the arena in their team's ink wins. Covering the arena in ink doesn't only satisfy the win-condition of matches, it offers players tactical advantages in battle. Considering you play as a human-squid hybrid known as an inkling, you are able to use the ink to hide from enemies, climb walls and refill your ink tank. While Turf War is the only multiplayer mode available to play at launch, Nintendo will be updating Splatoon over the course of the summer with new Ranked multiplayer modes such as Splat Zones and Tower Control.
Although multiplayer is Splatoon's main focus, it is not the only thing it offers. Splatoon has a large suite of offline modes from the single player Octo Valley to local multiplayer Battle Dojo.
Octo Valley has a similar design to the Mario Galaxy games as your inkling must navigate a series of floating planetoid-like platforms in order to reach the Zapfish at the end of each level. The levels contained in Octo Valley are split between the platforming levels described, arena fights with swarms of Octarians and boss battles. The Splatoon series amiibos play a role in this mode as they open up sets of unique missions, which unlock special equipment and bonus NES-inspired mini games.
On the other end of the single player front, Battle Dojo is a one-on-one local multiplayer mode where players compete to pop the most balloons. In this mode, one person plays on the Wii U Gamepad while the other plays on the television with a Pro Controller.
There are still loads of stuff contained within Splatoon's ink-covered package like customization, weapons, mini games and mechanics, but I don't have the space to cover it all here. If you want a in-depth look at weapons and controls, check out the latest edition of First Byte where I analyze the Splatoon Global Testfire.
All-in-all, I have a feeling that Splatoon is going to surprise a lot of people with its unique take on the shooter genre. While I am looking forward to spending some quality time with Splatoon, I hope Wii U owners give this game a chance and show Nintendo that it is time to create some brand new franchises to stand beside our established favourites.
Let's address the elephant in the room. I know I promised to have things back to normal by the end of March and it's now three weeks into April. I am sorry for the delays, but school consumed my entire life until last Wednesday. Between writing close to 20 pages for final essays and studying non-stop for exams that involved copious amounts of writing, I wasn't in much of a mood to write anything else at that point in time.
Although I originally wanted this edition of Bit by Bit to be the first post back from the hiatus, I am very happy that I got the Launch Station for Xenoblade Chronicles 3D up in time for its release this past Friday, especially considering my reverence for the Wii original. Since school is winding down for the year (only one exam left!), I will be able to once again post to Silver Bit on a regular basis. With all that being said, let us rewind the clock to last month and look back at the best and worst of March 2015.
Shame of the Month
Typically, I highlight the best game I played in the past month, but I think the game I am talking about today deserves an exception. While I critique games, I don't usually review games I find middling or bad because I don't spend enough time with them to justify a review. Personally, I like to experience everything the game has to offer before writing a review, including playing through the single-player portion and spending a good amount of time with the multiplayer. It is a time-consuming commitment that I don't usually make for a game that I despise playing. Now, I want to start playing a greater variety of games, in both genre and quality, to widen what I talk about on Silver Bit. Although too much time has passed for me to give a full review justice, I will still honour this game as the very first Shame of the Month.
In the middle of all the craziness that was March, I decided to download a little free-to-play game that was popular among everybody I met through StreetPass—Pokemon Shuffle. At the core of Pokemon Shuffle, there is an okay match-three puzzle game. Sadly, that core is wrapped in frustrating gameplay mechanics that are only in the game to make players shell out their hard-earned cash.
Unless you have a gripping need to spend real money to play Shuffle for hours on end, it is best to play for the short amount of time offered through the five regenerating hearts. You will see everything Pokemon Shuffle has to offer in the first 30 to 40 stages, leaving you over 100 stages of recycling the same challenges with increasing difficulty. What makes the game even worse are the mechanics, such as the catchability meter and enemy disruptions, that are tweaked in such a way that it forces players to pay money in order to advance in the game. Yes, there are ways around these frustrations by hording jewels until absolutely necessary, but the game continually tempts the player to use them for five more turns or 20 more seconds to catch their desired Pokemon. These deceitful freemium practices just put a bad taste in your mouth.
Hopefully with Nintendo producing games for mobile platforms, these cash-sucking titles will be exclusive for those markets instead of infecting the 3DS and Wii U eShops. Pokemon Shuffle is pretty much the exact same game as last year's Pokemon Battle Trozei with new Mega Evolution screen-clearing combos and tons of devious ways to steal your money. Pokemon Shuffle may not be that fun, but it is perfect start to Silver Bit's Shame of the Month.
Most Anticipated Game of the Month
This past March, Nintendo pulled the curtain back on Splatoon and does it ever look good. About midway through the month, Nintendo brought video game journalists from media outlets like IGN and Gamespot and Youtube personalities like ProJared and The Completionist to play the game at their American headquarters. The onslaught of videos and articles that came from this event highlight Splatoon's various single and multiplayer modes.
Back when the game debuted at E3 2014, I initially thought Splatoon wasn't anything special as it looked like a neat little downloadable title. I can say now that I was totally wrong and I am glad to be wrong in this case. Splatoon looks to be a very comprehensive game with a Mario Galaxy style Octo Valley single-player campaign and fully-fledged suite of online multiplayer modes like Turf Wars and Ranked Battles. I am especially looking forward to spending lots of time in Octo Valley launching from floating island to floating island, using ink in unique ways to battle enemies and finding interesting ways to traverse platforms with some cool ink-squid combinations.
If you would've asked me about Splatoon at the beginning of the year, I would've shrugged the game off as Nintendo giving the third-person shooter genre the good ol' college try. Now, all I want to do is play it. I know I overuse this saying, but I seriously can't wait until May 29th to play Splatoon. I am that damn excited.
Video of the Month
In 1987, Hironobu Sakaguchi was a young video designer for Squaresoft that just wanted to finish the final game in his contract to pursue the greener pastures of hip hop. Unbeknownst to Sakaguchi, his "final fantasy" spiraled into the long-running franchise many gamers know and love and a seemingly never-ending extension to his contract. How did the success and popularity of Final Fantasy affect the legendary game designer? Watch Mega64's totally real behind-the scenes look at the making of Final Fantasy to find out.
