E3 2018

[Ronnie]

I thought Ubisoft had the best conference by far last year. Mario Rabbids, The Crew 2, South Park, Transference, Skull and Bones, Starlink, Far Cry 5, Just Dance, BGE2. Wildly different games, something for everyone. A real contrast to Sony's which just ended up boring me by the end, same third person action games they showed off the year before, just with some new footage.

On 4/13/2018 at 7:43 PM, Julius Caesar said:

I don’t think we’ll get bombshell reveals on the level of Sony’s E3 2015 conference (I honestly don’t know what could be so anticipated as to deliver that level of excitement)

A bit sad how three years later, Shenmue 3 and FF7 Remake are nowhere to be seen though. It earned plenty of buzz at the time but it was mostly empty promises.

Genuinely not trying to shit on Sony, I've just been pretty underwhelmed by their presentations lately, especially last year which may as well have been a pre-recorded video and didn't need a stage at all. If you're going to do a live conference, at least put on a show!

[Sheikah]

 

 

 

 

I thought Ubisoft had the best conference by far last year. Mario Rabbids, The Crew 2, South Park, Transference, Skull and Bones, Starlink, Far Cry 5, Just Dance, BGE2. Wildly different games, something for everyone. A real contrast to Sony's which just ended up boring me by the end, same third person action games they showed off the year before, just with some new footage. A bit sad how three years later, Shenmue 3 and FF7 Remake are nowhere to be seen though. It earned plenty of buzz at the time but it was mostly empty promises.

Genuinely not trying to shit on Sony, I've just been pretty underwhelmed by their presentations lately, especially last year which may as well have been a pre-recorded video and didn't need a stage at all. If you're going to do a live conference, at least put on a show!

 

 

How was it an empty promise, of the 3 big games shown The Last Guardian has long since been released, and Shenmue 3 and FF7 were pretty much kicked off there and then (the former even seeking to gain funding first) so I'm not surprised to see they're not out yet. Shenmue 3 should be out within a year and the remakes are confirmed for this year to tide us over. Also worth noting that the two games we're waiting on are third party titles so it's out of Sony's hands.

 

Regardless of what we're still waiting for, that moment was generally received as one of E3's biggest bombshell moments, and a clever move to make people invest in PS4 over the X1.

 

 

 

[Ronnie]

20 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

How was it an empty promise, of the 3 big games shown The Last Guardian has long since been released, and Shenmue 3 and FF7 were pretty much kicked off there and then (the former even seeking to gain funding first) so I'm not surprised to see they're not out yet. Shenmue 3 should be out within a year and the remakes are confirmed for this year to tide us over. Also worth noting that the two games we're waiting on are third party titles so it's out of Sony's hands.

Regardless of what we're still waiting for, that moment was generally received as one of E3's biggest bombshell moments, and a clever move to make people invest in PS4 over the X1.

It's a cheap win blowing people's minds with a game that's 4-5 years away. Not a fan of these huge reveal > release time scales. 2-3+ years for Death Stranding, 4+ years for Shenmue and FF7, 2+ years for TLOU2, 3 years for Detroit, 2 for Spiderman, 2+ for Days Gone

Much, much prefer the shorter releases like Fallout 4, Far Cry 5, AC Origins, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Mario + Rabbids, and most (but not all) Nintendo games, etc

[Julius]

We’ve got E3 leaks!

...  

Edited April 19, 2018 by Julius Caesar

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

On 18/04/2018 at 2:27 AM, Ronnie said:

It's a cheap win blowing people's minds with a game that's 4-5 years away. Not a fan of these huge reveal > release time scales. 2-3+ years for Death Stranding, 4+ years for Shenmue and FF7, 2+ years for TLOU2, 3 years for Detroit, 2 for Spiderman, 2+ for Days Gone

Much, much prefer the shorter releases like Fallout 4, Far Cry 5, AC Origins, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Mario + Rabbids, and most (but not all) Nintendo games, etc

Agreed, in my opinion the announcement of Shenmue 3, specifically the crying reactions etc, have become a bit of a parody and embarrassing now it's taken so long to get it anywhere near ready; am I right in thinking it's already missed one release window? 

