E3 2012 Winners and Losers

Ryan Bloom / Jun 11th, 2012 No Comments

E3 2012 has come and gone without much of the excitement traditionally present at the annual expo. Most of the big company’s decided to play it safe on-stage, opting to show off sequels to wildly successful franchises. Microsoft and Sony spent most of the months leading up to E3 denying rumors that they would unveil a new console. Industry insiders still expected a surprise announcement of at least one new gaming system but that did not happen.

While this year’s expo was an overall disappointment, it did not fail to generate some excitement. These are the highlights and low points of E3 2012.

WINNERS

Ubisoft Booth at E3 2012

Ubisoft – Most companies chose to showcase big name properties that will be releasing a new sequel during Holiday 2012. Ubisoft was one of those companies as they showed off the latest installment of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. However, the developer also had some surprises. The completely original property, Watch Dogs, generated the biggest buzz of the show. Splinter Cell: Blacklist was unexpected and will build on the solid Splinter Cell: Conviction. Ubisoft will be releasing a barrage of games for Wii U at launch and ZombieU appears to have the most promise. The game takes advantage of the touchscreen on the Wii U Game Pad to deliver an interesting new way to experience a video game.

Next-Generation Consoles – No next-generation consoles were officially announced during E3. The first gameplay for the consoles may have been on display though. Highly advanced games made a big splash at this year’s show. Watch Dogs and Star Wars: 1313 were once shrouded in secrecy but now have been shown to the public. Epic gave the world a look at the new Unreal Engine 4. It appears the new technology is far too graphically intense to run on current generation hardware. While developers are not confirming the opinion that gameplay for next-gen consoles is already being demonstrated, they are also not denying it.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone – Microsoft once again failed to draw attention to the Entertainment Evolved presentation. The creators of South Park hopped on stage to steal the show. After Microsoft announced Xbox SmartGlass, Parker and Stone immediately mocked it. Then they discussed South Park: The Stick of Truth. The RPG is being developed by Obsidian, the company behind games such as Alpha Protocol and Fallout: New Vegas. The game puts players right into the streets of South Park and it could not look more brilliant. Parker and Stone worked closely with developers to ensure the game’s quality. The result is a game that looks exactly like an episode of South Park, complete with inside jokes and foul-mouthed humor.

LOSERS

Microsoft at E3 2012

Nintendo – Apparently, one press conference was not enough for Nintendo. The company started off with a pre-E3 online presentation. During the main presser, hosts kept inviting viewers to watch more presentations online. In the midst of all this, the company showed off the game pad and features of the Wii U. However, no specs were given and there is still no release date for the new console.

PS Vita – Sony needed to reaffirm support for the failing handheld. Instead, the focus was on PlayStation 3 content. An exciting new Assassin’s Creed game for the PS Vita was unveiled but nothing else worth noting was mentioned. A logo for a new Call of Duty game coming to the handheld was revealed but no details or gameplay was on display. Sony made the handheld a huge part of the 2011 press conference but failed to follow-up in 2012. The struggling company could soon decide to ditch the PS Vita altogether.

Microsoft – The company does not know how to make a good presentation. The presser did include some buzz worthy news but was mostly a dud. Games were featured but were not the focus of the press conference. Halo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops II were simply an example of Microsoft showcasing more of the same old stuff. Additional entertainment apps and causal Kinect titles failed to spark interest from core gamers. Microsoft took all the elements of a bad video game presentation and sprinkled in a performance by Usher.

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Ryan Bloom

Associate Editor at Gaming Illustrated

Ryan Bloom is a writer and avid gamer from Santa Ana, CA. He received a B.A. in Communications with a minor in American Studies from California State University, Fullerton in 2010. Follow him on Twitter @BloomsTweets.