E3 2015: Ubisoft Press Conference Impressions

2014 was a less than stellar year for Ubisoft's reputation as Watch Dogs fell far short of its hype and Assassin's Creed: Unity was shipped as a broken mess.  Despite Ubisoft's best efforts to fix the situation, many felt betrayed by Ubisoft's transgressions.  So the French publisher had something to prove coming into E3 2015.  The question was: could they deliver?

For how many games Ubisoft crammed into a 60 minutes, the conference moved at an incredible pace.  The hour flew by before you knew it as Ubisoft. much like Bethesda, let the games do the talking for them.  For every minute spent talking, three or more was spent showing live gameplay or pre-rendered trailers.  While I do prefer gameplay over trailers any day, the trailers that Ubisoft showed at their conference were short, sweet and incredibly produced.  My personal favourite was Trials Fusion Awesome Level Max's trailer, which saw a gun-toting cat riding a fire-breathing unicorn.  No, I'm not on crack!  It really happened!

The biggest plus from Ubisoft's conference was most certainly the live demos.  Seeing all those titles played live, including the newly announced For Honor, The Division, Rainbow Six: Siege and TrackMania Turbo, gave me a much better impression on all of them.  I'm actually excited to play all of them.  From a medieval melee combat to a tactical shooter to an arcade racer, there was incredible amount of diversity between the titles demoed and on the show as a whole.

Also, I have to praise Ubisoft for being the only publisher in the video game industry that can actually keep a secret.  There were no leaks or rumours about South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Ghost Recon Wildlands or a new IP in For Honor being set for Ubisoft's press conference.  Not having any prior knowledge on those games made all the surprises feel special, something that rarely happens nowadays.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows at Ubisoft's press conference.  There were some problems when it came to presentation.  It has become par for the course that Ubisoft brings in some celebrities to host, make appearances or even sing, but it never usually ends well.  The same can be said for this year's show.  Aisha Tyler tirelessly tried to inject some humour into the conference, but seemed to make things awkward ever single time.  Angela Bassett talking about her role as Six in Rainbow Six: Siege was completely worthless.  And to top it all off, Jason Derulo showed the world that he cannot sing—or he might of just hit puberty—in a moment that was so gloriously awful that it came off as being incredibly funny.  Like watching a train wreck, you couldn't turn your attention away from it.

Despite the problems with the conference's presentation, Ubisoft's press conference was a highly entertaining show.  It let the games stand as the sole focus and kept Aisha Tyler's on-stage shenanigans to a minimum.  You know it's going to be a good show from Ubisoft when the only reference to Tyler's girlwood is her necklace.

Grade:  A-

Early Reveals Killed the E3 Surprise

We are less than two weeks away from E3 2015.  It is an exciting time as everyone from video game aficionados to casual fans speculate on what's in store for the show.  During these two weeks, rumours, predictions and even leaks spread across the web like wildfire due to increased levels of interest in E3.  To combat third-parties from leaking their lineups for E3, some game companies adopted the practice of revealing some of their titles in the weeks leading up to the show.  Some people love getting these reveals early because it keeps the games from getting lost in all the hustle and bustle of E3.  On the other hand, these early reveals kill the element of surprise that is a key part of the show's success.

Let's take a trip down memory lane.  What E3 moment made you fall in love with following the event from beginning to end each year?  It certainly wasn't for leaked/revealed games like Titanfall, Gears of War: Judgment, Beyond: Two Souls or Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.  It was surprises that made your jaw drop, got you to sit back in disbelief and possibly left your crying tears of joy.  Some moments that come to mind include Shigeru Miyamoto appearing onstage wielding both the Master Sword and Hylian Shield at the Twilight Princess reveal, the legendary Metal Gear Solid 4 trailers, the return of Kid Icarus and Sony's PS4 reveal.  Everyone has a moment that stands out in their mind, but they all have one thing in common: the element of surprise.

By revealing games early or making these secrets vulnerable to leaks, these companies are hurting the show that serves as a massive marketing push for their products.  Seriously, a product's showing at E3 can make or break it.  Case in point, look at the success of Watch Dogs and Destiny or even the continued struggles Microsoft faces with the lagging sales of the Xbox One.

Speaking of Watch Dogs, nobody knew anything about the game or even the fact that Ubisoft would unveil a brand new property at the end of their E3 2012 press conference.  The surprise of the game's reveal coupled with the scarcity of information about it started a frenzy surrounding Watch Dogs.  In the end, it lead to one of the biggest disappointments of 2014, but not before selling millions upon millions of copies.

