TAcTICS Video Game insights and analysis
#
5
JULY 2017
THE RESULTS ARE IN...
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It’s about more than just looking at what’s on the surface... E3 is here once more!
TACTICS EDITOR IN CHIEF Ryan Janes WRITER & ART EDITOR Katie Gibbs
CONTACT US tactics@fancensus.com +44 (0)1628 483 554 Fancensus 99 High Street Marlow Bucks SL7 1AB
Every year the event brings with it a certain level of expectation. Gamers want to see publishers delivering the biggest and best titles. They want surprises. They want to be impressed. We at TACTICS should know, we are part of this hungry group. 2017 has already been an absolutely fantastic year for the industry. We’ve seen some of the best quality output in the first three to six months of any year getting released, not to mention an innovative new console. But none of that really matters, that’s in the past. Gamers want to see what the future holds, and if E3 this year is any indication the future is a bright one indeed. So this issue of TACTICS is going to be a little different. We figured the biggest gaming event of the year justifies a big breakdown. There is simply so much to discuss! For example the publishers; Or the fact 2017 has been a real turning point for the event. It has also been a truly unusual one, why exactly? I get into that on page 10 of our E3 rundown. Despite the focus being on E3 this year, Nintendo still managed to sneak a big Switch title onto store shelves - ARMS. The new IP looks to keep the system’s momentum going, filling in the gap between Mario Kart and Splatoon 2 later in July nicely. How have critics responded to this unusual fighter though? Katie explores on page 7. E3 may have been a strange one this year, but fact of the matter is its been an exciting one too. At this rate who knows what shape E3 2018 will take... Ryan Janes
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This Month In Tactics... 6
Review Rundown
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On The Horizon...
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E3 - Longer for Your Enjoyment
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Injustice 2 ARMS
An Evolving Beast A Short History of E3 So who “won” E3?
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Publisher Performances EA Microsoft Bethesda/Ubisoft Sony Nintendo Everyone Else
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Review Rundown Injustice 2 Publisher Warner Bros. Ent.
Developer NetherRealm Studios
Genre Beat ‘Em Up
Formats PS4, XB1
91% 90%
88%
89%
88%
83%
81%
Injustice 2
Planet Coaster
Prey (2017)
86% 85%
Worldwide average review score and by territory
Top three reviewed May releases
65%
72%
69%
70%
75%
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017 Yearly May average review scores
What the press love...
What the press hate...
Very strong storyline. Visually impressive. Solid starting roster. Great for solo or multiplayer.
Convoluted currency system. Slight balancing issues. Slightly repetitive modes. Portrayal of some characters.
After a 4 year wait and over 10,000 activities Injustice 2 is finally here. Currently ranking at number 1 for best reviewed game released in May it seems as though this game has been worth the wait. All reviewers praised the title agreeing that it improves on the original while retaining the aspects that made it a success. The standout features being its impressive storyline and visuals, both of which set it apart from any other fighters on the market. Accessible to hardcore DC fans and the more casual fan, Injustice 2 strikes a balance in appealing to numerous markets; reviewers praised the game’s ability to appeal to casual and regular players both in terms of solo and multiplayer (on and offline), with a highly addictive gaming experience and plenty of replayability. The introduction of loot has been a welcome addition for many reviewers however some felt it was a little convoluted and didn’t reflect well enough the characters they were investing their time in. But ultimately it seems as though reviewers were very pleased with the new customisation options available. Reviewers found a few technical issues whilst playing, but these were few and far between, with most hoping that future patches would solve these anyway. The game was criticised by some as being slightly repetitive, but as fighters go that is to be expected, the new Multiverse was praised by others for combatting this repetitiveness with its steady stream of new challenges and rewards. Perhaps the biggest complaint with Injustice 2 was in the portrayal of the Joker, with many putting it below that of Suicide Squad’s, but considering how many characters feature in this game and the level of detail delivered perhaps we can overlook this one?
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Arms Publisher Nintendo
Developer Nintendo
Genre Beat ‘Em Up
Formats NSW
87% 83%
80%
82%
85%
85%
84%
DiRT 4
Wipeout Omega Collection
Tekken 7
81% 81%
Worldwide average review score and by territory
Top three reviewed June releases
68%
66%
70%
71%
72%
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017 Yearly June average review scores
What the press love...
What the press hate...
