E3 2013

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Level Ups and Level Downs for E3 2013

e3-2013-bannerThe dust is starting to settle on the 2013 edition of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, also known as E3, and we’re starting to gear up for the five-month run to the launch of Microsoft and Sony’s next-gen consoles.

Normally, you’d get a winners and losers of E3 column but all except the most delusional of fan boys can agree that Sony was the big winner, Microsoft was the big loser and Nintendo didn’t win but they didn’t lose any of their growing positive momentum.

Instead, I’m going to look at E3 2013 and score the goings on at the big show with Levels Up or Levels Down. Yeah, it’s not an original gimmick but what is nowadays on the internet.

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Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

E3 2013: The Ubisoft Roundup

ubisoft-logo-bannerLast but certainly not least on our roundup of Monday’s E3 press events is Ubisoft. While Ubisoft isn’t the biggest publisher on the block, to their credit, they are very willing to take risks with new IPs and new gameplay ideas. It may hurt them in the grand scheme of sales but it does earn them a lot of credit.

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E3 2013: The EA Roundup

ea-e3-bannerPeter Moore opened EA’s 2013 EA press conference by saying that Electronic Arts was going to show off 11 new titles for next-gen consoles during the event. What he neglected to mention is that EA was showing off 10 games that were shooters or sports games and Mirror’s Edge 2. Did you know that you can’t spell “Electronic Arts” without “shooter” or “sports?”

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E3 2013: The Nintendo Roundup

nintendo-bannerComing into E3, many people were considering a move to the Wii U as it was the only console that was confirmed to not be actively battling its consumer’s rights. Then Sony came out on Monday night and destroyed everything that the Xbox One stood for.

Nintendo has a lot to gain at E3 this year despite not being there. That relied on Sony falling flat on its face. They were very prepared for that with a line-up of the expected first-party franchises and a third-party sizzle reel. The problem was that they were missing the big guns that were needed to pit them strongly against the PlayStation 4.

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E3 2013: The Sony and PlayStation 4 Roundup

sony-ps4-bannerSony had one simple mission heading into their 2013 E3 press conference: Don’t screw it up! Microsoft handed Sony an absolute gift at every turn from the Xbox One’s DRM to privacy issues to used games to rentals to the price.

Not only did Sony not screw up their press conference, they committed the video game console equivalent to homicide. Sony played the Rains of Castamere live on stage and slew the Xbox One in a bloody and violent way that saw them destroy Microsoft’s next-generation challenger in every way possible. Even George R.R. Martin was shocked at the carnage.

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E3 2013: The Microsoft and Xbox One Roundup

xbox-one-logo-bannerAfter getting all of the ugly business about DRM, used games, TV, apps and always-connected Kinect out of the way before E3, Microsoft got down to the business of trying to actually trying to sell the upcoming Xbox One as a gaming console.

For their E3 press event, Microsoft came at us with scads of games, both multi-platform and exclusive to the Xbox One to make us forget about all the bad press about the last few months leading up to today’s big showing. Well, until they announced the launch price.

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Microsoft Has Lost the Console War Before It Started

xbox-one-logo-bannerThe Microsoft keynote event at E3 is about to begin and it doesn’t really matter. Over the last few weeks, Microsoft has repeatedly shot itself in the foot when promoting their upcoming Xbox One. They think that they can do no wrong with their next-gen console but the reality is that the can do nothing right.

Microsoft is walking into E3 thinking that they’re Justin Bieber, they’re on top of the world and full of swagger. They are Justin Bieber but everyone sees them as Justin Bieber, self-important douche, with a bit of Amanda Bynes’ delusional separation from reality.

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Five Dream E3 Announcements for the Xbox One

xbox-one-console-bannerHaving written my dream announcements list for the PlayStation 4’s keynote at E3, I thought that it would only be fair to give Microsoft’s new console equal time with their own list of dream announcements for the Xbox One.

Now, I’m not an Xbox guy. I’ve never owned either of the Xbox consoles but at one point considered getting the Xbone before the official unveil. However, that unveiling had nothing that appealed to me. So for my dream announcements for the X1, I’ll try to balance between dream announcements for those firmly in Xbox’s camp and those still not sold in the Xbox One.

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Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Columns, Video Games

Five Dream E3 Announcements for the PlayStation 4

playstation-4-announcement-bannerSure, I could sit here and wax business about what I think Sony will announce for the PlayStation 4 because it will make sense from a business perspective. And as interesting as I like analyzing the business implications of the actions of the video game industry, I love to loosen up my tie, roll up my sleeves and just game.

So rather than go through the rumour mill for the five most likely announcements that Sony will make at its big E3 press event, here are the five announcements that I most want Sony to make for the PlayStation 4.

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