July has been an incredibly busy month. Funny enough, it has been busy for every reason except gaming. Once the final article for E3 2014 went up at the end of June, my life has consisted of endlessly working on a large report for an online course, picking up numerous shifts at my two jobs and volunteering for the university newspaper. The little free time I had was spent away from the keyboard and either with friends trying to make the most of the summer or in front of a television re-watching Gundam Wing (one of my favourite animes) in its entirety. To sum things up, Silver Bit has been the least of worries for the past month, but those priorities change now as I have a lot planned for August in order to end this summer as strong as it started. Stay tuned to Silver Bit as the best is yet to come, I promise. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let us look back at the month that was July 2014.
Game of the Month
When I snuck in some time to play games, there was one game which dominated my time. If you paid attention to Silver Bit at all during July, you would have seen the review of said game posted a couple weeks ago. Yes, Shovel Knight is the Game of the Month and rightfully so, the game is phenomenal. Even after completing the game on Normal, I return to play a few levels in New Game+, search for hidden music sheets and maximize my treasure count. I can rant and rave about Shovel Knight for hours on end, but I highly recommend reading the review to get my full opinion on the game. If you are already enjoying Shovel Knight especially the music, the soundtrack and arranged album for the game are both available on composer Jake Kaufman's Bandcamp for any price you would like to pay. Both albums work as excellent accompanying pieces to Shovel Knight and are highly recommended to anyone who enjoys video game music. With that all said and done, I cannot stress how wonderful Shovel Knight is. It is a game that needs to be experienced and at the low price of 15 dollars, there is no excuse to miss out on this adventure.
Most Anticipated Game of the Month
July 17th marked the start of the most anticipated beta in years, the Destiny beta. The last time a beta was so highly anticipated was way back in 2007 with the Halo 3 beta and coincidentally the Destiny beta comes from the studio that originally created Halo-- Bungie. A mere pre-order for Destiny gave you full access to the beta upon its release. Even with that extremely low barrier of entry, those already in the beta received two addition beta codes in order to encourage others to play the beta and gain access to all the content in the beta including the cooperative strike mission (Destiny's equivalent to raids found in other massively multiplayer online games). If you owned any Microsoft or Sony console, there was no reason not to play the Destiny beta during the last two weeks of July. While I will be going into much further detail in an upcoming edition of First Byte, I want to share some of my initial thoughts on Destiny here. Considering my youngest brother hogged the PS4 almost day and night to play the beta, I enjoyed the limited time with Destiny I snuck in between his long sessions. It blends the expertly polished gameplay of Bungie's entries in the Halo series with the unique RPG elements of Borderlands to great success. Nowadays, the FPS genre is full of shallow experiences that aim to imitate the latest Michael Bay action movie rather than create a compelling game with actual depth that Destiny feels so refreshing. While I do not have a high opinion on the current direction of the genre, Destiny stands out as a first-person shooter that I am actually excited for and in all honesty that does not happen often. I cannot wait to spend some quality time with Destiny come September unless my brother decides to commit every waking moment to playing the game.
Video of the Month
Another month, another Smash Bros. reveal. This time around we did not get just one new addition to the roster, Nintendo dropped three. Newcomers Robin and Lucina from Fire Emblem Awakening join the returning Captain Falcon as the newest members of the Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U roster. The reveal trailer blends the anime-style graphics of Awakening's cutscenes with gameplay footage from the new Smash Bros. in a way that makes both art styles compliment one another. Much like the other reveal trailers, the video speaks for itself. So sit back, relax and let Mr. Sakurai take you for a ride.
Welcome to the second part of Silver Bit's Top 10 Games of E3 2014. In the previous article, we took a look at the games that just barely made this final five. E3 2014 saw some great games grace the show floor, but only a handful can walk away as the most impressive games of the show. While all the games on this list are among the best of E3, the games in this top five could easily walk away with top honours depending on one's opinion. To reiterate, the only games eligible for this list are those available to play on the show floor. Now with that reminder out of the way, it is time to count down the final five games in Silver Bit's Top 10 Games of E3 2014. Hope you enjoy and feel free to share your favourite games of E3 2014 in the comments.
5. Sunset Overdrive - XBONE
There are only a select few Xbox One exclusives that really get one hopeful for first-party content on the machine and Insomniac Games' Sunset Overdrive is champion over them all. All of Microsoft's offerings nowadays seem to fall under the same experiences they delivered last generation, but Sunset Overdrive is the shining example of what happens when you give a team of creative minds full control over their vision. Sunset Overdrive is pure unadulterated fun wrapped into an open-world third-person action game. Stuck in Sunset City during the Awesompocolypse, the player is tasked with cleaning up the mess made by the launch of FizzCo's Overcharge Delirium XT, an energy drink that turns anyone who drinks into mindless mutated creatures known as the OD'd. Sunset Overdrive gives players tons of options to tackle their task through fully customizable characters, a slew of creatively designed weapons and plenty of solo and multiplayer missions to complete throughout Sunset City. Traversing Sunset City is incredibly fluid as players are able to wall run, grind rails and wires, instantly switch between grinding and zip-lining, bounce off of any surface and use other crazy acrobatics. Although Microsoft will not push Sunset Overdrive as heavily as Halo or Forza, it is a game that Xbox One owners should not overlook this holiday season.
4. Valiant Hearts: The Great War - PS3, PS4, XBONE, XB360, PC
The UbiArt engine has proven time and time again that the most beautiful games do not need to have the largest polygon count. In fact, the art in 2D games can be just as beautiful or even more than their 3D counterparts; just look at Rayman Legends and Child of Light for proof. Valiant Hearts: The Great War is the next title to use the UbiArt engine and the game looks spectacular in terms of its visuals and gameplay. Valiant Hearts follows the story of four individuals as they try to survive the horrors of World War I. Starting in different locations and allegiances, the stories of each character interconnect with one another through a common companion--a dog named Walt. Throughout the game, the characters are thrust into various situations from sneaking behind enemy lines to blowing up bridges. Valiant Hearts offers players plenty of puzzles to complete through interacting with the environment and other characters or sending Walt to reach areas the characters cannot normally reach. The interplay between using the characters and Walt to solve puzzles and the mature tones of the story have me very excited to venture into the world of Valiant Hearts in the near future.