Fun and goofy style. Great for multiplayer. Easily accessible controls for all. No problems with online.
Motion controls difficult to use. Limited variety. Chaotic with more than 2 players.
Arms is the latest new IP from Nintendo, it’s a reinvention of the well-known fighting genre and with over 4,000 PR activities and an average review score of 80% it looks like Nintendo may have produced a knock out. It’s being described by some as “the Splatoon of fighters” and it’s not hard to see why; it’s fun, vibrant and goofy style has been praised by reviewers across the board with many suggesting it could be one of the best looking games available on Switch. This game is designed for multiplayer and all reviewers agreed that it excels in this area, whether you’re a pro or new to the genre it’s easily accessible to all players as anyone can pick up a controller and give it a go. The variety of characters and different gloves available ensure that there are a variety of battles to be had; although some reviewers felt that there wasn’t quite enough and found themselves getting bored quite quickly. But considering the continued support and improvements Nintendo has made to Splatoon, ensuring its success and popularity amongst players, it stands to reason that we can expect a similar story here. Not without some issues Arms was criticised by some reviewers for its use of the motion controllers. Some found this to be the best way to play while others felt they were too imprecise and difficult to use. But Nintendo have given you the choice to toggle these on and off in the hope of catering to all players, but turning them off also met some criticism suggesting there are still improvements to be made all round. All in all Arms has been met with higher praise than its initial reveal would have expected, it’s a highly addictive and competitive game that proves Nintendo still know what they’re doing.
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On The Horizon...
July ‘17
Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles
Splatoon 2
18/07
Hey! Pikmin
21/07
28/07
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
11/07
Don’t Starve Mega Pack
14/07
Other releases...
8
05/07
That’s You
PS4
28/07
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
PS4
07/07
Accel World VS Sword Art Online
PS4
28/07
New Nintendo 2DS XL
3DS
14/07
Mary Skelter: Nightmares
VITA
14/07
Oriental Empires
PC
14/07
Cars 3: Driven To Win
PS4, XBO, NSW
14/07
The Binding of Isaac Afterbirth+
NSW
21/07
8-Bit Armies Collector’s Edition
PC, PS4, XBO
25/07
Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star
NSW
25/07
Fortnite
PS4, PC
28/07
Aven Colony
PC, PS4, XBO
28/07
Dr Kawashima’s Devilish Brain Training
3DS
28/07
Miitopia
3DS
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N E V E W O N R O F R E G LON YOUR T N E M Y O J EN
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AN NG I V L EVO T S A E B
aps E3 2017 felt a little strange to me. Perh g livin was I ore it’s the fact only a week bef aps perh Or . it up in LA on my honeymoon a very it’s down to the fact E3 this year was ainly cert is nt different beast. While the eve plus two the r no stranger to change ove ked decades its been running, 2017 mar one as on k what will likely be looked bac ial. enc of its biggest and most influ e For starters things were certainly mor e wer spread out. EA made sure they se on leading the charge with their showca but E3 of t par Saturday (ok technically not from ing shift it may as well be). Microsoft their usual Monday spot to Sunday with Bethesda; Sony and Ubisoft hung onto their usual slots while Nintendo rounded things off with a stream on Tuesday. By the time the r doors had opened to the show floo still e wer it was hard to believe there three days left. To be honest the spacing was a nice change of pace. There was time to to absorb the announcements. Time press the in reflect. And this was evident le sing one of and social activity. Instead we e stag product always hogging the and were seeing a strong range of big EA ent. smaller titles getting their mom ured ens y rda running unopposed on Satu Out y Wa A games like Battlefront 2 and Nindominated computer screens while the ing clos in e tendo’s decision to continu io Mar a in “conference period” resulted y. and Metroid heavy day on Tuesda saw For the first time in E3 history we also ed. com wel lic 15,000 members of the pub nce erie exp Finally gamers would get to nds E3 for themselves. On paper this sou great. In reality...
