14 DAY TRIAL // E3 2014 is nearly upon us and video game developers, the press, publishers and other industry officials are getting ready to descend in Los Angeles, California next week in order talk about coming games, see the state of the industry and generally bathe in the impressive array of experiences that the trade show can offer.
I will be leaving for the city on Monday as well and I want to quickly talk about the general trends that I believe will be on show and might determine how our favorite pastime evolves in the coming year and even beyond.
Xbox One and PlayStation 4 Will Deepen Their Competition
The most important announcements will be those of Sony and Microsoft, which will both aim to boost the long-term prospects of the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One by talking about the exclusive titles that they will launch and the way they can boost their hardware via firmware updates.
A price cut for the Microsoft device, linked to the fact that the retail package no longer includes Kinect, has already been announced and it will be interesting to see whether Sony plans to reach to that in any way.
Nintendo might not have an actual press conference, but it will use its Direct stream to try and boost its own Wii U and we might get to see at least one major new Mario title or a new bundle which also cuts the price for the platform.
The Vita and the 3DS are becoming largely side shows for the companies involved in the handheld market and it will be interesting to see whether more integration with home consoles is announced.
Halo and Call of Duty No Longer Dominate the Industry
The new Halo from Microsoft and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will probably attract more visitors during E3 2014, but event at this huge event where marketing money and company size matters, it’s clear that the industry is diversifying really quickly and offering a wide range of experiences.
I expect to see some cool games in the indie-focused area of the show and I plan to devote as much time as I can to smaller companies that might have something interesting to add to the genres in which they are working.
At the same time, publishers like Activision, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Sony and Microsoft can saturate the two show floors and the media reports with their presence, even if their titles are mostly sequels or lack any innovative elements.
It’s hard to create a balance between the two sides of the show and decide what is worth talking about in the long term.
Gamers Need to Pay More Attention
E3 can easily be overwhelming to even the most attentive fans of the video game world, but I do believe that those who intend to purchase titles in the coming 12 months or even a console need to make sure that they get the most important news and hunt for details about the games they like.
Players tend to sometimes live in a bubble of their own making and E3 is a good occasion to pierce it in some ways and maybe learn about a new experience that could soon become a long-term compulsion.