3. Batman: Arkham Knight - PS4, XBONE, PC
In recent years, The Dark Knight has become an incredible force within the video game industry thanks to the folks at Rocksteady. One can argue that the Batman: Arkham games are single-handedly the greatest licensed games to grace the market. As the final entry in this acclaimed series, Rocksteady looks to pull no punches with Arkham Knight as Batman and his world are being supercharged with new abilities and content. The moment from the E3 demo where Batman steps out onto the balcony of his hideout and peers out onto Rockstady's Gotham City will make anybody's jaw drop. The expansiveness of this open world is breathtaking and I can see myself drowning hundreds of hours exploring every nook and cranny of Gotham City. With how vast Gotham City will be in Arkham Knight, Batman needs another way to traverse the city than just his trusty grappling hook and cape. For this final installment, the Batmobile has been added to The Dark Knight's arsenal. Aside from the vehicles primary purpose, Batman can summon the Batmobile at will, use it to immobilize enemies, have it clear obstacles and launch himself into the air. The Batmobile is not the only addition as Batman's combat and stealth abilities are receiving considerable upgrades in speed and precision. Although Batman: Arkham Knight will no longer be gracing consoles this year, the game looks to be on the road to surpassing its predecessors' legendary quality.
2. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS - Wii U, 3DS
Arguably the most anticipated game of 2014, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS had one of the best showings of the show. Nintendo went out of their way to make Super Smash Bros. the most important game of the show. They gave fans three character reveals in Mii Fighters, Palutena and Pac Man, an incredible live tourney held in the Nokia Theatre and multiple kiosks to play on the show floor. Seeing the two versions in motion is a thing of beauty. The Wii U version flows at an incredible clip and all the new characters, stages and items look to fit in with the polished gameplay. While the 3DS version may take some time to get use to the controllers as I have heard from many video impressions on the game, it looks just as polished and refined as its Wii U brethren. Much like Far Cry 4 in part one, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS are both hard to sum up in words. I highly recommend watching the Super Smash Bros. Invitational or one of the live demos from Nintendo Treehouse Live at E3 to see how great these games play.
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - PS4, XBONE, PC
As great as Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS may be, there is one game greater than it this year. That game is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Not much has been shown of Witcher 3 since its reveal back in early 2013, but CD Projekt RED let the floodgates loose at E3. The Witcher 3 gives players a living, breathing open world to explore. In fact, the map is 30 times larger than the previous Witcher games. Plus the amount of freedom in The Witcher 3 is incredible as players can venture to any part of the map at any time and pick up and put down story and side quests whenever they choose. On your way to a quest objective and feel like helping a traveler in distress along the way or starting up a whole other quest, you are free to do that without penalty. The world is shaped around the player's choices in combat, regular conversation and pivotal story moments. Every piece of media for The Witcher 3 from E3 has been nothing short of phenomenal from the blood-pumping pre-E3 trailer to the show floor demos. While The Witcher 3 may not earn the same amount of money Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age or Mass Effect rake in, this game and its ambitious scope prove why anybody should spend close to 600 dollars on a next generation console. The next generation of video gaming truly begins on February 24th, 2015 with the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Silver Bit's month long coverage of E3 2014 comes to an end with the annual Top Games of E3 list. This year yours truly is going to switch things up as this list will be a Top 10 list instead of the Top 5 lists from previous years. Due to the change, it will be hard to contain all these games in one article. To solve the problem, I will be splitting the list into two parts with part one covering numbers 10 through 6 while part two covers numbers 5 through 1. As I could not physically go to Los Angeles to experience E3 in person, efforts have been made to watch as much gameplay footage available online to narrow down the best games for this list. Like in years past, the only games eligible for this list are those available to play on E3's show floor. Without any further stipulations, let us count down the first five games in Silver Bit's Top 10 Games of E3 2014.
10. Mario Maker - Wii U
If there is one Nintendo property that people have grown tired of over the years, it is Mario. Mario releases may come at an accelerated rate these days, but you cannot blame Nintendo for sticking with what sells especially when they need it the most. I will admit that Mario's 2D platformers have not added much to the formula since New Super Mario Bros. for the DS. Mario's recent stagnation in two dimensions makes Mario Maker such a breath of fresh air. Giving the player full freedom to create whatever 2D Mario level their heart desires in such an official form is a dream come true. Mario Maker allows players to build levels using classic Mario assets such as blocks, warp pipes, goombas and koopas, two different styles of graphics (original NES graphics and the New Super Mario Bros. graphics) and the ability to instantly switch between editing and playing levels at any time. Mario Maker is the next logical step in taking 2D Mario games to a whole new level. There is an incredible amount of potential in placing the creation of new Mario levels in the hands of the players and this writer is excited to see what crazy contraptions come from it.
9. Evolve - PS4, XBONE, PC
Coming from the minds that brought us classic cooperative shooter Left 4 Dead, Evolve looks to take competitive and cooperative shooters in a brand new direction. Evolve is a four vs. one multiplayer shooter where the team of four has to work together to beat the one. It might seem very unfair if the one was not a gigantic monster. With this unique dynamic, matches involve much more than straight-up firefights. Playing as the monster involves taking advantage of the moment-to-moment action to decide between striking the opposing team or avoiding combat in order to eat roaming creatures needed to evolve into more powerful stages. On the other hand, the hunters need to work effectively as a team in order to track down and kill the monster before it becomes too much for the team to handle. Matches in Evolve become hectic games of cat-and-mouse as both sides wrestle for control of territory and resources while contending with the unpredictable computer-controlled creatures that inhabit each map. Since Turtle Rock Studios announced the game this past January, Evolve has been nothing but impressive especially with its showings at this year's E3.