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ts It was tough to ignore the commen ther it Whe w. sho the at regarding crowds ments oint app e mak to g was the press tryin or ple, peo of sea a ugh whilst dodging thro two of s ard upw s line in the public waiting seemed or three hours the mood certainly ? Press them e blam ld cou mixed. And who have lic pub the and job a are there to do ultithe get to ars doll paid hundreds of rse it’s all mate gaming experience. Of cou I myself e, ativ neg the on s too easy to focu E3 ising pra up ping pop have seen Tweets it so , had ple peo time le and the incredib ent intm ppo disa a n’t was seems the event to all who attended. It certainly wasn’t a disappointment as far as social went, the increased visitors influencing interactivity not only over Twitter and Facebook but the also YouTube too. Now it wasn’t just te. tribu con and film ld press that cou Every year that passes we’re starting to see a stronger use of live streamk ing from companies. Nintendo too with 4 201 in k bac this g a leap tryin ch their three day Treehouse stream whi the in but ign fore so med at the time see you’re end paid off big time. Now whether fairly ms see it not or nce holding a confere e som am stre t leas at to commonplace you s card t wha ers gam g content showin actually hold. e to While YouTube and Twitch continu the out ugh thro e erag cov offer their own real now are who rs lishe week, its the pub r hou two or one a ut abo ising E3 isn’t just mainpress conference but how you can ing see re We’ out. ugh thro tain momentum re galo ams stre and ows t-sh pre-shows, pos ing see be ll we’ k thin I es and as E3 continu plenty more of this.
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A SHORT HISTORY OF E3
Sony’s booth at E3 1999.
E3 returns home to LA in 2009.
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
First Electronic Enterainment Expo is held in LA.
E3 heads to Atlanta. E3 receives over 70,000 attendees. E3 returns back to LA. Microsoft enter the console scene with Xbox.
Over 5,000 gaming products are shown. E3 once again see over 70,000 attendees.
E3 sees massive downsize in scale and moves to Santa Monica. Event returns back to its former format after criticism of events in 2007 and 2008.
No conference from Nintendo who stream a recorded segment called Nintendo Direct.
Bethesda host their first E3 press conference. EA drop E3 and host own event titled “EA Play”. E3 opens to the public selling 15,000 passes.
E3 2017 sees huge crowds.
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SO WHO “WON” E3? View s h c it w T Twitch Channel Av erage 20 0 K
10 0 K
EA
So ny Nintendo U b is of t MicrosoftBethesda
Daily PR Count
18,0 0 0 14,0 0 0 10,0 0 0 6,0 0 0 2,0 0 0 S at
Sun
Mo n
Tue
Wed
Thu
It’s a question that comes up every year yet one I think is becoming less and less clear the longer the show goes on. For one what actually defines a winner? Ask a gamer and they’ll tell you its who had the biggest games. Ask a publisher and they ’ll tell you it’s who had the best reception or dominated social media. Fact of the mat ter is “winning” E3 means different thing s to different people and while 2017 remains no different, I think we can all safely say as a whole the event itself has been a winner on all fronts.
So why exactly might we consider E3 a majo r success? First of all it was a win for the gamers. Coming out of E3 it’s clear the next couple of years hold a wealth of treasure s. How could you not be happy with a new Mario, God of War, Forza or Assassin’s Cree d? It wasn’t just big franchises either, a number of intriguing original IPs shone bright offe ring a good healthy mix of new and old. E3 was a win for the industry. Every publishe r had at least one major success story to be proud of walking out of the event. Press figures have been higher than ever and social media was alight with discusssi on and comments galore as the events played out. YouTube saw a num ber of titles make the trending list too. E3 has always been popular but this year it felt like it was reaching a wider demographic. Battlefront 2 was being featured on mainstream television while Mario’s latest adventure seemed to be blowing away not just gamer’s but the public in general. It’s this sort of recognition that helps continue to grow the industry and keep it in the spotlight. Finally E3 2017 was a win for the event itself . For years there have been discussions of whether we really need an E3 especially as we’re seeing more and more companies doing their own thing. If anything this year’s event proved that we certainly do need it. Record numbers across the board certainly help paint a pretty pictu re for everyone and while there may have been a few speedbumps , I feel over the coming years the Entertainment Software Associati on can craft a new, bigger, better E3. Ryan Janes
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PUB LISH BRE E AKD R OWN
EA
Microsoft
Ubisoft
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EA kicked off E3 with a small but strong collection of games, returning franchises like FIFA, Madden and Need For Speed performed as well as ever giving the fans what they want. The latest Star Wars installment dominated PR and social coverage during and after the conference, to be expected as Star Wars mania is still at peak level. Interestingly EA announced two new IPs Anthem and A Way Out, both of which performed incredibly strongly during the conference with Anthem receiving over 10 million YouTube views across the week, not enough to compete with the likes of Star Wars and Assassin’s Creed but impressive for a newly announced titled.
