E3 2014

[Rombie]

Every year since 1997 I've followed the highs and lows of the E3 show. Ironically I don't think any year has surpassed that year in the number of hit games in show in the one year (although there are some close contenders). Until the 2000 event updates and media were quite sporadic. Waiting for hours stories and screens and days sometimes for videos that often weren't bigger than 320x240 and highly compressed.

Indeed how things drastically changed quick for the better in just the few years in the early 2000s and by the time we got to the middle years of the decade the event became almost immediate especially with streaming conferences and television coverage.

Sadly this year I will miss the event as I am travelling for the next few months. And to a certain degree maybe I don't care about things as much as I once did but it's still an annual event that I'm interested in and so that's why I'm starting this thread. So post your speculations, trailer links, and comments on the conference streams. I'm sure it will be great.

[Wrathborne]

I used to get excited about E3 too...but things have changed.

I dunno man, I think I'm starting to outgrow the industry more and more. Very few developers still hold my interest.

Maybe its because I've gotten older, or maybe its because the most recent games the past few years have been underwhelming, but I'm not that excited about video games anymore.

I'd LOVE to get back into games like I used too...but I don't have as much time to play and there aren't many games that catch my attention. Shit, going back to school alone since I got laid off at work, eats up more than half my week as it is.

[Rombie]

I made my original post via my phone, and I while I wanted to mention my sliding interest in gaming I thought it might be a bit too negative to possibly get people to talk about E3, but seeing as you've followed that line Wrath I'll continue on my thoughts, but I'm very much with you on everything.

Several years ago at the start of this generation I still blindly jumped in as up until.. 2006, 2007, I was playing games on a semi-regular to regular basis and looking forward to upcoming "next gen" sequels and announcements. But in 2008 I had a fairly rough year personally and aside from a few big name event games, I really reduced the number of games I played for almost a couple of years. And while I returned somewhat and have kept a steady balance of game playing since early 2010, I've also been far more selective, critical, and protective of what choices I make on games to play... simply because while I can make time for gaming, I have to make sure it's playing something that makes that time worthwhile, and I then become critical of cookie-cutter industry games and gimmicks that I don't want to waste my time on. Which sadly, the more recent E3's of the past several years have been chock full of, gimmick games and flash in the pan ideas.

It's not age entirely, but stuff around age that probably doesn't help. Hope is the key, and the thing that keeps me coming back, believing that maybe someone will show me something. For example when Ubisoft showed off Watch_Dogs a couple of years back I was stoked to see something expanding on the usual open world concept. Sadly I'm not interested anymore because the more I see of it the more generic it looks, just like a modern AC game with hacking in it. But who knows... maybe this year someone else will show me something. I just won't see it straight away... maybe thats a good thing. Wait until the dust settles and see what people really did talk about. But then again I may never buy another console. Guess we'll wait and see.

[Dracarys]

Gaming industry has been so shit the last 7 years or so.

Sequels sequels sequels, action and dumbed down bollocks. Too 'risky' to create many new IPs or games that dare to make the player think, not enough mass appeal. If someone dares to do something risky and it is a hit then all we get are clones and these make up the bulk of supposed 'new' IPs. Old original IPs get their insides ripped out and filled with the latest gunk that was a hit. Games get content ripped out so they can sell it to you for extra as DLC and have the cheek to call it support. Parts of games you never get to experience because they were cut out as several pre-order bonuses and scattered out across several retailers, other parts are only for the 'Collectors Edition' that costs twice what a game does if you're lucky, other parts of games you never play because someone always wants something exclusive and it went to another console only. Games becoming shorter and having less content than previous games in the same series because they figure they can sell you the rest as DLC. Now we get microtransactions that put a price on your time as a gamer and turn the effort you put into a game to achieve something into a measly sum.

It's a really shitty time to be a gamer and it isn't going to get much better outside of some kind of industry collapse that makes publishers rethink their entire strategy. Remember when Horse Armour had people up in arms all those years ago? What the hell happened to that attitude, now gamers are lapping it up, defending it and even demanding it.

We aren't quite at the last image yet, but we're heading there.
Spoiler:

show spoiler

Oh yeah, E3. I'll watch it, with my cynicism meter going off the charts most likely as everytime exclusive DLC or whatever is announced there are people happy about it, not realising they aren't actually getting something extra, just someone else getting less.

[MeganGrass]

Gaming industry has been so shit the last 7 years or so.

^ Truest comment I've read for a very long time.

Excluding the obvious 'blockbuster' titles, often which do flop themselves, 95% of the games released now are either shovel-ware and/or developed by inexperienced people expected to handle an outsource who have no real connection or love for the canon. The only real exception I can think of, at the moment, is Bionic Commando Rearmed ("For the fans, by a bunch of other fans").

I've long-since come to the absolute conclusion that most developers simply couldn't give two squirts of piss about actually playing the games they create, so long as their company makes the money in-return that they initially invested into development.

True creativity is dead. We need more LSD-influenced tech pioneers like Steve Jobs to save the industry from this Angry Fruit Ninja Flappy Bird Saga nonsense and the greedy DLC madness that has overtaken the industry. What the fuck ever happened to paying 40$ for a game, jammed pack with re-playable content? Too many irons in the fire and they burn down the entire kitchen... but it's expected of gamers to pay the extra price. It's just too difficult and pricey to keep up with all of this 'exclusive' content with the inevitable non-gaming merchandise, and I've simply got better things to do with my time and money.

[Wrathborne]

I think the games I've enjoyed the most the past few years have been TF2, Spelunky, and The Left4dead series. These other huge games with action movie budgets just don't have anything that appeals to me.

