Yes it’s a stupid question and yes we are all winners blah blah blah. But come on! It’s fun to debate these things. Who do you think had the best opening to E3? Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft?
I think Microsoft probably had the least amount of surprises, but easily the leanest conference. Sony had plenty of surprises and some great exclusives to show off, but seriously sagged in the middle with all that TV talk and whatnot. Nintendo — I feel — sort of under delivered, but still showed off an absolutely gorgeous Zelda that’s taking all the right steps in all the right directions.
I guess what I’m saying is: this was a very tight contest.
Who do you think took it?
Comments
65 responses to “The Big Question: Who ‘Won’ E3?”
Sony by the smallest of hairs. Nobody really brought the “wow factor” this year, but that’s to be expected now that all the next gen consoles are on the market.
For me, its Nintendo. Because I suddenly really really want a Wii U.
Actually i also want an Xbone as well after their conference.
I already have a PS4 and i loved alot of what they showed, but goddamn, the sony conference dragged in places.
Really, we as gamers won. lol
yes, the reason right here ^ I now want a Wii U
Sony for it’s fresh and diverse line-up. MS was too multiplat-focussed and Nintendo didn’t even try to buck the sequels/remakes/spin-offs trend.
I’m pretty sure Microsoft showed more exclusives but focused more on third party games.
Fresh and diverse ? GTAV, MK8, Uncharted 4, TLOU remastered, LBP3 and a fourth batman game.
If anything this was a disappointing year all around marked by sequels,remasters,cross platform and exclusive dlc.
MKX, it was Mortal Kombat X the “X” stands for 10
I feel that the only conference that changed ‘many’ peoples minds was Nintendo’s.
In all, both MS and Sony delivered pretty much what we already knew. MS was the usual CoD, Halo, Forza combo we’ve come to expect. Sony had a few extra surprises though so I can see why people are voting Sony. No Mans Sky, LBP3 and Uncharted take the Sony cake for me there.
In the end, it was the unexpected jaw dropping beauty of Zelda (I know Uncharted was great too, but I wasn’t expecting it from Nintendo) and the Squid game that got my interest.
I walked away least disappointed from the Nintendo conference than the other two. Reading the comments sections on all these sites seem to mirror my thoughts:
Some people now want a PS4, a lot of people now want a WiiU. On the other hand Xbox1 owners are happy (Which is great), but I don’t see many people who weren’t interested in the X1 who now are. Not because it was bad (It was great), but because IMHO the other two had more variety.
In the end the show is to show what the future is holding on any one platform (And at this point to get people to see the value of actually getting a ‘next-gen’ console instead of holding onto what they have). All three look very bright, but the one that turns the most heads and influences the most people to actually change their minds and/or grab a console is the one that, IMO, wins.
So I have to say:
It was close but my jaw was only on the floor at the end of Sony’s conference. The only one I walked away without disappointment and with a smile and real excitement for the coming year was Nintendo’s.
1 – Nintendo.
2/3 – TIE between Sony and MS.
MS: Better ‘show’ in terms of pacing but less of a ‘interest driver’.
Sony: More diverse showing of why to get next gen, but worse pacing.
Good job to all 3 in the end, but there can only be one winner 🙂
EDIT:
I HAVE to say. The one thing that made me upset:
C. G. I.
That and ‘exclusive first looks’ at multi platform games, especially from MS (But we expect that from them traditionally so it’s ok, they still delivered on the exclusives.) But mostly the CGI and no gameplay. Except for Killzone, Which is an old game so meh, I don’t think we say any ‘actual’ in-game stuff. It all looked staged.
how do you figure nintendo didn’t even try to buck the trend? you must have watched some other nintendo presentation, because the digital event they had yesterday was freaking awesome!!!! so glad i’m a wii u owner. clearly nintendo won this one.
The real losers are 360, PS3 and Vita.
I don’t think Microsoft even mentioned 360 in their conference. They didn’t even mention that Forza 2 is also on 360.
Sony mentioned PS3 but barely. And Vita is just dead.
There was more Vita announcements than PS3
How it probably should be at this stage. There might be more at TGS though 🙂
Well… yeah? It’s not like we’re going to be getting ongoing PS3/360 releases indefinitely. I wish people would stop complaining about the abandonment of a generation that has lasted almost a decade. If you can’t afford a next-gen console then refocus your efforts bitching about it into maybe working harder to save up and buy one.