8. CounterSpy - PS3, PS4, PSV
Not much has been seen of Dynamighty's PlayStation exclusive outside the trailer found on PS4 demo kiosks across North America. Considering CounterSpy is being published by Sony, one would have thought the gaming giant would make mention of it at their press conference. In fact, the only footage available of CounterSpy at E3 is from the demo on the show floor. It is a shame because of how great CounterSpy plays. CounterSpy is a side-scrolling stealth game that has players sneaking through enemy bases in order to prevent nuclear war between the United States and Russia. Trusted with a silenced pistol and stealth know-how, the player jumps between cover, shooting and taking out enemies on the fly. In particular, the cover mechanics for the game are very interesting as the camera changes from a side view of the stage to slightly tilted view of the player and their sight from cover. Overall, CounterSpy looks like a delightful downloadable that deserves a lot more attention than it is currently getting. Watch some gameplay for it, CounterSpy might just surprise you.
7. Mortal Kombat X - PS3, PS4, XBONE, XB360, PC
Mortal Kombat has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the years especially during the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube years. With the success of Mortal Kombat 9, things have gotten back on track for the franchise. Not to rest on their laurels, Ed Boon and NetherRealm Studios are making big changes to series while expanding on successful mechanics introduced in Mortal Kombat 9 and Injustice: Gods Among Us. Mortal Kombat X's biggest departure comes in its roster and story as the game takes place 25 years after the events of the previous game. Since 25 years have passed, the roster will consist of brand new characters such as Cassie Cage (daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade), Kotal Khan (a blood god) and D'Vorah (a human/insect hybrid) along with some returning favourites like Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Although gameplay remains very similar to past Mortal Kombats with the return of fatalities, special moves and x-ray moves, there are some interesting additions in the form of fully interactable environments and combat variations. Much like Injustice, combatants can use parts of the environment to launch themselves into the air, set traps for opponents or use as additional weapons. Speaking of combat variations, each fighter has three different variations to choose from which changes their move sets, strengths, weaknesses and weapons. With all the new additions and refinements to Mortal Kombat X, gamers all around should be excited to dive back into this fighting game franchise come 2015.
6. Far Cry 4 - PS3, PS4, XBONE, XB360, PC
Far Cry 3 surprised everybody back in 2012 with its excellent gameplay and vibrant open world. Two years later, Ubisoft is at it once again with Far Cry 4. To sum up Far Cry 4's showing at E3 in one word, it would be jaw-dropping. Instead of having an entire island at your disposal, you now have an entire country in Kyrat. On foot, in car and through the air, Far Cry 4 gives the player an incredible amount of choice to explore Kyrat however they want. Gameplay gives the player the same amount of freedom as you can play solo or with a friend, use items and animals found in the environment to your advantage and freely move between modes of travel at any time. It is hard to describe everything that makes Far Cry 4 such a standout among the sea of shooters releasing this year. It is best to watch some gameplay footage of Far Cry 4 and see the awesomeness for yourself.
Well, this marks the end of part one. Hope you enjoyed the list up to this point and feel free to share your favourite games of E3 in the comments. If you want to continue reading, click this link to see the conclusion to Silver Bit's Top 10 Games of E3 2014
E3 has come and gone for yet another year. While the event may be over, the analysis of the show and all the games shown off has just begun. All over the net, you see all the podcasts, reviews and awards dedicated to every aspect of the show popping up in the next couple weeks. Here at Silver Bit, the month of June usually is solely focused on E3 from the previews to the conference impressions to the wrap-up articles. In fact, I am watching all the gameplay footage that I can get my hands on to put together the annual Top 10 Games of E3 article which will conclude the month of June. Before we move onto bigger and better things, let us look back on the show that was E3 2014 in this special edition of Bit by Bit.
Winner of E3 2014
As a whole, E3 2014 was an entertaining and ultimately safe show. Aside from a few unique experiences, not many gambles were taken to infuse some innovation into the industry. Although there were a plethora of familiar games showcased, all of them looked incredible. With the amount of detail and fidelity in the coming wave of next generation titles, I can understand the current lack of new properties as a trade-off to getting a handle on the new hardware. There were still new properties shown at the event in Evolve, The Order 1886, No Man's Sky and Sunset Overdrive, but they have not been put on the same pedestal that Assassin's Creed, Gears of War and Uncharted were early in the previous console generation. Apart from the focus on familiar franchises, E3 2014 did an excellent job in showcasing how great 2015 will be compared to the rest of 2014. All of the games people eagerly desire except Destiny or Super Smash Bros. comes out next year and that fact is just a little upsetting considering there is still no killer app for this generation yet. Guess it will come with everything else releasing in 2015.
Enough of my analysis of E3 2014, let us get down to which company won at this year's show. Winning E3 really comes down to personal opinion and how the showcased games appeal to each individual. This year, the three console manufacturers were neck-and-neck in their showings. Everybody did a good job in providing gamers with the games they wanted to see and the information they wanted to hear. As close as this arms race was, Sony impressed me the most at E3 2014. While I am in the minority, Sony's winning performance last year only came because they did the exact opposite of Microsoft and built their hype for the PS4 around that plan. On the software side, not much impressed last year. However this year Sony delivered with the games and content to compliment their highly successful system. I came out of the Sony Press Conference knowing that I need a PS4 to get the most out of this new generation. Even though the press conference had that excruciatingly boring thirty minutes, I would take this year's great three quarters over last year's excellent one fourth any day. Sony could have lost some ground at E3 2014 with a lacklustre showing, but they delivered and solidified their place as number one this console generation.
Surprise of E3 2014
In the last few years, E3 surprises have become few and far between. With the internet now, the few surprises actually planned for E3 might not make it to the show itself as they are leaked in the months, weeks and even days in advance. For a surprise to stay a surprise right up until the moment of its revealed makes the moment feel like an event especially on this stage. There were a slightly more surprises this year in Phantom Dust, Rainbow Six: Siege, Splatoon and Codename S.T.E.A.M., but one stood tall over the rest. That surprise came at the Sony Press Conference from Adam Boyes along with some help from a girl named Sally. It would turn out that Sally was not a girl, but renowned adventure game designer Tim Schafer. Sally's wish for a return to a classic Tim Schafer adventure game came true when Boyes announced the Grim Fandango HD remake exclusively for PS4 and PS Vita. As niche as adventure games may be, this news got me very excited because I have never played the original and heard so many great things about the game. Funny enough, I was actually wondering if Double Fine would re-release Grim Fandango on Steam or remake the game for this generation a few months back. After thinking about it, to actually see Grim Fandango HD become reality was like Sony found a way to read my mind. It was an incredible reveal that easily was the highlight of the Sony Press Conference and the entire show.