[Scream]

They should just be done with it all and rename gaming to "Fallout 4 + Oculus Rift + Mods". That's where the "only" real action will be in the future, folks! And considering I still play Skyrim, FO:NV and FO3 sometimes, I could probably play FO4 for at least ten years or so.

The only other games I think I'm looking forward to is maybe that new Civilization game in space, IGAS' 1.5 and Behind the Mask.

[imacwesker]

We aren't quite at the last image yet, but we're heading there.
Spoiler:

show spoiler

Great pict, Dracarys ;)
I agree that innovation is more or less dead among the AAA games. So is the survival-horror genre (for me, survival-horror is about managing my resources, not running away/hidding helplessly from an indestructible foe). I do enjoy "indie" games, thought, like Journey; Limbo; The Wolf Among US and Transistor. I think that's where the future of gaming is.

[Mikhail]

As time passes I'm becoming more bored of hires 3d gaming for me it's already hit the uncanny valley stage, I find my myself ignoring games completely just because of excessive bloom and unnatural lighting.
I'm always looking for defects rather than being immersed in the actual story, the 8/16Bit was definitely less restrictive in terms of ideas. Like others have said already indie games are all we have to look forward to nowadays because the big development studios aren't willing to take monetary risks anymore.

I wish they'd do more 3d/2.5d hybrid remake games like Castle of Illusion
Alex Kidd
Dizzy - failed kickstarter :-(
Golden Axe
Wonder Boy
etc

[Lanzagranadas]

Gaming industry has been so shit the last 7 years or so.

Sequels sequels sequels, action and dumbed down bollocks. Too 'risky' to create many new IPs or games that dare to make the player think, not enough mass appeal. If someone dares to do something risky and it is a hit then all we get are clones and these make up the bulk of supposed 'new' IPs. Old original IPs get their insides ripped out and filled with the latest gunk that was a hit. Games get content ripped out so they can sell it to you for extra as DLC and have the cheek to call it support. Parts of games you never get to experience because they were cut out as several pre-order bonuses and scattered out across several retailers, other parts are only for the 'Collectors Edition' that costs twice what a game does if you're lucky, other parts of games you never play because someone always wants something exclusive and it went to another console only. Games becoming shorter and having less content than previous games in the same series because they figure they can sell you the rest as DLC. Now we get microtransactions that put a price on your time as a gamer and turn the effort you put into a game to achieve something into a measly sum.

That's unfortunately true. I think we as gamers should buy games, and only games, not DLCs, and that would be the only way to stop the DLC aalanche that this emerging generation will come with for sure. But sadly that's not going to happen, there are a lot of DLC hungry gamers who enjoy wasting money on pieces of a game that were ripped from the original disk on purpose, and they're even grateful to developers for such "gifts".

Besides, games are not evolving anymore, all we can expect from this generation are the same games with better graphics, that's the reason I'm not very interested in what will be released next, I still have a lot of previously released games that I would play first.

[Rombie]

The other issue to me with DLC and extras like that is the fact the most prolific games for doing that are also feed into the most prolific games, the ones with annual release cycles (COD, Assassins Creed, etc.) which means there is a timeframe for the online portions being popular, the DLC is scheduled to arrive at certain points post release and pre the next annual event. You combine it with shortened SP campaigns and the decreased content for money value, yet seemingly the mass populace slaps down constant amounts of cash all round each year for the rince-repeat of game-DLC-DLC-DLC-game-DLC-DLC-DLC etc.

[Dracarys]

I don't mind COD map pack DLC. The base game offers lots of maps and the multiplayer never really feels gimped in content. On the flip side though we get Battlefield where game modes that were once part of the base game in earlier series entries are now missing and only included with the DLC map packs.

Bad examples of single player stuff are Dragon Age: Origins where a storage chest for items is only included in the Warden's Keep DLC, a practical use you need pay extra for, or Mass Effect 3 where a Prothean character is day 1 DLC that costs £8 and then later the Leviathan DLC which actually explains properly the origins of the Reapers/Catalyst, £12 for that, so you're £20, half the price of the full game for DLC that doesn't really offer much content, a couple hours worth only but contains story that really should have been in the base game.

Capcom are pretty terrible about DLC too, selling RE5/6 multiplayer as DLC (seriously..who else does that?) and their fighting games are skeletons for content, when you got Mortal Kombat/Tekken/Soul Calibur etc offering story modes, additional modes like challenge towers, alt costumes, create-a-costume, even create-a-character in the latter how does Capcom dare to release a Street Fighter or Marvel game with arcade mode, local MP and online MP and that is pretty much it. Alt costumes cost silly amounts of money. For the lack of content in Capcom fighters you'd expect at least one free alt costume per character.

[Guest]

I cannot wait for E3. Hopefully, we'll get new horror games announced. Resident Evil 7 obviously top of the mark!

[Dark_Chris]

This year's E3 will rock! RE7, Uncharted 4, The Order 1886, next gen Hitman, next gen Deus Ex, Star Wars games, Batman Arkham Knight, AC Unity, AC Comet and many many more.

[Rombie]

I don't mind COD map pack DLC. The base game offers lots of maps and the multiplayer never really feels gimped in content. On the flip side though we get Battlefield where game modes that were once part of the base game in earlier series entries are now missing and only included with the DLC map packs.

Yeah, but now you're being picky over it.... just because you like the COD map packs doesn't mean they aren't still part of the problem you've outlined. The games have very limited SP campaigns of increasingly shorter and shorter lengths, and the MP and the DLC map packs are mostly only as popular as the latest game. As soon as the new annual title comes out, the drop off in MP for the last is high... meaning both the MP content and the DLC content are almost wasted. People have issues with the churn, I probably wouldn't myself if the game was complete from the get go (barring any patching)... but it's not.