I mean, I was excited when it was revealed (although no tears were shed) but you're right it was a cheap pop (which admittedly worked in the short term) but long term I wonder if it may damage the momentum of the game.

After all, four years in development and three since it's reveal, and Sea of Thieves was launched as an incredibly hollow experience, so time means nothing in relation to content or quality.

[Julius]

23 minutes ago, Kaepora_Gaebora said:

Agreed, in my opinion the announcement of Shenmue 3, specifically the crying reactions etc, have become a bit of a parody and embarrassing now it's taken so long to get it anywhere near ready; am I right in thinking it's already missed one release window? 

I mean, I was excited when it was revealed (although no tears were shed) but you're right it was a cheap pop (which admittedly worked in the short term) but long term I wonder if it may damage the momentum of the game.

After all, four years in development and three since it's reveal, and Sea of Thieves was launched as an incredibly hollow experience, so time means nothing in relation to content or quality.

You are right in thinking that; it was due for release in December of last year. Though, I do think that it’s important to remember that, while I’m sure work had already begun prior to that on the game, it was/is a Kickstarter, and so the two and a half year window they originally stated from reveal to launch was always going to be on the optimistic side. I also think that fans are willing to be a bit more forgiving with that game, as they’d already waited so long, with many of them having already lost hope.

I personally take much more issue with Final Fantasy VII Remake, because it’s Square Enix - once again - coming out and showing off their plans way too far out. The game has already changed hands during its development (because for some silly reason it wasn’t being worked on primarily by an internal team), and we have absolutely no idea where it’s at in its development cycle right now, and whilst I’m sure that the wait won’t be a repeat of Final Fantasy XIII Versus to Final Fantasy XV, the concept of it now being a multi-game release (because the game’s going to be too big?) has only irked fans even more. They haven’t learned from their past mistakes.

However, on the flip side, PlayStation 4, I’m sure that having some games announced way before its actual launch is a great way to garner long term interest in the platform. I’m sure that, for those yet to purchase a PS4, the promise of games, such as those that mentioned above, coming to the platform has and will entice gamers of all sorts to come to the platform; invariably, all of the games that they announced way too early (a perspective that I agree with) are system sellers. Compare that to Xbox, which I’m sure has Forza Horizon 4, Halo 6, etc., on the horizon, but outside of their core IP, don’t have the range of system selling games that PlayStation have had this generation (though I hope that’s something that they go some way towards resolving this E3).

With regards to Death Stranding in particular, though, @Ronnie, Sony Interactive have gone on record that they’ve never seen a game like this developed at such an extraordinary pace, and Kojima-san has teased that he plans to announce something that will surprise everybody (surely a release date?) this year (possibly at E3, but more probably with Keighley at TGAs). The game’s official Twitter has also teased that the game will release before the events of Akira (which was set in 2019). With that game in particular, I also think that the early reveal was very important, not just to fans of Kojima-san who were craving to see what he had in store next, but also for those working at his studio to have something of an external pressure on them to get the game out. 

Edited April 20, 2018 by Julius Caesar

[bob]

I'm assuming that game development works in the same way as the development of any product - the early reveals aren't aimed at the customer, they're aimed at investors. You show an early build at E3, and everyone gets excited. Investors see all this excitement, and agree to drop money on the game studio, who can now afford to continue developing the rest of the game. It's just business.

[Sheikah]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm assuming that game development works in the same way as the development of any product - the early reveals aren't aimed at the customer, they're aimed at investors. You show an early build at E3, and everyone gets excited. Investors see all this excitement, and agree to drop money on the game studio, who can now afford to continue developing the rest of the game. It's just business.

Basically this.

 

It makes total sense for them to announce these games at the very start of development for this reason. It's also a massive boon for the console, as people back in 2015 were still deciding which console to buy.