Trailer of E3 2014
The only thing more prevalent at E3 than the plethora of demos that line the show floor are the trailers. Each game at the event has a trailer to get gamers excited and to permeate the hundreds of screens covering the E3 booths. Ranging from multi-minute vignettes to short little teasers, the trailers at this year's event varied in quality. Some tried to be incredibly dramatic while others went lighter in tone and heavy with the humour. There were quite a few standouts such as The Witcher III's epic story trailer, Sunset Overdrive's hilarious parody of modern shooters and Super Smash Bros.'s Mii Fighter reveal which saw Reggie and Iwata duke it out in spectacular fashion. Out of those great trailers, The Legend of Zelda for Wii U reveal trailer was the best. While short in length, the trailer captured key details for this new adventure in the world of Hyrule. The beautiful cel-shaded anime-inspired graphics and the grand vistas will be the first things to catch the eye, but there are much more to dig into with this trailer. The confirmation of horse riding, more options to fight on horseback, the blend of modern technology and medieval fantasy and the dynamic open world were among the amazing features revealed through this trailer. While early in development, The Legend of Zelda for Wii U looks absolutely incredible and this trailer is just the beginning of all the great media we will receive in the near future.
Aside from Sony's offerings this year, E3 2014 can be summed up in one word-- safe. For the second year in a row, Nintendo looks to usurp convention with their Nintendo Digital Event. Details surrounding this event have been clouded in mystery since the Big N announced it. A lot of people especially Nintendo fans were hoping to see Nintendo move out of the financial woes of the Wii U with this event. Did Nintendo's Digital Event deliver?
As a whole, the Nintendo Digital Event delivered as a perfectly paced entertaining forty-five minute show. It provided a great amount of new information on Nintendo properties people were most concerned about and wove it into a fun captivating presentation including smooth transitions, funny Robot Chicken skits and a steady pace. With all that said, the presentation felt pretty safe and underwhelming in this writer's humble opinion. Not to mean Nintendo's performance was bad, in fact it was better than last year's showing, however nothing truly surprised or caught this writer off-guard. Also this writer would of ended the event with The Legend of Zelda reveal instead of the Palutena character reveal for Super Smash Bros. Speaking of The Legend of Zelda reveal, the new game looks incredible with a cel-shaded anime art style and the futuristic technology mixed with medieval fantasy. A more substantial Zelda trailer or gameplay would have been nice yet what we got was great nonetheless.
Super Smash Bros. saw Palutena and Mii Fighters revealed as new additions to the character roster. Masahiro Sakurai took a bit of time to focus on the Mii Fighters as they look to be Smash's answer to create-a-fighters in other fighting games as you get to choose the Mii's style (brawler, sword-fighter and gunner), special moves and most likely appearance. That news was coupled with an excellent one-on-one fight between Reggie and Iwata and the introduction of amiibos. Despite the weird name, amiibos are Nintendo's answer to the collectable toy genre popularized by Disney Infinity and Skylanders and they allow you to store, transfer and unlock different data across multiple Nintendo games. Currently confirmed to work with Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart 8 and Mario Party 10 among others, the amiibos showed off at the event looked really well crafted. There were a lot more games covered in this event including Mario Maker, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 2 with the first Bayonetta included on disc, Xenoblade Chronicles X and Yoshi's Woolly World. Sadly, most of them are coming out in 2015. Not much incentive to buy a Wii U this coming Fall, which is a mistake on Nintendo's part, but in 2015 the Wii U will be releasing games at a considerable pace.
Before the Palutena reveal, Nintendo ended off with a brand new property for Wii U called Splatoon. Splatoon is a third-person shooter where you play as a squid-human hybrid and the goal of each match is to cover the arena with the most ink. Ink plays a greater role than being your ammo as you can use it travel far distances quickly in squid form and slow down opposing players that get caught in it. While Splatoon looks more like a downloadable game rather than a system seller, it was nice to see Nintendo introduce a brand new property for the first time in what seems like years. Splatoon is hopefully a sign of more good things to come from Nintendo.
Although this writer did find Nintendo's Digital Event thoroughly entertaining, it was not the home run the company needed. Nintendo did a great job in developing a definitive lineup for the rest of 2014 with set release dates for all their titles except Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, giving fans confidence in the games further down the pipeline and wrapping it all in an entertaining package. Despite all that great stuff, this writer wanted Nintendo to make a much bigger statement this year and they fell short. The Wii U will definitely gain some much needed ground in 2014, just not enough to compete on the same level as Sony and Microsoft.
Heading into E3, Sony was in the best position amongst the three console manufacturers as the PS4 has sold over seven million units. With the immense amount of pressure on Microsoft and Nintendo to deliver this year, E3 2014 was Sony's to lose. Could Sony pull out another show stopping performance or would they rest on their laurels now that they are number one in the current console war?