Now look at Fallout 4.  Yes, the game's existence has been one of the worst kept secrets in gaming history, but that is beside the point.  Fallout 4 was all but confirmed before Bethesda dropped the trailer earlier this week.

Now, just imagine if Bethesda waited until their E3 press conference this coming July 14th, where hundreds of journalists and millions eyes around the world would be focused on this one event, to reveal the Fallout 4 trailer.  It's not hard to image the audience, both live and at home, would have lost it and Bethesda would have seen a dramatic spike in interest for the game.  By trying to get ahead of third-parties, Bethesda has missed out on a golden opportunity and took a great surprise away from the biggest event of the year for the video game industry.

As much as E3 is about impressing investors and marketing products to a worldwide audience, it is about the gamers.  We are the audience that tunes in every year hoping to be surprised, entertained and ultimately excited for the future of this industry.  Taking the surprises out of E3 only leaves people feeling disappointed.  My advice to game developers and publishers: resist the urge, keep your secrets close to your chest and make E3 2015 an event we will never forget.

2014: Year of the Delay

Delays are a natural part of any industry.  Nothing ever goes exactly to plan as issues and problems can occur at anytime during production to negatively affect the estimated time of arrival.  In the video game industry, delays come about regularly as developers run into game-breaking bugs that need additional time to receive the necessary attention or publishers search for the perfect release date for their game to succeed.  While there are quite a few games that slip past their original release date each year, 2014 has seen a large amount of major releases delayed until 2015.  So many delays, in fact, each one seems to make 2014 feel more like a barren wasteland for major releases.

The whole of 2013 was solely focused on launching two brand new systems in the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the heralds of the next generation of video games.  With those brand new consoles, the promise of games to justify their cost and hype was not too far behind.  After experiencing many console launches, a drought of games immediately following the release of these systems was to be expected, but to have this lack of major releases extend the majority of 2014 cannot be overlooked.  Although the good amount of downloadable releases may satisfy the most dedicated gamers between major releases, the vast majority does not scour the PlayStation Store, Xbox Marketplace or Nintendo eShop regularly for games to buy.  Sadly that vast majority focuses on the larger retail titles such as Call of Duty, The Last of Us and Watch Dogs over downloadable games like Child of Light, Shovel Knight and Transistor.  The games being delayed until 2015 (Batman: Arkham Knight, Evolve, The Division and Witcher III) are the system sellers for these next generation consoles and delaying these games until following year will cause more people to hold out on buying a PS4 or Xbox One for the time being.  Each time a major release is delayed, it adds more fuel to the argument that the next generation came a year before it was actually ready.

Despite all the negativity surrounding game delays, they are necessary and beneficial part of the video game industry.  Delays offer developers more time to fix bugs, polish mechanics, balance features and refine a game's content, which all result in making a better product.  Rushing a game to market, especially in an unfinished state, to meet a deadline can do a lot of damage to a company's image than actual good.  While the extra time benefits a game, there are some current trends involving delays that can have an averse effect on a game.  These trends include delaying a game just a few weeks before its release (Rayman Legends), over-hyping a game before its delay to go completely silent on it afterwards (Watch Dogs) and setting a release date for a game in order to push pre-orders before delaying it (Batman: Arkham Knight).  These trends alienate the loyal fans that look to support these games through pre-orders, buying collector's editions and paying for season passes by literally pulling the rug out from under them.  Playing with the emotions of the most passionate fans is an easy way to sour their opinions towards a certain game or game company.  Developers and publishers need to let delays be for the betterment of the games and learn to keep their audience's emotions in mind when announcing and handling these crucial situations.

Although it may be a tough pill to swallow, delays are an inevitable part of the video game industry.  They are needed to handle the unpredictable nature of game development, but gamers, publishers and developers all need to find better ways of dealing with them especially as development costs rise and the ability to connect with one another becomes more available.  As a gamer, it is disappointing to see the list of major releases in 2014 dwindle every month as many get pushed to 2015, but all hope is not lost.  There are many other options for gamers to spend their valuable time with than just the larger triple A titles including a wide selection of value-priced downloadable games or a vast backlog of games missed out on from previous years.  While 2014 may be a soft year for major game releases, best use the extra time to discover brand new experiences or rediscover those you missed out on from years past.  The games we are all excited about will eventually see the light of day; we just have to be a little more patient.

