The biggest moments of E3 2015
With E3 starting to fade in the mirror behind us the staff at Gaming Nexus is taking one final minute to reflect on this year's E3 to remember the big moments that stood out to us. We weren't exactly dead on with our predictions but some of us were pretty close (Mike especially).
Death of Kinect
Randy - Did you hear Microsoft say a single word this E3 about its doomed peripheral? Anyone? I didn't hear a thing. Just one last dying puff of air leaving its lungs. Oh sure, Microsoft moved onto pushing its own augmented reality (HoloLens) and partnering with virtual reality (SteamVR). But never put it past Microsoft to abandon an unpopular product when it's for the greater good—or the bottom line.
DayZ Single-player
Travis - During the PC Gaming Show at E3 I was particularly excited by the announcement that DayZ will include a single-player mode in its upcoming beta phase. No longer will I need to worry about bandits creeping around every corner, waiting to kill my character that has spent endless hours collecting loot.
Nintendo Flubs press conference
Nathan - Nintendo made fools of themselves once again like they always do by giving us games no one wanted. You want Metroid Prime? Too bad, here is Metroid 3 V 3 Basketball instead. You want Animal Crossing Wii U? Too bad, here is Mario Party: Wild Animal Amiibo Crossing edition instead. I am very happy to see the trailer for whatever that Metroid game was has about 5,000 likes and 60,000 dislikes on Nintendo's official Youtube page. Also, for anyone saying that we are entitled because we didn't get what we waited at this time, we have been waiting for a new Metroid LONG enough
Nintendo World Championships:
Russell - While it may not have been perfect, it's nice to see Nintendo at least bring back the concept of the NWC. Granted it was more like the Nintendo Country Championships and that eight of the finalists didn't have to travel to one of eight specific Best Buys to qualify, the fact that we got to see Super Mario Maker in action was enough for me. Even if the event wasn't perfect, it's nice that they did it to begin with and hopefully it won't be the last we see of the Nintendo World Championships.
Metroid Prime: Federation Force.
Russell - I love the Metroid series ever since the original on the NES (I'm kind of in the middle on Other M), and I'm kind of on the fence with Federation Force. True the trailers don't have a lot of likes and a ton of dislikes, but as long as the game still has something to do with Metroids, I'll give it a shot. While this might be canon to the series, I don't mind a good spin-off game if it works within the Metroid universe. Keep in mind that Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island wasn't all that much like the original Super Mario World, yet it was still set in the Mario universe and was an awesome game, despite being called Super Mario World 2. While I'm not fond of the concept of Metroid Prime Blast Ball, I'm willing to give Federation Force a chance.
Sony's Press conference
Rob - I was also impressed by Sony's lineup of games, games and more games. They really didn't have any big reveals for services or hardware, so they seemed to just threw out every single IP they had in their portfolio. It was nice to see some footage of the Last Guardian, even if the graphics were already beginning to look dated. Much of the rest was as expected, footage from games we knew existed, even if we hadn't seen them in action yet. All except for Horizon: New Dawn. That was from left field. And not only was it unexpected, but it looked sublime.
Matt - This year I felt like the gaming industry has given me everything I could have ever wanted. We got a new IGA-vania styled game, Shenmue 3 is happening, and Sony started off their news conference with a game I have been thirsty for since it was first announced over six years ago. The short gameplay demo from the press conference restored so much faith I had lost over the years, and now, it's finally happening. 2016 The Last Guardian baby!
Jeremy - Okay, hear me out. Most people look at the playable demo of Uncharted 4 and chalk it up as being the expected-great Nathan Drake adventure everyone was expecting, but have you really taken the time to watch that thing from beginning to end. As great as it looks on the surface, it looks even better when you pick at the details. The crowd interaction that looks a thousand times better than any Assassin’s Creed game, the physics of objects rolling and falling off of tables during the market scene, the globe spinning... it is simply amazing how Naughty Dog has brought to life pretty much EVERY single aspect of that game world. I will not hesitate to pick up the Uncharted Collection in the Fall and revisit Drake’s adventures in preparation for the epic quest that Uncharted 4 has in store for gamers next year.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Trailer
Sean Cahill - The rumors popped up just before the show, but I've read that story before and it never ended well. To my surprise, this time the goods were finally delivered. There are times that I just like to sit back as a gamer and enjoy what I see, and seeing that beautiful trailer with Barrett and Cloud walking among a crowd in a gorgeous looking Midgar has to be listed in my top moments.
Fallout 4/Bethesda Press Conference
Matt - We all knew it was coming, but we didn't know how much was going to be shown, or what information was going to be divulged going in to Bethesda's press conference. So the wombo-combo of gameplay, story, mod news, Fallout Shelter, physical Pip-boy with a second screen app, and the release date of Fallout 4 made for one of the biggest mega-tons tied to a singular game in a long time.
Chapel - This is probably a fanboy moment, but man, Todd Howard is just such a great presenter. All throughout Fallout 4's presentation, he had the on stage charisma of a rock star. Bethesda really hit their conference out of the park, and announcing and releasing a game on the same day was just such a cool move that really cemented their place as the best presentation of E3.