To answer that question, Sony killed it again this year. While last year's conference only came together in the last thirty minutes, Sony kept people excited and interested throughout their two hour presentation. There was a good thirty minute chuck that almost killed the pace of the entire conference as Sony took time to talk about Free to Play titles, PlayStation Now, PlayStation Plus and the PS Vita. Although it may have been a dry thirty minutes, it was necessary portion of the conference because it gave important information on the PlayStation Now Beta coming this summer, announced the PlayStation TV for 100 dollars or 139 dollars with a controller and the Lego Movie video game and gave a little life to the PS Vita with games like Tales of Heart R and Minecraft. The portion of the conference that felt completely unnecessary was the presentation of the PlayStation exclusive show Powers and the Ratchet & Clank movie. It may have lasted close to ten minutes, but it added nothing to the conference other than a lot of eye rolling. Aside from that forty minute portion of the conference, Sony hit everything else out of the park. There were tons of great gameplay demos for The Order 1886, Entwined, Far Cry 4, LittleBigPlanet 3, Mortal Kombat X and Batman: Arkham Knight. Each demo made this writer and the company watching gasp, laugh, pump their fists and get excited. These gameplay demos sold a lot of these games as must owns to yours truly. Along with the great demos, Sony dropped a lot of surprises at the conference like a remastered version of Grim Fandango exclusive to PlayStation, From Software's Bloodborne, Dead Island 2, Magika 2, Giant Squid's Abzu and Devolver Digital games coming exclusively the PlayStation consoles. Sony also made a big effort in pushing exclusive content and benefits for multiplatform games on their consoles such as the Destiny Alpha and Beta coming first to PS4 and exclusive missions or enemies in Batman and Diablo III respectively. Sony ended the show in style too as they showed off the first trailer for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. After all the controversy surrounding The Last Guardian's false cancellation announcement, this writer thought Sony had to make an effort in showing the game is still alive and kicking. Although The Last Guardian would have brought this conference to legendary levels, Uncharted 4 did its job in ending the Sony press conference with a bang.
After the end of every conference leading up to Sony's, this writer felt underwhelmed with the lack of legitimate surprises and games that truly captured my imagination. Apart from the dull forty minute information dump, Sony's conference was a breath of fresh air. Everything showcased at this conference are the reasons people play and get excited about video games. Due to Sony's efforts on Monday, this writer is finally feeling much more optimistic about the next generation of video game consoles. Last year Sony dropped the mic, this year they stole the show.
Ubisoft has never been overly consistent when they came to their press conferences. Ubisoft tries to capture such a broad audience with their conferences that they are either very good or very bad. Leading into this year's show, Ubisoft just launched their newest IP Watch Dogs to record setting sales. Hopefully, the French publisher can use that momentum to put together an impressive E3 conference.
Like has been the case for three years now, Ubisoft knows how to end a press conference. The gameplay footage and subsequent announcement of Rainbow Six: Siege was the highlight of Ubisoft's conference. Seeing the game in action and all the players working together in unison was a sight to behold. Personally, this writer is still a little sad that the greatness of the single-player focused Rainbow Six: Patriots is no more, but Siege looks fun nonetheless. Aside from Aisha Tyler's flat jokes, nothing at the Ubisoft conference was absolutely horrible. Even the more casual titles like Just Dance 2015 and Shape Up were at least entertaining to watch. While entertaining to watch, the conference felt too safe. Ubisoft is usually one of the few large publishers to try and push the envelope, but everything they showed off at their conference except the new Rainbow Six and Shape Up was already announced or just another entry in a yearly franchise. The content of the conference was interesting yet this writer left the conference feeling underwhelmed. Far Cry 4 started off the show in style as Ubisoft showed off the first five minutes which highlighted the craziness of the new villain. The middle of the show lagged as Ubisoft showed more trailers than actual gameplay. The Assassin's Creed Unity demo was interesting as the traversal system looks to be more fluid than other games in the series despite that many are getting fatigued over Assassin's Creed yearly release schedule. The only other noteworthy game at Ubisoft's conference was Valiant Hearts, an adventure game where you play a dog as he interacts with four heroes during the events of World War I. The trailer showed off the beautiful hand drawn graphics along with the incredibly touching story of the game. With the great use of video and audio, Valiant Hearts' trailer can easily get the waterworks going. Out of all the games Ubisoft showcased at their conference, Valiant Hearts, no matter its small scale, was the game that got this writer the most excited.
Ubisoft's 2014 Press Conference was a middling effort from the French publisher. Much like the other conferences we have seen today, their press conference left this writer wanting more and not in a good way. Giving us updates on titles already announced and announcing new entries in yearly franchise is not enough to get people excited anymore. The video game industry has moved onto a brand new console generation and everybody expects a lot more from Ubisoft this time around to justify the purchase of new hardware to play their future releases.
2013 was not a year Electronic Arts wants to remember. Everything under the sun seemed to go wrong for the gaming giant in 2013 starting with the mess that was SimCity and concluding with the severe online problems of Battlefield 4. Hoping to turn their fortunes around, EA should bring out all the stops with their conference this year. In a few short moments, you will hear if EA can turn around their fortunes from their unlucky 2013 or continue their downward spiral.
Well EA's misfortunes continue with easily their worst performance at E3 to date. Words cannot describe how mindbogglingly bad EA's conference was. Things seemed to be going in the right direction with Andrew Wilson's description of the structure for the conference which would see first looks at projects early in development along with demos for soon to be released games. Sadly, none of the initial promise led to anything worthwhile. EA showed footage and images so far in advance for games such as the next Mass Effect, BioWare's new IP, Star Wars Battlefront and Criterion's extreme racing game that it did nothing to build hype or excitement. Everything just fell flat and EA could never build any sort of excitement or momentum. The most boring moments of EA's conference came from the onslaught of EA Sports titles. It may be nice for some to see hyper realistic graphics that they will never see in the actual game but that is misleading advertising not quality marketing. EA use to be able to move through the sports presentation at a smooth clip, but it just went on forever this year. The only sports game that appeared to be remotely fun was the new EA Sports PGA Tour that looks to mix traditional golf courses with crazy fantasy courses however that one trailer could do nothing to save this show. If the monotonous sports game presentation was not enough, the Battlefield Hardline main event just emphasized how mind numbing this press conference was. Nothing in the full multiplayer reveal of Hardline stood out. It was exactly the same as every other Battlefield multiplayer demo EA has done at previous E3s just with instant grappling hooks and zip lines. Nevertheless like everything else on this show, Battlefield Hardline was nothing impressive as it felt very derivative in its design and execution.