Most Anticipated Games of the Next Half

Just last week, this writer reflected upon his favourite games from the first half of 2013.  While there were some great games already available to play, there are some stellar ones coming out in the next six months.  The summer is definitely slow on releases, but the holiday season sure makes up for the slack.  There are the regulars like Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed that rake in the big bucks yet are losing traction with more gamers with each yearly release.  The most exciting new releases of the upcoming months are sequels that have not been diluted by a yearly release schedule or brand new experiences that uses new interesting ideas to grasp our attention and money.  Here is this writer’s list of his most anticipated games of this Summer and Fall.  

Splinter Cell:  Blacklist

Splinter Cell: Conviction was one of the games that this writer bought an Xbox 360 just to play.  While some of the Splinter Cell hardcore were not fond with Sam Fisher’s new direction, yours truly found Conviction unbelievably fun.  The stealth was smooth, the guns felt great and the Mark and Execute system made clearing a room of enemies such an adrenaline pumping experience.  With Blacklist, Ubisoft Toronto looks to expand on what made Conviction so much fun with the Killing in Motion system.  Killing in Motion allows Sam to string together stealth kills with the Mark and Execute moves in one fluid motion.  Along with an interconnected campaign that allows you to access both single and multiplayer levels from the same mobile base and the return of the Mercs vs. Spies multiplayer mode, Blacklist is shaping up to be one of the standout games of the Summer.

Rayman Legends

Ubisoft broke many hearts with the seven-month delay of Rayman Legends and the loss of Wii U exclusivity.  The thought of Ubisoft’s betrayal still stings, but this French publisher has at least made an effort to mend the bridges they burnt with the free Challenge App on Wii , which gives early access to Legend’s multiplayer Challenge mode.  There are both weekly and daily challenges in various difficulty levels to complete and earn trophies in order to increase your Awesomeness level.  Having this leaderboard-focused multiplayer mode along with an incredible single-player should easily keep Legends stuck in many disc drives for months after release.

The Wonderful 101

Put the vast number of controllable units from a game like Pikmin with the B-movie superhero hijacks of Viewtiful Joe and the result would be Platinum’s Wonderful 101.  The first game in Nintendo’s exclusive deal with this extraordinary Japanese developer, The Wonderful 101 has the player taking control of one hundred different superheroes much like Captain Olimar controls Pikmin.  While it is neat to control the entire horde of little heroes, Wonderful 101’s hook comes from all the various ways you can use these heroes' Unite powers, which are activated these by drawing a different symbols on the Gamepad’s touch screen.  These Unite powers allow these heroes to form into either a ladder, a sword or even a giant fist.  Each of these Unite powers can be used to interact with the environment or fight off all the enemies that stand in your way.  The Wonderful 101 looks to be the beginning of a beautiful partnership that this writer hopes to see continue in the years to come.

Watch Dogs

Chicago is your playground and weapon.  In the world of Watch Dogs, the Windy City is in the palm of your hands and you are free to do whatever you want with it.  Hacking into the city’s systems to spy on strangers, evade the law, complete your agenda and cause as much chaos as humanly possible are some of the activities you can get up to in Watch Dogs.  Funny enough those activities are only the tip of the iceberg in this open-world.  Watch Dogs immerses the player with multiplayer that seamlessly integrates with the single-player campaign.  No need to log into a separate lobby to play with others, just have to be connected to the internet or playing on the companion app for iOS and Android platforms.  The potential of Ubisoft Montreal’s newest venture is limitless, which has this writer and many others excited.

The Legend of Zelda:  A Link Between Worlds

It has been ages since Nintendo has delivered a proper top-down Zelda adventure to gamers.  The announcement of true return to the top down format with A Link Between Worlds left many including yours truly weeping tears of joy.  On top of the return of the top-down perspective, A Link Between Worlds is a direct sequel to A Link to the Past, a game among the top echelon of the Legend of Zelda series.  The brand new mechanic in A Link Between Worlds is Link’s ability to merge with the wall as a painting.  This mechanic opens up the door for some unique platforming-like puzzles for the developers at Nintendo to test gamers with.  Much of the game is still under wraps by the Big N, but what has been shown so far looks very promising.  No matter what, A Link Between Worlds should be a stellar game to wrap up the 3DS’s phenomenal year.

