Sony is out, but the E3 show must go on Jacob Saylor
THE GAMER Video games journalist Jacob Saylor has covered the massive Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. Follow Jacob on Twitter @skulldrey.
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The Electronic Entertainment Expo is the biggest show of the year in video games, and it’d be wrong for us to ignore it. The show took over the Los Angeles Convention Center – and indeed, the airwaves – from June 11 to June 13. Sony opted to step aside this year and let Microsoft and Nintendo go to war, which is a bit surprising. Nevertheless, E3 is still the year’s most exciting moment for gamers.
A Microsoft and Xbox revived
It’s been no secret that Microsoft and its titular Xbox One have struggled to find footing in this console cycle’s grudge match. The company hasn’t released official sales figures for the console since November 2014, and the last concrete number to make its way out of the bramble was in January 2016. At that time, the Xbox One had sold just 18 to 19 million units, putting it ahead of Nintendo’s Wii U but behind Sony’s PlayStation 4 in the arms race. Considering Microsoft’s footprint in the space, it’s hard to believe how far the brand has fallen since the Xbox 360’s unstoppable rampage. But there’s good on the horizon. Specifically, we’re excited for the return of two franchises: Halo and Gears of War. Each one will be seeing a new entry in the next couple of years, and if you’ve followed video games for any amount of time, you’ll know that these series were the Xbox 360’s most popular. While Gears of War was certainly a behemoth, Halo 3 was perhaps one of the most influential and downright fun games to ever grace the industry.
New trails blazed from Nintendo
I think there are very few who would argue the point that Nintendo has been the most consistently creative among gaming’s power punchers. For better or worse, the company has strewn together an impressive tapestry of peripherals and handhelds. While Nintendo’s most successful venture in recent times is almost certainly the Nintendo DS – and its many, many variations – we’re left to wonder what’s next up its veritable sleeve. It’s fair to say that Nintendo is a company for which success is built almost wholly upon its treasure trove of fantastic characters. Think along the lines of Mario, Link, Pikachu, Captain Falcon, Yoshi, Samus, Donkey Kong and the like. You probably grew up with some of these faces. In a way, this is a double-edged sword. Sure, it’s good to have these time-tested personalities to fall back on. At the same time, there’s the reality that innovation is and always has been king in the video game arena. In fact, the stable of characters Nintendo has built is the product of said creativity. So, what I’d really like to see from Nintendo is a focus that’s less trained on the hardware. It’d be absolutely momentous if the company unveiled a host of new intellectual properties set to debut on the Nintendo Switch and 3DS.
Sony’s absence makes the heart grow fonder
In November 2018, Sony shockingly announced they wouldn’t be attending E3 2019, ending a more than 20-year relationship with the convention. To say
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