How Sony Nailed It At E3 2014

Usually it's incredibly difficult to pick a winner and loser when it comes to E3 press conferences. And, we usually don't care to pick a winner, either; there's space for every company in the wonderful world of gaming. But this year appears to be a bit different, doesn't it? I don't know about everyone else, but I was feeling a little bit underwhelmed and borderline depressed by Microsoft, EA, and Ubisoft after their pressers.

I thought for sure that this E3 was going to be pretty much a dud and Sony was going to fall right in-line with the mediocre announcements. Thankfully, that didn't happen. Sony brought the big guns to E3, and gave us a great chunk of what we were expecting, while adding stuff we didn't expect and some truly fantastic trailers.

Sony began their E3 with a few strong points. Their ethereal trailer for Destiny was a good start, and was followed by an announcement that Destiny's beta would be heading to the PS4 first on July 14, with gamers being able to play the Destiny first experience alpha beginning this Thursday. It wasn't mind blowing, but it was good news for PS4 gamers.

Then, Sony brought out their first and already much-anticipated exclusive, The Order: 1886. The game looks absolutely stunning in high-def, and looked to be an incredible blend of horror and action. 1886 is definitely a game to keep an eye on.

Next up for their press conference was another exclusive titled Entwined, which they showed some gameplay for and explained. It apparently features two souls in love and will lead you through their story. It's available right now on PSN for $9.99. While this may excite some, it doesn't appear to be my type of game. I'll pass on this one.

Sony then announced the first DLC for Infamous: Second Son which will be titled InFamous: First Light. A trailer was given for the game, and the audience seemed to enjoy what they saw.

But then the press conference really took off. Sony announced LittleBigPlanet 3, which, personally, I can't wait for. LittleBigPLanet on the PS4? Yes, please! Sony revealed new characters, OddSock and Toggle in addition to Sackboy. Toggle and OddSock come with their own abilities. Toggle can become super small, while Oddsock can become super fast used to power things in the world. Swoop was announced as well--he can fly. The announcement was definitely unexpected, but well-received.

Following this huge announcement, From Software's Project Beast was unveiled, which is officially titled Bloodborne. Bloodborne is an exclusive for the PS4. The game comes from Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of both Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. The game appears to be a Victorian horror game, with apparent zombies and werewolve-esque demons, and appears to be incredibly gruesome. The game is coming in 2015.

Next up to the plate was a gameplay demo of Far Cry 4, which strangely enough wasn't shown by Ubisoft, themselves (Ubisoft needed it much more than Sony did). While I didn't notice anything revolutionary for Far Cry 4, Sony announced that anyone who buys the game for PS4 or PS3 will be able to invite their PSN friends to play even if that friend doesn't own the game. This feature is exclusive to the PS4.

The crowd went nuts. Sony nailed it again.

Magicka 2, Let It Die, and No Man's Sky were shown. The next game from the creators of Journey was shown, titled Abzu. YouTube was announced to be coming to PSN, Planetside 2 and 24 other free to play games were also announced. Fast forward maybe 25 minutes to what I thought was Sony's big finale (since it was getting to be an hour and 20 minutes into their presser): a gameplay trailer for Mortal Kombat X. And, it looked amazing. Who isn't now more excited for Mortal Kombat X after seeing the gameplay?

But Sony wasn't done. The Last of Us: Remastered was shown, we got a PlayStation now release date (July 31 for North America), and then Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was shown--including a nod to the fact that it leaked last night.

But Sony still wasn't done. Here we were an hour and 40 minutes into the conference, and Sony still had more to say. They announced Grand Theft Auto V for PS4 will be coming in Fall 2014. Of course, we learned right after the conference that it is also coming to Xbox One and PC. But still, when the announcement was made by Sony, it was huge because it seemed like it was their thing. 

But Sony still wasn't done. They showed a fantastic Batman: Arkham Knight batmobile battle mode gameplay trailer, with exclusive content for the PS4, which is for a set of Scarecrow missions. This was the icing on the cake; the cherry on top; the big bang.

And finally, the company officially revealed Uncharted 4: A Thief's End which will be coming in 2015. "Several years after his last adventure, retired fortune hunter, Nathan Drake, is forced back into the world of thieves. With the stakes much more personal, Drake embarks on a globe-trotting journey in pursuit of a historical conspiracy behind a fabled pirate treasure. His greatest adventure will test his physical limits, his resolve, and ultimately what he's willing to sacrifice to save the ones he loves."

So, how did Sony nail it? They showed more from the games we knew about, games we didn't expect, gave specific dates and details. And, they didn't show ANY family games, did they? No dancing, nor any awkward, scripted on-stage demos were shown. Sony predominantly showed hardcore games--horror, action, and fighting. They didn't hire semi-celebrity hypemen (or women). They stayed true to what they are about: gaming. They even threw in a couple of light-hearted, small jabs at Microsoft.

It was game, after game, after game (for the most part). And that's what gamers needed from these new-gen consoles. I didn't even realize we hadn't seen The Last Guardian until the dust settled this morning because the conference was so long and filled with announcements. Sony's presser was also highlighted by the fact that Microsoft's conferences was underwhelming. It was as if Microsoft was Dunkin Donuts, serving mediocre coffee, and Sony was the Starbuck's right next door, serving a Dark Sumatran blend.

So, unless Nintendo serves up free Wii Us to everyone this morning, it's likely that Sony won E3 2014.

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