Top 5 Games of E3 2013

E3 2013 has been in the books for two weeks now.  The fallout from this year's show has been big with the incredibly positive buzz surrounding the PS4 and the immense animosity towards the Xbox One- even following Microsoft's change of heart.  E3 2013 saw the first real shots fired in the next round of the console wars.  The frontrunner following E3 looks to be Sony with Nintendo in second and Microsoft in a distant third.  E3 did garner some excitement for the next generation of consoles yet this writer does not see a game that provides a reason for gamers to drop their cash to pick up these new systems at launch.  Those games may be a couple of years down the road, which makes waiting possibly the best choice for most unless you are among the most hardcore.  Most of the games showed off for the next generation of consoles were a lot in line with the games that have dominated the last half of the current generation- shooters and sequels.  It is a new generation; time for Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft to start taking more risks rather than solely resting on their laurels.  Most of these companies are making moves to secure exclusives on their console and ramp up their support for independent developers, one of the few sources of originality in the industry nowadays, but those things alone will not secure victory this time around.  The dawn of the last console generation saw the birth of franchises like Gears of War, Uncharted and Wii Sports to name of few.  Creative risks of that ilk seem to coming from downloadable games or a select few games available for both current and next generation consoles.  The console manufacturers need to start leading by example and move this industry out of the sequel-driven slump it has fallen into.  Do not get this writer wrong, sequels are fine and healthy parts of this industry, but too many unnecessary sequels (Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Need for Speed) cause stagnation in creativity and disinterest from gamers.  Once the initial wave of games for the next generation release, hopefully we will see some new ideas emerge from the triple A publishers.

No E3 is complete here at Silver Bit without the annual Top Games of E3 list.  Throughout the hectic week that is E3, yours truly makes a tireless effort to watch as much gameplay footage shown at the show.  Without physically being in LA to experience the event, it is hard to find footage for every single game at the show.  Like last year, the only games that qualify for this list are those that had demos on the show floor.  Now let us get on to the Top Games of E3 2013.

Honourable Mention

Batman:  Arkham Origins- PS3, XB360, Wii U, PC

The reveal of Arkham Origins just about two months ago was not well received by this writer.  Arkham City is easily one of the best games of this generation, but Origins seemed to be a quick cash-in by Warner Bros.  After watching the demo showed off at E3, Arkham Origins looks to be more of the same Arkham City greatness with some improvements and that is totally fine.  The combat and open world traversal looks the same as usual, but it is the new investigation mode that should get gamers excited to venture into Gotham City.  Instead of the forced investigation segments from the previous entries in the Arkham series, Origins allows gamers to become the World's Greatest Detective by being able to reconstruct an entire crime scene using evidence collected throughout the investigation and exploration. Seeing the new investigation mode in motion has got this writer excited to lace up the Dark Knight's boots once again.

5.  Murdered:  Soul Suspect- PS3, XB360, PC
Last year, Airtight Games was gathering a lot of attention for Quantum Conundrum, a first-person puzzler similar to Valve's Portal.  Now come E3 this year, Airtight has got gamers intrigued with their newest game Murdered: Soul Suspect.  Murdered places you in the ghostly shoes of the recently deceased detective, Ronan O'Connor.  Caught in limbo, Ronan is tasked in solving his own murder using his new found supernatural powers.  Powers like possession let Ronan interact with the environment around him to find evidence unbeknownst to the other NPCs in the game.  With the evidence collected, Ronan can piece together key information used to open up new areas to investigate.  Ronan is not the only one stuck in limbo.  From time to time, Ronan will run into demons that threaten the ghostly detective.  To dispatch these enemies, Ronan must use stealth and possession powers.  At E3, Murdered: Soul Suspect seemed to get swept up under all the hype produced by the next gen consoles and huge Triple A games.  It is sad considering how unique and intriguing this game is.  Murdered: Soul Suspect will definitely be one to watch come 2014.

4.  Bayonetta 2- Wii U
Nintendo showed off some great games at E3, but none really blew this writer away much like Bayonetta 2.  The Masters of the Insane, also known as Platinum Games, have brought some of the most unapologetically crazy games this last generation and they look to continue that drive into the future with Bayonetta 2.  It is really hard to describe the demo showed off at E3, but did it ever make this writer's jaw drop on multiple occasions.  Watch the demo and you will see what is trying to be conveyed in this paragraph.  You play as a witch covered in clothes made of her own hair as you fight angels, demons or whatever enemy Platinum throws your way with magic produced by using your hair.  It does not make much sense, but sure does it look fun.  While Bayonetta 2 will not be a system seller for the Wii U, it could push some hardcore gamers to pick up Nintendo's newest console.