E3 has seen no shortage of bad press conferences. EA's offerings this year rank among the worst to ever grace this stage. Bringing the audience into the developer's studios and seeing upcoming projects in progress was a neat idea, but the execution did nothing to elicit any sense of joy or excitement. Barely anytime was spent on the games that people wanted to see like Star Wars Battlefront, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Mirror's Edge. All-in-all, EA's E3 2014 Press Conference was a complete waste of sixty minutes and never worth revisiting again.
Welcome to the very first day of E3 2014. Instead of roaming the floors of the LA Convention Center, press conferences will be broadcast to the world from various venues across the city of Los Angeles. Every bit of anticipation and hype has been building for these sixty to ninety presentations. The next steps towards the future of the video game industry begins right here, right now. Following each press conference, yours truly will be sharing his impressions right here on Silver Bit. These impressions will analyze the good, the bad and the ugly of each conference then wrap it up with a final grade. As always, Microsoft kicks off E3 with their press conference. Right off the bat, this press conference was one of the best conferences Microsoft has ever put on. Much like last year's show, this conference focused solely on games. The only mention of Kinect came in the brief minute Harmonix had where they spoke about Disney Fantasia and Dance Central Spotlight. Another similarity to last year's conference came in the form of Microsoft cramming their ninety minutes with games, games and more games. There was little to no room for anybody to breathe between game demos and trailers unless you count the incredibly awkward developer vignettes. It was not hard to see that Microsoft wanted to hammer home that they listen to the core gamers, but those vignettes felt forced and completely unnecessary. Although the pacing is something Microsoft needs to work on, it is a step in the right which should be a good sign for future press conferences. The conference's strength came from the games shown. Microsoft made a much better effort in highlighting the games coming from first-party studios. While none of them really made this writer excited, games like Crackdown 3, Fable Legends, Phantom Dust, Scalebound, Sunset Overdrive and Halo: Master Chief Collection will get some people interested in buying an Xbox One. Along with all the first-party titles, there were a good number of third-party games showcased at the show. The Microsoft presser saw the reveal trailer for Rise of the Tomb Raider, an impressive demo of Witcher III: Wild Hunt, a fun multiplayer demo of Assassin's Creed Unity and gameplay from both The Division and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Along with all the love for larger games, Microsoft made a little effort to showcase the indie games coming to Xbox One which they focused a lot of time on revealing Playdead's Inside. The strengths came from all the content of the show, but Microsoft failed in one regard. Microsoft did set their holiday lineup for 2014, but sadly it is very lackluster in this writer's honest opinion. There is no real killer app among Forza Horizon 2, Halo: Master Chief Collection and Sunset Overdrive to elicit people to pick up the Xbox One this Christmas. Their message came clear that all the games people will care about will be coming out in 2015 or later except that you can join the beta for every major game this holiday season. Honestly, relying on betas to sell a system is not an effective business plan. Microsoft needs to deliver on the games and soon because people are not going to wait forever. Overall, the Microsoft E3 2014 Press Conference was really well done. This holiday season may be very barren in regards to Microsoft's offerings, but there are some interesting projects down the pipeline to be excited about. Although Microsoft did make some strides in impressing this year, it did play things far too safe with their reveals and demos than truly showcasing why the Xbox One is greater than the PS4. Grade: B
Well the most wonderful time to be gamer is here yet again. The 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is only a day away and all the buzz and excitement around the event is its peak. With all the extreme highs and lows of E3 2013, last year's event was a very exciting and entertaining to experience. Expectations are set pretty high for this year's event as all the hype surrounding brand new hardware is now firmly in the past and the industry can focus on the product it so perfectly crafts-- video games. Although hopes are in a much better place leading into E3 2014 than last year's event, there are some key questions that need to be addressed in the coming week. Questions that will be pivotal in moving the industry forward for better or worse.
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.
May has been one interesting month. As we inch ever so closer to the biggest video game trade show of the year, the focus of game developers, publishers and journalists has slowly shifted to E3 2014. Every piece of information released or news story ran relates back to E3. Considering all the questions leading into the event, E3 2014 should be either an exciting onslaught of brand new games or a disappointing slog of new information for already announced games. Personally, I am hoping for the former because I want to see the games that will truly get people excited about spending over 500 dollars on the current generation of gaming. As of right now, all this generation has given us is shinier graphics and a massive drought of games. We will see what the future of gaming is next month, but before that let us take a look at the month that was May 2014.
Game of the Month
Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Mario Golf: World Tour both came out on the same Friday at the very beginning of May and these are the two games that captured most of my time this past month. Out of these two game, there can only be one Game of the Month. The game that earns that title is Mario Golf: World Tour. It has been a long time since Mario Golf graced a Nintendo system and World Tour is a return to what gamers loved about Camelot's golf game now turned up to eleven. Early on your time will be mostly dedicated to the single-player Castle Club as you play in tournaments to improve your Mii's handicap, earn new attire and equipment and prepare yourself for online. After some time in Castle Club, you will be ready to hit the online links where the meat and potatoes of World Tour is. The online in World Tour is great as you play rounds against players around the world or in your region at your own pace. Once you complete a round, you can post your score to the tournament or play again and see if you can do better. The online is incredibly smooth and hardly caused a problem for yours truly. Scouring new tournaments each and every week easily will become routine for Mario Golf enthusiasts. Mario Golf: World Tour would not be some fun to play if the core mechanics of golf were not so well made and finely tuned. If there is one game to pick up this month, it is Mario Golf: World Tour. It has given me hours of enjoyment and will give plenty more thanks to online. Guess I will be seeing you on the golf course.
TV Show of the Month
I wanted to change some things up this month. Considering my most anticipated game of the month comes out at the very end of May and I have a whole article already drafted up and ready to be published this coming Friday, there really is no need to regurgitate what I will wrote here in Bit by Bit. So the TV Show of the Month is back for another go especially since May marks the month when most TV shows air their season finales. It seems like every week this past month there has been a major finale of some sort be it Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Survivor. Each person has their show they watch every week. As of late, that show has been Person of Interest for yours truly.