 

I don't really have a problem waiting for a game and hearing about it at conception, for any or the E3 2015 games or even the Metroid Prime 4 "reveal". Patience is a virtue and all that.

[Nolan]

Personally I really like that we’ve been trending towards the quick turnaround times between announcement and release for games and consoles. The fact that a lot of games are doing this now actually kind of goes against the “investor” theory. Especially since with how this industry works (developer pitches to publisher, publisher can control PR) a game can be in development with continual progress updates to show that it is worth the monetary cost.

Its typically the larger publishers behind these early reveals, but you can’t convince me that Sony had to show Death Stranding in order to appease shareholders. They’ve got plenty of other products and divisions to utilize for that purpose with a faster ROI which is exactly what most investors want. Showing games early is purely to drum up hype for that game/publisher/console. And it is still viable and it still makes sense to do. Imagine if games were only ever announced at E3 and only ever 3-12 months out from release. Sure games would still be coming but I certainly wouldn’t enjoy not really know if next year I won’t have anything to look forward too. To be a dick....it’d be a bit like the GameCube era. 

[Julius]

3 hours ago, Nolan said:

Personally I really like that we’ve been trending towards the quick turnaround times between announcement and release for games and consoles. The fact that a lot of games are doing this now actually kind of goes against the “investor” theory. Especially since with how this industry works (developer pitches to publisher, publisher can control PR) a game can be in development with continual progress updates to show that it is worth the monetary cost.

Its typically the larger publishers behind these early reveals, but you can’t convince me that Sony had to show Death Stranding in order to appease shareholders. They’ve got plenty of other products and divisions to utilize for that purpose with a faster ROI which is exactly what most investors want. Showing games early is purely to drum up hype for that game/publisher/console. And it is still viable and it still makes sense to do. Imagine if games were only ever announced at E3 and only ever 3-12 months out from release. Sure games would still be coming but I certainly wouldn’t enjoy not really know if next year I won’t have anything to look forward too. To be a dick....it’d be a bit like the GameCube era. 

I have to say, I’ve been a big fan of the trend too, and I think it shows that publishers that follow that route have a lot of confidence in the end product that is being produced. 

With regards to Death Stranding, I do think that Sony made the right move in showing it off at E3 2016. After everything that happened between Kojima-san and Konami, I think it would have been a bad move on their behalf to either stay quiet (and have it leaked through other means) or limit it to the reveal of their partnership (which I doubt would have excited fans). They got way ahead of the curb on that one, I think.

The second half of this year remains virtually empty, and 2019 is much more barren than one might think, so while we’ll probably end up seeing a lot of dates for games that we already knew about, I do think that there’s a good chance that we get a substantial amount of games (officially) revealed for the first time this E3, and released by next year’s event.

[Hero-of-Time]

Quote

Nintendo outlines plans for E3 2018
Nintendo is returning to the E3 video game trade show in June with fan-favorite activities and new features to keep watchers around the world and attendees in Los Angeles engaged and having fun. As in recent years, Nintendo will focus its E3 activities on games coming soon, with a special spotlight given to a key headlining title: the recently announced Super Smash Bros. game coming to the Nintendo Switch system this year. Games launching beyond 2018 will be featured at a later date.

The festivities kick off with two days of high-level competitive action at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles. On Monday, June 11, from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. PT, qualifying teams representing the United States/Canada, Japan, Europe and Australia/New Zealand will ink their way to glory in the opening rounds of the Splatoon 2 World Championship tournament. The finals will take place the following day on Tuesday, June 12, immediately followed by the Super Smash Bros. Invitational 2018 tournament, which will pit invited players against each other in the recently announced Super Smash Bros. game for Nintendo Switch. A few fans who come dressed as their favorite Nintendo character on June 12 may be chosen to play the upcoming Super Smash Bros. game on stage in exhibition play. Tickets will be issued on-site at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles each day of the event. Additional details about how fans can attend in-person will be shared in the future. All the action from both days will be streamed live on https://e3.nintendo.com, YouTube and Twitch.