3.  Transistor- PS4, PC
When Transistor was first announced at PAX East, many were comparing it to Supergiant Games' freshman effort, Bastion.  Transistor does have a couple similarities to Bastion like the isometric perspective and the use of a narrator to describe the action, but that is where the similarities end.  Transistor is primarily a turned-based strategy game, but it does allow you play it like any other action game if you choose.  Choosing to play Transistor like any other action game will be a mistake as you are missing out at Transistor's greatest strength, its planning mode.  In planning mode, time stops and you are able to plan out your moves and attacks on the action bar.  You are given all the time in the world to plan out your battles as you can scrub up and down the action bar and edit it as you want.  You cannot abuse the planning mode as it will need to recharge after every use.  The interplay between fighting in real-time and using planning mode is very intriguing and will easily make one of the standout downloadable experiences on PS4 and PC next year.

2.  Plants vs. Zombies:  Garden Warfare- XBOne, XB360, PC
Nobody thought turning Plants vs. Zombies from a tower defense game to a third-person shooter would be a good idea.  Many thought this change in genre would destroy all the fun and charm that makes Plants vs. Zombies so endearing to gamers and non-gamers alike.  Well PopCap proved us all wrong then because Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare looks flipping awesome!  Easily one of this writer's biggest surprise from E3, Garden Warfare did not look like anything exceptional from the trailer showed off at the EA Press Conference, but the gameplay changed the entire story.  Allowing gamers to jump into any one of the plants from the Plants vs. Zombies games, you fight off hordes upon hordes of zombies with your own weapons and other traps and defences you set up throughout the level. Garden Warfare looks like a team-based shooter that should be a lot of fun to play with others hopefully both on and offline.

1.  Watch Dogs- PS4, PS3, XBOne, XB360, Wii U, PC
Watch Dogs shocked the world when it was revealed back at E3 2012.  The more Ubisoft has shown of their newest IP, the more gamers have been impressed.  Watch Dogs keeps on looking better and better to the point that it has easily become one of the most anticipated titles of 2013.  For a brand new IP to have such huge amount of anticipation is very hard to come by in the sequel-driven environment that the video game industry currently is.  Watch Dogs looks to blend a straight-forward action game with the freedom of a open world Chicago to explore, but this blend is not the reason people are excited for Ubisoft's newest venture.  The reason people are excited to play Watch Dogs is due to the amount of freedom you have to manipulate the world around you.  Playing as master hacker Aiden Pearce, Chicago is your playground and also your weapon.  Hacking into the city to escape the pursuits of the police, cause chaos and listen in on phone conversations are just the tip of what you can do in Watch Dogs.  Couple all that control with the ability to have a friend play co-operatively or competitvely using a tablet, which this writer hopes Ubisoft integrates natively in the Wii U version, Watch Dogs is the game to watch this holiday season.  Ubisoft could have another hit on their hands with Watch Dogs.  Just hopefully Ubisoft does not run this potential series into the ground like they did with Assassin's Creed.

E3 2013: Sony Press Conference Impressions

After Microsoft's multiple slip ups with the Xbox One, it was Sony's E3 to win.  The question was if Sony would be smart enough to take advantage of this huge opportunity to bury their competition.  Would PS4 walk triumphantly with gamers to back them up or pathetically limp all alone into the next generation?  It was one long haul, but those questions were definitely answered.

Sony's Press Conference had the highest of highs, the lowest of lows and everything in between.  The conference lasted just about two hours and it took close to three quarters of the conference to get to the goods.  The last quarter of this conference will easily go down in video game history.  Starting with the showcase of eight indie games on stage (Don't Starve, Ray's the Dead, Secret Ponchos, Octodad, Oddworld: New 'N' Tasty, Galak-Z, Mercenary Kings and Outlast), Sony opened up the floodgates for the announcements PS4 desperately needed.  Leading up to this point, we were subjugated to Sony's classic strategy of boring the living hell out of every living thing watching.  There were a quite a few games showed off for PS4 before this moment, but they were everything Sony showed off before.  It did not hold our attention especially after suffering through Sony confirming on-stage that the Vita is dead in the water, focusing on PS3 games that did not need to be covered and even pushing their Sony Pictures division down our throats (funny considering they took a shot at Microsoft for doing the exact same thing).  Long story short, it was not a good way to spend nearly three quarters of a video game conference.  Once Sony showed off two bombshells from Square Enix known as Final Fantasy XV (the former Final Fantasy Versus XIII) and flipping Kingdom Hearts 3!  While switching Versus XIII to XV was expected, nobody saw Kingdom Hearts 3 coming and it made this conference special.  From there on, Sony went right into the Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV demos that should have been at the Ubisoft conference.  Nevertheless, Watch Dogs stole this writers heart with the best demo of the conference.  Assassin's Creed IV was nothing too special especially with the amount of technical difficulties the demo suffered from.  Sony also showed off Elder Scrolls Online, Mad Max and Destiny.  There was nothing special about Elder Scrolls Online and Mad Max as all they showed were trailers.  For Destiny, Sony brought the first live gameplay of Bungie's new shooter, which was very enjoyable.  The one moment that left just as much lasting effect on those watching than the Kingdom Hearts 3 reveal was Sony's direct shots at Microsoft.  Even though publishers are pushing for DRM on consoles, Sony is standing firmly behind the consumers as the PS4 will be able to play used games and will not require a constant internet connection or to be authenticated every 24 hours.  Sony took a knife and stabbed it directly into Microsoft's heart, but those shots were not the only thing.  Sony dug their knife even deeper into Microsoft's heart with the bold announcement that the PS4 will retail at 399 dollars.  399 dollars for a PS4 is nuts.  The PS3 was almost twice that price at launch.  What an incredible way to end a conference and single-handedly put the Xbox One on life support.