I knew of the show, but never watched it until I caught my dad watching the show this past Fall. Person of Interest has gripped me in a way that I have not experienced since Lost came to an end four years ago. Currently, I have watched all of seasons one and two and a part of season three and can say the show has gotten better with every season. Person of Interest is a show about the vigilante partnership between a computer genius Harold Finch and a burned CIA agent John Reese. Finch and Reese receive numbers from an America-wide security system simply known as The Machine. The number they receive indicates either a perpetrator or victim for a possible crime. During the course of the episode, Finch and Reese have to determine whether their person of interest needs to be saved or stopped. Interesting concept for a show that was initially a procedural. Over these three seasons, Person of Interest has become much more serialized with overarching stories and reoccurring threats such as the corrupt police association HR and the rogue security corporation Decima. In particular, Person of Interest perfectly walks the fine line between procedural and serial that makes it like nothing else on television today. The season three finale happened just about two weeks ago now and I cannot get over how amazing it was. The finale completely changed the course of the entire series going forward that I will not do a disservice in spoiling it here. The finale has to be seen to be believed, it is that good. With this finale, Person of Interest has sealed its place as must-watch television. I highly recommend checking Person of Interest out as it is the best show I have seen since Chuck ended in 2012.
Video of the Month
What do you get when you mix the superb music from the Ace Attorney series with popular musician Brentalfloss? Well, you get the newest "With Lyrics" video-- Phoenix Wright with Lyrics. Taking the song Cornered from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and adding lyrics that parody the tropes of this series such as the well-endowed women characters and extreme juxtaposition between charming wackiness and brutal violence. It is a fun song that fans of the series will thoroughly enjoy.
Ever since Microsoft announced the Xbox One to the public about a year ago, the system has been on a roller coaster of twists and turns. Never seeming to be on solid footing, Microsoft has tirelessly been rebuilding their damaged reputation after alienating most of their audience at E3 2013. Changing their policies one week after E3 was the first step, but there is a lot more that still needs to be done. This past week Microsoft made the next significant steps in changing their tainted image for the better with two big announcements.
The first of Microsoft's two announcements concerns a brand new version of the Xbox One hitting store shelves in a few weeks. This new Xbox One will run for 399 dollars and come without the Kinect sensor. With this announcement, Microsoft looks to compete more directly with the PlayStation 4 instead of having one hundred dollar difference between the prices of the two systems. Sadly if you live in Canada, the roles have now been reversed as the PS4 is now 50 dollars more than the Xbox One due to the poor projection of the Canadian dollar this year. Microsoft's first real jab at taking some of Sony's profits lands on Monday, June 9th which is the first day of E3 2014. It is not hard to imagine as a result that Microsoft's conference will be directed towards convincing potential customers to pick up this cheaper Xbox One that very day.
The second announcement from Microsoft involves some changes to Xbox Live. In particular, it involves new free services being added to the free Xbox Live membership. No longer will streaming apps such as Netflix, Hulu, Twitch and ESPN be behind the Xbox Live Gold pay wall. This change cuts out the need for consumers to buy a Xbox Live subscription on top of their other subscriptions just to enjoy the same apps which are free to use on other consoles. To make amends to current Gold subscribers which only use the service for streaming apps, Microsoft is offering refunds to these subscribers up until the end of August.
It has been well documented that yours truly is a critic of Microsoft especially the direction their game division has taken in the past five to six years. When they do something right, this writer still has to give credit where credit is due. While I personally have some reservations, Microsoft made two good moves this past week in removing the Kinect to drop the price of the Xbox One and moving streaming apps from the Gold pay wall. Lowering the barrier of entry to the Xbox One and Xbox Live opens Microsoft's newest piece of hardware up to a broader audience that may have been scared away by the need to own Kinect and subscribe to Xbox Live Gold to get the most out of the system. Coupling these changes with a plethora of quality exclusives that play to a variety of genres and differentiate themselves from Sony's offerings could help move a lot more Xbox Ones. The announcement of Halo 5: Guardians this past week and releasing the first gameplay footage of Sunset Overdrive two weeks ago should get some more hype building around Microsoft and the Xbox One. Now Microsoft needs to capitalize on this wave of good press with a great showing at E3 to continue building momentum for the Xbox One going into the last half of 2014.
As good as these announcements are, there are a few key details Microsoft has not touched which could sour this good news. First and foremost, Microsoft has not mentioned anything about selling the Kinect separately from the Xbox One as of yet. Considering Microsoft designed the entire system to run at its full potential when paired with Kinect, it would be silly not to give those people who purchase the Xbox One for 399 the option to buy a Kinect later. With the Kinect, the next question is the price of the unit on its own. The smart decision would be to release the unit at or under 100 dollars in order to avoid alienating the customers who purchase the cheaper Xbox One, but it would not surprise this writer to see Microsoft try to make a profit off of these people by pricing the Kinect between 120 to 150 dollars. The other detail Microsoft has not mentioned yet are the exclusives coming to Xbox One in the near future. Halo 5 is coming in Fall 2015, the next Gears of War game is in the earliest stages of development and Fable Legends has not seen the light of day since it was announced back at Gamescom 2013. The only title confirmed for this coming Fall is Sunset Overdrive. Hopefully at E3 Microsoft will shed some light on what is coming for 2014, but it needs to be something really big or something completely new to get the attention of the masses. Microsoft cannot keep expecting to push their new system to the heights of the Xbox 360 with two shooter franchises people are quickly growing tired of, a fantasy RPG series that has never lived up to its true potential and a racing series that has overstayed its welcome. Microsoft needs to show more initiative in being a first-party force on the Xbox One rather than a passive hardware creator that gets third-party exclusive items or DLC every once and awhile as it is the only way to convince the audience they lost to consider buying their system.
With these announcements, Microsoft is inching towards reestablishing a connection with their lost fan base and moving away from the negative connotations currently associated with the brand. The more good will they can generate towards the Microsoft and Xbox brand, the closer Microsoft gets to cutting Sony's considerable lead in this new generation. E3 2014 will be very significant event for all console developers including Microsoft as we get see if the promises made of power and new experiences brought on by the next generation come to fruition. The need to deliver at this year's E3 is huge. It could be the difference between ending Microsoft's current woes or making them even worse.