STRONGES
T
ONLINE PRESENCE
ront 2 1. Star Wars Battlef 2. FIFA 18 3. Anthem
Most View ed Trailers
Title
Views Star Wars Battlefro nt 2 9.3M Super Mario Odyssey 9.1M Xbox One X 7.8M God of War 5.6M South Park: FBW 4.5M Forza Motorsport 7 4.4M FIFA 18 4.2M Mario + Rabbids 3.8M Call of Duty WWII 3.8M Need for Speed Payb ack 3.8M
ONT 2
EFR STAR WARS BATTL
t Battlefront 2 would It should come as no real surprise tha it did from gamers. It is receive the hugely strong reception r all. a big budget Star Wars game afte r to social media and It seems that this also translated ove 2 dominating the the press with Star Wars Battlefront YouTube, Twitter and weekend’s figures not only in PR but to another winner here Facebook too. It seems EA are on E3 likely seeing a with next year’s Star Wars games at similar reception.
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Microsoft spiced things up a bit this year by moving their conference ahead to Sunday instead of the regular Monday slot. Perhaps a way of distancing themselves from competitor Sony’s event later that evening and therefore avoiding losing online presence so sharply? Whatever the case, it appears to have paid off, the company a hot topic across the board. It’ll be interesting to see if this momentum continues especially with the lack of exclusive titles on the horizon.
STRONGES
T
ONLINE PRESENCE
1. Xbox One X 2. Forza Motorsp ort 7 3. Crackdown 3
the h it w s t c u d Pro eets Highest Retw Title Xbox One X COD: WWII 2 Battlefront FIFA 18 n Spider-Ma
Tweets 4.3K 1.1K 1.8K 1.7K 1.1K
Retweets 115K 83K 65K 53K 44K
XBOX ONE X
Microsoft had a lot to prove this E3. Being outshone by Sony’s PlayStation 4 and with a new console on the horizon they had to bring their ‘A’ game. While it’s debatable how successful the company was at introducing us to “the most powerful games console ever” what couldn’t be denied was it’s presence online. Not only did the system claim top spot for PR coverage but also Twitter interactivity. While we’ll have to wait until November to see how popular the Xbox One X will be, for now it seems the console is at least generating strong interest from the public and press.
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ount C R P y l i Da Conference Days
Bethesda Ubisoft EA
e day as Having your conference on the sam easy but BethesMicrosoft’s was never going to be a well polished da managed to hold their own with cements. The oun conference and exciting new ann ed product of Evil Within 2 was the 4th most retweet it was also in the Monday beating titles like FIFA 18; behind. far top 3 for PR with Wolfenstein not conference Ubisoft also delivered an excellent d sequels aite aw showcasing a number of long dominated PR amongst new IPs. Assassin’s Creed second overall for coverage for Monday and ended r 42 million Youthe week. It also accumulated ove both Star Wars Tube views across the week beating and Call of Duty. ond Good & Evil The reveal for long anticipated Bey best moments 2 has been highlighted as one of the y’s top 10 for PR, of this year’s E3 and was in Monda Twitter and Facebook.
SSUS
W COLO E N : N I E T S N E WOLF
n in the top spots in While Wolfenstein may not have bee consistent throughout terms of PR or social it has remained week and receiving the week, finishing 5th for PR for the restingly it was during over 7 million views on YouTube. Inte nce viewing figures its trailer that the Bethesda confere people watching. peaked on Twitch with over 340,000
MARIO + RABBIDS: KINGDOM BATTLE
und. The long rumoured Mario/ It’s amazing how things can turn aro even before it had been Rabbids crossover looked set to fail dback a mixture of groans officially shown to the public with fee ut later and the response has and confusion. However one E3 deb viewed trailer of Monday been immense. Not only the highest big titles) but also among the ten (beating competition from Sony’s entire week. most viewed games of E3 over the
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STRONGEST ONLINE PRESENCE
r-Man e d i p 1. S f War ost Legacy o d o L 2. G arted: h c n 3. U
Faceb ook I nternacti vity
Sony brought the spectacle this year but forgot the new, with their conference feeling like a repeat of what we’ve already seen. While they showcased some excellent trailers and gameplay footage for highly anticipated games, we can’t help but feel a little disappointed at the lack of new announcements.