Mike - The Fallout franchise is why I love games so much. There's something about the franchise's open worlds, writing, characters, and choice that no game has ever rivaled. Fallout will always hold a special place in my heart and finally seeing the next iteration in action almost brought tears to my eyes.
John - Bethesda's first press conference - Yes, I was disappointed we wouldn't get appointments and demonstrations of Fallout 4 byTodd Howard in a small setting, but man did they show off a ton of stuff that impressed everyone. From the release of Fallout Shelter that night to the announcement of Dishonored 2 and showings of DOOM, Bethesda had one of the best press conferences in recent memory. Fallout 4 was the star of the show, but that was to be expected. Yes, I pre-ordered the Pip Boy edition as soon as it was announced. Yes, I can't wait for November.
Charles - Bethesda shocked everyone with announcement after announcement. This may have been Bethesda's first E3 press conference but they executed on it perfectly (Square Enix please copy them next year). Not only did they show off a bunch of new footage from games we knew about but they also announced a few new games.
Backwards Compatibility
Randy - Playing Xbox 360 games on Xbox One. You should've seen how our chat app blew up when Microsoft tore the roof off and announced how all of our old 360 games will play on the new-gen hardware. I had to make a hard decision in buying a PlayStation 4 this generation. It made the most sense to me. (And let's be real, it wasn't economically viable for me to buy both a PS4 and Xbox One.) That didn't mean I wasn't sad to leave behind my Xbox Live buddies and 360 library, though. Now, I have to revisit this concept. Either way, when my 360 dies—and it will die—there will be no question in my mind as to whether or not I should get an Xbox One to replace it.
Nathan - Microsoft really blew me away this year. The announcement of the Xbox 360 backwards compatibility was the one that excited me the most. I have piles of games here that I can't play because I got rid of my 360 when I got an Xbox One. I know I could have just held onto it but space is extremely limited in my gaming area. Id basically have to unplug a bunch of stuff and move consoles around to swap back and forth between the Xbox One, PS4, Wii U, and the Xbox 360 and PS3. Very annoying. On another note, this pretty much made a complete and utter mockery of Sony's "Playstation Now" service, which is a complete joke in my opinion.
Rob - The single biggest reveal had to be the Xbox One/360 backwards compatibility until I actually thought about it. Don't want to be a wet blanket, but I'm not sure how much this will really be realized in the real world. I don't have an Xbox One and will never be getting one (it's a long story), but even including PS4 I can't think of a single game from last gen that I really would put into my next gen console that hasn't already got a remastered re-release in play or a sequel I'd rather put time into. And I think for most people that will be true as well, except for a small handful of games. I could see Skyrim perhaps, but in my mind most Skyrim players were on PC, at least the ones that still seem to be playing anyway. Other last gen classics like Fallout 3 or New Vegas, there will be Fallout 4 in just a few months. Halo, GTA V, Tomb Raider, Dark Souls II, and Borderlands have all been remastered. So while it's a bombshell, I'm not convinced it won't end up being unexploded ordinance. It'll be cool for a few games for small doses of nostalgia, but it's not a system seller. Of course maybe I'm way off on this…
Jeremy - Microsoft really knocked it out of the park with their entire press conference but the moment that they dropped the bomb that is backwards compatability really stole the show for me. This is one announcement that nobody saw coming and it could really help MS in the battle of this generation. Plus, I will be happy to have access to my extensive XBLA library on the new system.
Sean Cahill - I had thought our days of being able to play older games in the same system were done, but thankfully Microsoft came out with the most surprising news of their conference in that 360 games will slowly but surely be available to play on Xbox One with the same disc. They took a little shot at Sony in the process (PS Now hasn't exactly had it's shining moments) but, pot shots aside, this is a great piece of business by Microsoft.
Chapel - What a great and unexpected move by Microsoft. I imagine this will go a very long way to helping people make the jump from the last generation to the current. Hopefully this will carry over the the Games with Gold feature on the 360 as well. I'm looking forward to being able to condense my library and stop having to switch back and forth between consoles.
Mike - Yeah, I'll admit it, I'm kind of a Sony fanboy. I'm not saying I hate Microsoft (I don't) or that the Xbox 360 wasn't my console of choice for most of the last generation (It was), but there was something about them that rubbed me the wrong way after the debacle that was the Xbox One reveal. In fact, Microsoft never really gained my full respect back until their press conference this year. No mention of Call of Duty, no mention of sports, and no mention of TV, it was all games, all of the time. They now get (which Sony understood long before) that hardcore gamers should be their target audience. Now I'm just waiting for a sale to pick of a shiny Xbox One to put next to my PS4.
John - This came out of nowhere right? Everyone thought that backwards compatibility wasn't ever going to be in Microsoft's plans, but then they come out and spring this on everyone. Kudos to Microsoft for being able to do this and give the consumers some say in what games they want to see work on the Xbox One.
Charles - Microsoft surprising everyone with backwards compatibility - I realize the completion of previously announced and rumored games is the top story of E3 but Microsoft adding backwards compatibility to the Xbox One caught almost everyone by surprise. There wasn't a single rumor about this ahead of time and this dramatically changes the games landscape for the Xbox One.
Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments.
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