Now see. I agreed with you completely before you became a dick in that last part.
360 came out in 2005, let it die already.
More than happy to keep mine around and replay everything I own but I don’t expect anything new to come out on it. I was annoyed Southpark came out on ps3/360 and I’m hoping any new game doesn’t have to cater to legacy technology.
Who cares? Gamers won!
Exactly!
I’m a Playstation gamer and I loved what Sony showed. Whether or not it was better than Microsoft and Nintendo I don’t know.
I’m one happy gamer.
While I am stoked at all the new stuff coming, I don’t feel like I ‘won’ as a gamer because all this exclusivity bullshit really got under my skin. I understand the business of it all but I couldn’t help but feel disappointed by all of it. Every second announcement was about what you can do on one system but not the others.
The only thing that has me a little comfortable was that I can’t recall any exclusive content that substantially improved the product offering so perhaps it doesn’t matter. But if I’m a fan I want the most of the experience, I now have to play that game on the console whos manufacturers paid more money rather than the console that I want to play it on.
Like I said, not really a big issue but it took a little of the hype away for me hearing all that.
Well, you know what they say: “Competition breeds exclusive platform features.”
I’m voting Sony, but not by a lot.
15 min of slow press conference doesn’t change the fact that they had the most interesting announcements.
All 3 were solid though: Zelda is the game I most want to play over everything, MS has the best lineup over the remainder of 2014 and Sony showed off good exclusives and cool indie surprises.
Maybe there needs to be an option for ‘us’.
The real winner is everyone that will be buying these platforms next year.
Us, the consumers won. Each of the big 3 had their moments, but we are the ones who land up winning when all this awesome hard and software comes to us
All 3 had stuff that I’m really excited for.
Microsoft: Forza Horizon 2, Sunset Overdrive, Crackdown etc.
Sony: Uncharted, Little Big Planet 3, Magicka 2, No Man’s Sky, Bloodborne etc.
Nintendo: Zelda, Smash Bros., Yoshi’s Woolly World, Bayonetta 2 etc.
Add to that all the Multi-platform stuff like, Far Cry 4, Destiny, Ass Creed: Unity, Dead Island 2, Rainbow Six: The Siege.
In my opinion the gamers won, best E3 in a long time.
The only losers are going to be our wallets.
both Sony and Microsofts conference were great (except when sony started talking about stuff other then games about half way in) but for me it was Sonys just because of that awesome uncharted teaser and I’m a huge naughty dog fan
I’m going with none of the above. That clear decisive win wasn’t there for me. Special mention to MS for being so game focused this year. Massive improvement. My tastes see me being more impressed with Sony’s offerings but the magic wasn’t there to push them to the ‘win’.
Ninty gave a solid date for Bayonetta 2 (with Bayo 1 included woo!) and vague 2015 date for Xenoblade. I got want I wanted out of their presser.
Pssht. Everyone knows the OUYA won E3.
Did they get out of the Car Park this year?
Is Ouya even still a thing?
It sure is, if you’re a paper-weight enthusiast 🙂
Nintendo have convinced me once and for all that I need a Wii U. With the new announcements there’s ten games I really want on the system and as I don’t buy a lot of games, that’s a lot for me (I have about 15 total on my PS3). Also the only current gen console to finally show a traditional JRPG.
Sony showed basically more of the same. Still focusing on the gamer (I turned off my stream before the boring parts it would seem as I was working as well and tuned in again on the last few games being shown).
Nothing about The Order has made me think that it’s a must have game though and I’d expect from an in-house game for it to really show what the platform can do but instead it’s a generic third person game with a shedload of cutscenes at every interval. Not what I want to see from a ‘next-gen’ game.
Everything else though was decent-to-awesome. Metal Gear Solid looked, well, solid, Bloodborne looks interesting (but then again so did The Order before I found out how it actually plays), inFamous DLC (to be expected), Destiny is looking better than I expected it to, exclusive Arkham Knight missions, and then there was the indie games. No Man’s Land. Easily the game of E3 so far for me.
Microsoft I didn’t watch but looking at the highlights, Halo seems to be the most talked about. Expected really but with a PS4, a PC and soon to be a Wii U I don’t have room for one.