SIE
Nintendo
Playstation VR saw the mosty attention with an influx of new products, but it was games like Spider-Man and God of War that dominated shares on Facebook, ensuring Sony ranked highest for Publisher social interactivity across the whole week. By no means a bad conference, Sony delivered updates on games we’ve all been waiting for but was ultimately a little underwhelming. Here’s hoping they’re holding those new announcements back for elsewhere in the year.
Microsoft
Ubisoft EA
SPIDER-MAN
After its initial reveal at last year’s E3 we’ve all been keen to see more from this web slinging hero, especially with his latest cinematic release on the horizon. It seems Spider-Man fever is well and truly here. During its reveal, Spider-Man was the most shared and liked product on Facebook, some 2,000 likes ahead of its competitor. It’s trailer has been viewed more than 8 million times on one Key Influencer’s channel alone (even more than Marvel/Sony’s official channels!) This level of interactivity from fans is what kept Spider-Man in Facebook’s top spot all week and will no doubt ensure the game’s success on release.
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new Spotlight s. Not only did they showcase the Nintendo had a very busy few day ments for stream but also hosted three tourna se hou Tree g rnin retu and ing ord rec result the n 2 and Pokken Tournament. As a their upcoming titles ARMS, Splatoo s and view e in terms of PR coverage, YouTub publisher managed to claim gold would y week. Of course Super Mario Odysse Twitter interactivity across the entire two new g the charge, while big surprises like be the company’s shining star leadin se, as is hou Tree ed even more attention. The Metroid titles, Kirby and Yoshi attract tlight spo the do’s titles would continue to be in the case every year, meant Ninten social side of things busy too. with the tournaments keeping the
Publishers PR Share Nintendo Ubisoft Microsoft EA SIE
13 % 12% 12% 11 % 10%
STRONGES
T
ONLINE PRESENCE
1. Mario Odyss ey 2. Metroid Prim e4 3. Metroid Sam us Retu
rns
SUPER MARIO
ODYSSEY
this Gamers knew he would show up at so as do d year’s E3 but never guessed he’ ur. With a taxi, tank or (yes really) a dinosa er over 9 million views the portly plumb ltrai ed secures the second highest view st nge er of all E3 along with the third stro . lets out ss presence across pre The series has been with us for a like whopping 30 years now and much m stor by ld the way Zelda took the wor t tha ved at last year’s show, Odyssey pro m Mario can still draw huge mainstrea attention.
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Of course E3 isn’t just about the publishers who hold a press conference, with the likes of CAPCOM, Bandai Namco and Activision to name a few making waves not only on the show floor but also during some of the conferences themselves. Of course it’s hard not to talk about any E3 without mentioning the next Call of Duty title. WWII made an appearance during Sony’s conference leading to a huge sum of views over YouTube that day placing it second overall. Destiny 2 also received a short spot toward the tail end of the event that helped boost its already strong performance following a private event for the game pre-E3. CAPCOM too showed strong support during Sony’s event with the latest Marvel vs CAPCOM and Monster Hunter titles popping up, the latter its official debut. While VR was well represented by Bethesda, Square Enix also showed they were more than happy to venture in this direction with the fishing spinoff to Final Fantasy XV announced during Sony’s event too. It wasn’t just Sony either to devote time to other publishers. Microsoft featured a large segment on Shadow of War, Warner Bros’ big holiday release; a new trailer for Metro Exodus and Bandai Namco’s upcoming Dragon Ball Fighter Z. The title has seen huge praise since its unveil especially over Facebook where it managed to break the top ten in terms of user shares.
42M s in ig r O d e Cre 39M Assassin’s WWII 32M Call of Duty 2 t n o r f le Batt 30M Star Wars 26M FIFA 18 y e s s y d io O 25M Super Mar n 19M Spider-Ma 17M Xbox One X r 16M God of Wa ll Fighter Z 14M Dragon Ba s abbid Mario + R
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YouTube Most View ed Products
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HOW IMPORTANT ARE OLDER GAMES FOR THE INDUSTRY? ALSO... CRASH BANDICOOT N.SANE TRILOGY POST E3 LEADERBOARDS MICRO MACHINES: WORLD SERIES ANNOUNCEMENTS - HOW SOON IS TOO SOON? 20
TACTICS
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