At 9 a.m. PT on Tuesday, June 12, Nintendo will debut a video presentation* featuring games releasing in 2018, including the recently announced Super Smash Bros. game for Nintendo Switch. Right after the presentation, Nintendo Treehouse: Live | E3 2018 will begin three days of live gameplay, appearances by developers and an insider look at games, starting with the upcoming Super Smash Bros. game for Nintendo Switch. Everyone can watch the video presentation and Nintendo Treehouse: Live | E3 2018 at https://e3.nintendo.com, YouTube and Twitch.

June 12-14, visitors to Nintendo’s booth at the Los Angeles Convention Center will be able to play a variety of games, including the recently announced Super Smash Bros. game for Nintendo Switch. Additionally, some of the most noteworthy upcoming third-party games on Nintendo Switch will be featured across several Nintendo activities throughout the week.

Streaming content will be shown live at the Nintendo NY store, starting on June 11 with the Splatoon 2 World Championship opening rounds. And June 12-15, visitors to the store will be among the first to play a selection of games shown at Nintendo’s booth during E3.

“Every year we take a look at E3 and craft the best experience for our fans, regardless of whether they are attending the show or watching from afar,” said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We expect that each of our E3 activities will give an additional boost to the already strong momentum enjoyed by Nintendo Switch.”

Additional details about Nintendo’s presence at E3 2018 will be shared in the coming weeks. For the latest updates, keep an eye on https://e3.nintendo.com.

*Name not final.

 

[Kaepora_Gaebora]

Just finished up writing an article on this, only Switch games during the Spotlight? A shame but if they've got 30 odd minutes to fill hopefully there's a lot...or 25 mins on Smash

[Julius]

1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Amended the original post with date and time, thanks. Only PlayStation to go...

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I cannot wait for this year’s E3. 

With Nintendo in particular, I don’t think we know about anything that’s in store for us beyond July, so they’ve got a massive five month window to fill up. 

I expect Smash to appear in some capacity during the presentation (probably announcing a release date), but them saying that it will be the first thing talked about during Treehouse fills me with hope that the majority of their video presentation won’t focus too heavily on it, and we get an in-depth look at the start of Treehouse. Hopefully with Sakurai. That guy deserves more love than he gets.

Other than Smash, beyond Fire Emblem and Yoshi, I’m really not sure what to expect on the first party side of things during their presentation. Will Pokémon really have more revealed here as opposed to in a dedicated Direct? Even though Prime 4 isn’t expected until next year, at the earliest, will they try to show more of the game? Do they have another game waiting in the wings, like Animal Crossing, if Pokemon isn’t ready for release later this year (which, I assume, is what they’re aiming for)? 

So many questions. Roll on June 12th.

[Ronnie]

Octopath in July then Yoshi, Fire Emblem, Smash and Pokemon in the next 5 months would be pretty great.

Interesting how they say they'll talk about 2019 Switch games "at a later date". Wouldn't be surprised to see a quick tease of Metroid at the end regardless though.

[Julius]

16 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Octopath in July then Yoshi, Fire Emblem, Smash and Pokemon in the next 5 months would be pretty great.

Interesting how they say they'll talk about 2019 Switch games "at a later date". Wouldn't be surprised to see a quick tease of Metroid at the end regardless though.

I imagine that we should be hearing about Retro’s game too, so we could have what many would consider a tentpole title each month for the rest of the year post-E3, which I think is necessary given the somewhat slow start they’ve had in this regard so far in 2018.

I agree with you that we’ll likely see more of Metroid Prime 4 this E3, and I think a well made CG trailer would be more than enough this time around. I think their plan is to release it shortly after next year’s E3 (which would be the right place for it to feature as their flagship title, and to show off gameplay/demo it, if it hasn’t been already), considering that Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Metroid Prime: Federation Force and Metroid: Samus Returns all released in that August - October window. 