I feel we’ve experienced what will be the norm over the next 5-10 years though. Timed/mission exclusives for either Sony or Microsoft with a few first party exclusives thrown in. Sony definitely has the edge with indie games though if that’s your thing, but basically it’ll come down to win-a-few, lose-a-few whether you get exclusive content for your platform of choice
Yeah. I’ve said elsewhere, but I’ll say it here: Nintendo won for me because if their E3 showing holds true, 2015 will be the first time in over twenty years that I buy a Nintendo console.
For context, that means over twenty years of not giving two shits about Mario parties or smash brothers or metroids or knowing anything about any of the Zelda characters who aren’t Link or Zelda, when Ganon was Ganon, not Ganondorf or what-the-fuck-ever.
No nostalgia influencing the sale because I couldn’t care less about revisiting someone else’s high school/uni years – Nintendo wasn’t a part of MY life then.
Just me buying into the platform on its current merits. THAT’S never happened in the last twenty years.
No vote here – good announcements all around. Should be something for everyone.
Having watched all the conferences…
I don’t really feel anyone won, but I’m pretty sure EA lost.
Lol so true EA just literally gave up and said “now heres the games bye”
All three were great but I feel that they were all a hair apart in terms of interest grabbing.
This is IMHO:
1)Nintendo
2)Sony
3)MS
Good work to all and YAY to any one with one or more of the systems. 2015 is gonna be one hell of a year o.o
All those games are gonna have to get in line behind Zelda, Uncharted and no-mans sky. In no particular order, but kinda 😉
I would say Microsoft… but Grim Fandango on PS4 won the show for me… so, Sony… only for that one game.
Have to give it to Nintendo. I’ll be honest though, I could be biased because I’ve been playing MK8 and on a big Ninty buzz right now.
That said, when the next gen consoles were originally released, I decided to wait until the next E3 to see which one I’ll get. Neither have convinced me and I am happier than ever that I have a Wii U.
Grim Fandango won! 😀
@dc, until now we scraped along the ground like rats, but from now on, we soar! Like eagles! Yeah! LIKE EAGLES…ON…POGO STICKS!!!
For me, as a avid PC gamer and GTA fan from the start, the news about GTA 5 coming to PC is my highlight. I have been keeping my Titan warm for this game, I cannot wait. Managed to stave off all the trailers and spoilers, barley have seen a video of the game. Now I cannot wait to get in and spend hours in a new GTA. The online looks awesome too. Really the only thing tat would trump this for me, is a big DayZ reveal or update progress report from Rocket. First time in a long time, I have been “hooked” on a game, I cannot put it down. GTA 5 will be the next one.
Nintendo wins for me, everything looked amazing, especially Isolation, Yoshi, Mario Maker and Xenoblade, with Zelda and Smash Bros changing my mind from meh to must buy as well.
MS were second for me, making me now want to.save up for an Xbox One and Sony seemed to think they have everything in the bag and had just one game that’snot a sequel or remake. An interesting original IP though, and considering.how many love LBP and Grim Fandago, I can’t say Sony lost, they are still a winner, just a third place winner.
I voted for Sony (360 owner) because after yesterday I’m getting a PS4.
I thought Microsoft’s conference was excellent, the best they’ve had in years, but the over-reliance on Halo and their other tent poles is wearing me down – after 5 years in the Xbox camp it’s time to see what’s happening on the other side.
Hope you enjoy it. Variety and a change of pace can be wonderful 🙂
Simple for me: before E3 I wasn’t going near an XBone, after E3 I can’t wait to get one. Microsoft wins.
It was always going to be less interesting this year than last – it’s pretty hard to announce a new console more than once. Badmouthing the talk of “all of the usual games – CoD, AC and Forza” is just crap. They are brilliant games, always have been and always will be. Just because you expected it and have seen previous releases in the same series does not make it a bad or boring game.
I’m stoked for Sunset Overdrive!!
This is a stupid question. It was obviously Nintendo (for the first time since like what 1994). 🙂 finally i am excited about Nintendo!
Why? It’s the same old s**t they’ve been making for years. I can’t see for a moment how anyone can be remotely interested in Nintendo these days. On the very very rare occasion they release a new IP, it’s still the same kiddie-friendly drivel that already bloats their library.