While the last quarter of the Sony Press Conference was near perfection, I cannot give the abysmal first three quarters of the conference a pass.  Personally, I am not going to forget the hour and a half that we wasted just to get to the good stuff.  The Sony Press Conference is the entire two hour show, not the final thirty minutes and I believe many are forgetting that fact.  Although I still have reservations about a few features such as the Gaikai streaming service, this conference did its job and sold the PS4 to the masses.  For that fact alone, this conference deserves kudos.

Grade:  B-

E3 2013: Ubisoft Press Conference Impressions

Aside from their consistent problems finding a suitable host for their conferences, Ubisoft has had some of the best showings at E3 the last two years.  With games like Rayman Legends, Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV in their corner, many were looking forward to what Ubisoft would show off this year at E3.

Well to sum things up, Ubisoft knows how to end a press conference.  Sadly, they do not know how to do much else because this conference was a definite step back from years past.  It was not good or bad, it just was right in the middle.  Only a few things Ubisoft showed really stuck.  The rest went in one ear and out the other.  Maybe these reactions were due to the lack of actual gameplay demos or the continued presence of Aisha Tyler, which was a black hole that sucked plenty of good out of this conference.  Also Ubisoft's conference was significantly hurt by the exclusion of Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV demos in favour of showing them at the Sony Press Conference.  There is no point in having your own conference if you are not going to showcase your own games especially the two biggest titles in your 2013 line-up.  As much as Ubisoft under delivered, it was not as bad as the EA conference.  There were a couple of good points.  The demo for Reflections newest driving game, The Crew was really good.  The inter connectivity of the world and the instantaneous multiplayer were impressive.  There are a few questions this writer has for The Crew, but personally I am intrigued.  The game that saved this conference was the newest Tom Clancy game known as The Division.  The Division had a similar set-up to Watch Dogs' set-up a year before.  Ubisoft had the audience at the conference and at home on the edge of their seat trying to decipher what it was.  The Division is an open-world third-person shooter with RPG elements.  It is set in a world that has spiraled into to complete and utter chaos after the collapse of the stock market and society as we know it.  Set with the task of surviving, the player teams up with others in this persistent massively multiplayer world scavenging items, collecting upgrades and gadgets and fighting off threats to your survival.  While I personally would have loved to see more about Rainbow Six: Patriots, The Division looks like a great new extension of the Tom Clancy universe and another great game in Ubisoft's huge library of games.

As much as The Crew and The Division captured our imaginations, those two games were not able to save Ubisoft's conference from mediocrity.  The absence of the Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV demos and the lack of demos for a slew of trailers beat Ubisoft into one of their most lackluster showings.  At least, this year's press conference was not even close to their infamous 2010 conference. 

Grade:  C-

What I Want From E3 2013

It is that time of year once again.  E3 is nearly upon us and the anticipation is hitting an all time high.  The excitement this year is surrounding the next generation of gaming consoles, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.  With new possibilities just around the corner, many are hoping for a knock out performance from the Big Three console manufacturers this year.  After last year’s abysmal show, there are quite a few, this writer included, which are not excited for what looks like more of the same generic sequel-driven crap that has plagued the last generation of consoles for years taking over E3 once again.  While my hopes for E3 are at an all time low, there is a slight possibility that opinions can change in a weeks’ time.  This change of opinion will be the result of the fulfillment of the list below.  Welcome to what I personally want from this year’s E3.