In the seemingly unlikely event that Pokémon doesn’t make it for a release this year, I wonder what they’d have up their sleeves to replace it. Animal Crossing, potentially? 

It will also be very interesting to see which third parties turn up during Nintendo presentation. Epic with Fortnite? Bethesda with a Fallout game? Or Activision with a Call of Duty title? 

[killthenet]

I'm pretty sure Metroid will be a late 2018 release so we should see a lot about it. I think if Nintendo are going to devote their booth to one game like they did with Odyssey and BOTW then I think it'll be a Metroid themed booth this year, it would be difficult for them to theme the booth around Smash considering how many different things it encompasses.

[Ronnie]

I forgot about Retro's game, hopefully it's their big end of year game alongside Pokemon.

Just now, killthenet said:

I'm pretty sure Metroid will be a late 2018 release so we should see a lot about it. I think if Nintendo are going to devote their booth to one game like they did with Odyssey and BOTW then I think it'll be a Metroid themed booth this year, it would be difficult for them to theme the booth around Smash considering how many different things it encompasses.

They've already said it will focus on Smash.

Suspect it'll be Metroid's booth next year though, that game's probably another twelve months away at the very least.

 

[killthenet]

5 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

I forgot about Retro's game, hopefully it's their big end of year game alongside Pokemon.

They've already said it will focus on Smash.

Suspect it'll be Metroid's booth next year though, that game's probably another twelve months away at the very least.

 

Ah, I didn't read the details. Still they just make mention that Smash will be looked at in depth, I still think Metroid is going to surprise us all and come out this year.

[Julius]

In a stream yesterday, it was revealed that Beyond Good & Evil 2 will be making an appearance at this year’s E3. Some new gameplay was shown off during the stream, but the current focus of the development team is E3, and they supposedly have a lot of surprises in store for us.

I thought they’d be going quiet for a few years, honestly  I wonder if they’re further along with this game than we realise? The gameplay that they revealed yesterday looked like it was coming together well. 

[Hero-of-Time]

I'm looking forward to seeing some more of Kingdom Hearts III.

[Julius]

16 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I'm looking forward to seeing some more of Kingdom Hearts III.

It’s just going to be a five minute long apology for the cancellation of Final Fantasy VII Remake, isn’t it? 

But seriously, mentioning the future of the company makes me wonder what else we might see besides the already announced games scheduled for release later this year? An update on the Avengers Initative seems a good bet, but beyond that, I’m not too sure. It seems too early for Final Fantasy XVI, but maybe we’ll hear something about what Luminous Productions have started work on? If I’m remembering correctly, wasn’t it also this sort of time last year that Takahashi Tokita (director of Chrono Trigger) teased a Switch project? Maybe - if Nintendo are only keeping things first-/second-party for their Switch Online/Virtual Console replacement - we’ll get some news about a 2D Final Fantasy collection for Switch? Or a Chrono Trigger port? 

I’m probably focusing on the wording a little too hard, but I’m excited for what they have to show  I’ll go update the original post! 

Edited May 8, 2018 by Julius Caesar

[Aperson]

Maybe they'll finally reveal a release date for Kingdom Hearts III. Given the increase in trailers recently it seems to be coming together now so I wouldn't be surprised if it's going to be released this year.

[Julius]

Potential leaks via Wal Mart’s pre-order page. There seem to be a few mistakes in there if there’s any truth to them. I’ll spoiler tag them I guess? Not sure how everyone feels about leaks...

Spoiler

It’s probably supposed to be Forza Horizon 4 (unless the plural suggests 4+5?! ) and Dragon Quest Builders 2. Also, Rage 2 seems to have been confirmed by Bethesda:

 

 

Edited May 10, 2018 by Julius Caesar

[bob]

Just Cause 4 and Borderlands 3? Yes please.

[Nolan]

Ha! Rage/Bethesda’s responses are pretty great. I think Rage 2 was already heavily rumored anyway. Plus there is the fact that their response of marking up the page could easily just be a joke response that means nothing.