Because maybe, you know… “kid-friendly” and “fun” aren’t mutually exclusive? Sure, a lot of Nintendo’s games can be played by kids but there’s no reason anyone else can’t enjoy them either. Unless I guess you feel so insecure that you’re afraid you’ll get judged by what you play.
You’re right, they aren’t. In fact “kid-friendly” games are often the most “fun”. But don’t you ever want more than that? Fun is only one, very narrow form of engagement. And yet it’s the only form Nintendo have ever explored.
Nintendo dissapointed me with tbat delay thouhh. At least they brought more characters for smash for this delay. Other than smash I felt all the other games they offered (besides zelda) felt targeted towards kiddies…
Bayonetta 2 and X aren’t really kids games
Nor is Devil’s Third. I mean there’s swearing and booty in the trailer! Like 97% bare booty!
Who won E3 2014? PC. Most of the really noteworthy games so far are cross-platform, and PC is going to have the best results for them.
GTAV! Fin*goddamn*ally
Uh.. PC isn’t a publisher, it’s a platform…
there needs to be a – Tie/We the gamers option.
Sony for me, but it was a close run thing. I think all 3 of them had a pretty solid show.
For me, Sony just scraped through due to the sheer variety of stuff they had across the whole spectrum, from their first party studios to third party multiplatform games, a couple of 3rd party exclusives and a good slate of indie games. I don’t think anybody saw that Grim Fandango announcement coming, either. I will deduct points for lack of cateagle, however.
MS really stepped it up after last year’s catastrophic showing. While they didn’t do enough to beat Sony, they certainly held their own and should at least have saved themselves falling further behind.
Nintendo brought a good bunch of games for the Wii U, but didn’t do much to quell concerns about lack of third party support. Which leaves the same old problem of their machines having huge appeal to their core audience of Nintendo fans, but not much to offer people who aren’t such huge fans of their first party output. But certainly the Nintendo die-hards would have been more than happy with what was shown.
Bit disappointed in Sony and MS in particular for lack of stuff for PS3 / Vita / 360, but hopefully there will be some good stuff on the show floor even if it didn’t make it into their conferences.
I was holding out hope even as the ‘Sony Computer Entertainment presents…’ showed up on the Uncharted trailer. And then the Naughty Dog logo popped up and I was like,
“GODDAMMIT… …alright, disappointment time is over, now pay attention!”
But I feel like TGS could be it its time. We’ll see.
Dunno who won but I can tell you that Ubisoft loss. What a shit conference.
EA’s was worse. With the exception of Battlefront, there was almost nothing else there unless you’re a huge EA Sports fan.
Oh, I forgot EA had a conference. I didn’t even watch it.
Should probably go have a look. Or maybe not.
No love for Rainbow Six Siege?
They actually had really great and impressive demos, they just gave them to the platform publishers. I was impressed with Unity and Farcry 4 at the MS and Sony conferences, The Division wasn’t bad either, but much more than last year’s.
Rainbow Six looked okay but I’m not excited for a multiplayer only iteration of the series. I loved R6V’s campaign.
How did they lose?
Ubisoft had the best conference of all of them they stuck to the point of games and should gamers what they wanted to see (except for shape up and the dancing game) other than those it wasn’t boring and it had the best games to show off
Assassin’s Creed Unity
Far Cry 4
The Division
Rainbow Six: Siege
I mean come on they showed the best games and since all are multiplatform everyone will get to enjoy those experiences.
P. S. Another great game that trumps all but ACU was Mortal Kombat X. I think 2015 will be a better year for gamers (unless they surprise release Fallout 4 this year)
I have to give it to Nintendo if only for the reason that I really want to buy a Wii U now where just a few weeks ago I was really quite disinterested. First time since the N64 that I’ll have owned a Nintendo system but damn it after work I’m buying one today 🙂
Nintendo. Hands down. I haven’t seen Nintendo hit it out of the park like that in so long.
PC wins because we get gtav bizatches!
So does PS4, XBONE.
Nintendo of course kinda disappointed that they didn’t show anything about legend of zelda majora mask
Nintendo Wins!
I reckon Sony did, with No Man’s Sky and Bloodborne.
Lol tight contest indeed…. Nintendo’s got 65% of the votes! Being a fan of the PS4 I can safely say Nintendo deserved it this time as well. Well played and quite the come back.