Games

Funny enough, the latest trend sweeping the biggest video game trade show in the world is not to show any video games at all.  Sounds ridiculous, but it is a sad reality.  Bigger companies such as Microsoft seem to be more interested in shoving their entertainment ventures down our collective throats rather than showing what the gamers actually want.  Yes, shareholders take a huge interest in E3, but the largest audience for this show is gamers.  As gamers, we do not want to see how the 360 can substitute as a television.  This concept might be bewildering to some, but gamers watch E3 to see the latest and greatest upcoming games nothing more, nothing less.  It would be nice for these game publishers to spend time on actual video games rather than bore us with features that do not concern gamers in the least.

Surprises

In this day and age, genuine surprises are hard to come by.  They are usually leaked somewhere on the World Wide Web well before the reveal actually happens.  These leaks do stir up speculation and provide excellent stories for websites.  The adverse effect is that gamers do not get surprised anymore since everything is spoiled for them on the Internet.  That feeling of astonishment when a game reveal catches you completely by surprise is unlike no other feeling.  Last year, the only real surprise was Watch Dogs and it blew our collective socks off.  Not every surprise is good one, but it is nice to get something unexpected over something we are already familiar with.  

Retro’s New Game

Speaking of surprises, there has been one secret that Nintendo has been holding close to their chest for a year now.  That secret being Retro Studios' unannounced game project for the Wii U.  In the past decade, Retro Studios has quickly earned a high position in Nintendo's stable of developers.  Retro easily filled the void that Rare left when Microsoft bought them.  Consistently creating excellent games for Nintendo systems such as the Metroid Prime series and Donkey Kong Country Returns, it is easy to see the extraordinary amount of anticipation there is for this unannounced project.  It could be anything from the return of an established Nintendo franchise like Metroid, Star Fox or F-Zero or even a whole new IP.  The possibilities are endless.  No matter what this game is, Nintendo has this surprise in their back pocket ready just to blow us all away.  Nintendo fans, myself included, have been impatiently waiting for a year so hopefully Nintendo reveals their trump card this E3 when they definitely need it.

Reasons to Care About Next Gen

The next generation of gaming consoles has been laid out before us gamers in the months leading up to E3.  As much anticipation people have for these new systems, there is just as much or even more skepticism.  Personally, Sony and Microsoft have shown nothing to make gamers care about the next generation consoles.  All the games that have been shown so far have just been sequels with shinier graphics.  There has been nothing shown that could not run on the current generation Xbox 360 or PS3 with proper optimization.  There is no purpose in spending about 600 to 700 dollars on a new game system that can play the same games already coming out on the Xbox 360 and PS3.  The industry has reached the peak of gaming technology as we currently know it.  The strides made in this current console generation were so vast that the jump between this current gen and next gen is barely even noticable.  Game companies can put as many particles and polygons on a screeen as they want, nothing will ever compare to the incredible jump between blocky standard definition graphics and smooth high definition graphics.  Due to that huge graphical jump, the industry could get away with touting visuals over gameplay this past generation.  This time around it will not be so easy as most gamers want to see actual gameplay over a superficial CG trailers that have nothing to do with the actual game.  E3 is the last big chance for Sony and Microsoft to sway consumers to buy their consoles at launch.  Shiny graphics alone will not be able to get the job done.  Sony and Microsoft need to provide consumers with tangible evidence on why we should care about these new machines if they want success this coming holiday season.

The End of Nintendo E3 Press Conferences

News broke late Wednesday evening, early Thursday morning that Nintendo would be taking a much different approach to E3 this year.  Instead of tackling the giants of the PS4 and the next Xbox head-on with a major press conference of their own, Nintendo has opted to holding smaller Nintendo Direct broadcasts from E3.  Definitely a move to save the Big N some money and make them stand out from Sony's and Microsoft's offerings at E3.  To say the least, ending the tradition of major E3 press conferences is an incredibly bold, risky and polarizing move by Nintendo, but it is also a smart move.

Ever since E3 downsized way back in 2007, the grandeur and spectacle of what was originally the video games industry's biggest convention of the year has slowly but surely been lost.  To the point that last year's E3 was nothing short of abysmal.  While great moments have squeaked through the cracks on occasion such as the unveiling of the 3DS, Kevin Butler's speech or Watch Dogs, the E3 press conferences these past six years have left a lot to be desired.  Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have tried too hard to appeal to a much broader audience with their E3 press conferences that many of them lose their focus and easily become a chore to watch.  These companies forget that the people who actually tune into to watch their E3 press conferences are primarily hardcore gamers.  These gamers want to see games, not applications or entertainment options.  With the Nintendo Direct format, Nintendo has captured lightning in a bottle.  Nintendo directly talks to their consumers through 30 minute to one hour mini conferences.  Providing information on upcoming games, applications and initiatives directly to their audience.  Due to the nature of these mini conferences, Nintendo is able to make these Nintendo Directs target certain audiences be it casual or hardcore gamers, Wii U or 3DS owners or even younger or older fans.  It allows Nintendo to keep these conferences focused and more importantly keep surprise game reveals from leaking.  From Link to the Past 2 to the sequel to Xenoblade, Nintendo Direct has offered a numerous amount of E3 quality surprises that if not kept internally would have easily been leaked.  Adapting this format to E3 is an excellent idea because it keeps the focus on the games and makes a more intimate connection with their audience than a massive press conference would.  While it is a great idea, Nintendo still needs to worry about being swept under the buzz of the PS4 and next Xbox and the lack of mainstream coverage due to the smaller scale.  Addressing these possible problems will be the difference between Nintendo's success or failure at this year's E3.

No matter what breaking tradition can always sting.  Personally, I am a little bummed out about Nintendo's announcement of no more large-scale press conferences.  While I do have some fond memories of past Nintendo E3 press conferences, the video game industry is constantly changing.  With the traditions of E3 becoming more and more stagnant over time, change is definitely needed in order for E3 to regain the grandeur and spectacle that it has lost.  Nintendo is trying an entirely different format to how they present their news at E3 and it will be interesting to see how things turn out for better or worse.

E3 2012: Ubisoft Press Conference Impressions

E3 2012 is rolling, but other than a few announcements here and there nothing has truly stood out so far.  It is now Ubisoft's turn to impress the gaming public and put on a E3 Press Conference that does not elicit tons of jokes and disgraces like Mr. Caffeine.

Ubisoft has been notorious to have the most inconsistent press conferences in E3 history.  Going from super serious shooter like Ghost Recon right into the hilariously horrible laser tag ripoff or having James Cameron go on about Avatar for 40 minutes straight without any gameplay footage or screenshots to speak of.  It would usually end up being an incredible disaster or somehow luck out with the good far outweighing the oh so bad.  This year was different for Ubisoft.  Other than a few slip ups, which I will get to later, their conference was the best so far.  Most of the stuff that would weigh down past Ubisoft conferences were put in short montages or little clips on the big screen.  Ubisoft got to what gamers wanted, which was core games.  The first demo was Far Cry 3, which was fairly interesting and enjoyable.  It really showed off how Ubisoft was taking the definition of insanity, which was a huge focus of last year's E3 demo and making it into an entire plot point.  It was very interesting to say the least.  Next up was a trailer for Splinter Cell: Blacklist as the amazing gameplay demo was shown off at the Microsoft Press Conference.  While not as amazing as the actual gameplay demo, it was very good and kept things rolling at a good pace.  Then Ubisoft showed off a couple of their exclusives for the Wii U.  They showed a full-on gameplay demo of Rayman Legends, which I can proudly say is exclusive to Wii U.  It was the best demo of the conference as it showed off how Ubisoft is using the Wii U's unique controller to interact with the environment in real time.  My only question is how will somebody play Rayman Legends on their own?  During the stage demo had one person using the Wii U Gamepad and another using the Pro Controller.  While I do have some questions, the gameplay in that demo was just phenomenal.  Next up was the Assassin's Creed III demo, which surprisingly did not close out the show.  The demo really showcased how Ubisoft Montreal has really improved on every aspect of Assassin's Creed.  The combat flowed in a way it should have always been like, stealth and action seem to blend perfectly and the game overall looks to be much more fluid and fast-paced, which is a good thing.  To end the show, Ubisoft revealed a brand new game by the name of Watch Dogs.  You are a hacker in an endlessly interconnected city.  Everything is connected to a central computer and you are able to hack it to do whatever you want.  Search up information about anybody in the city, cause electronics to malfunction and eavesdropping on phone conversations is just a few examples of what you can do.  It looks like an incredibly interesting sci-fi world that I personally would love to explore in the near future.  Even with all the good, there was a few bad parts of the conference.  The Just Dance 4 opening concert with Flo Rida was completely unnecessary, the host was annoying beyond all reason and the ShootMania e-sport competition was soo bad that it almost derailed the entire press conference.

Overall, the Ubisoft E3 2012 Press Conference was the best press conference so far.  It had a few bad moments, but they made up for it with their great gameplay demos and reveals.  It was an entertaining one and a half hour conference that Sony and Nintendo have to strive to out do.

Grade:  B+