With Gamescom 2013′s big announcements and press events already over, we thought it best to speak our mind and weigh…
With Gamescom 2013′s big announcements and press events already over, we thought it best to speak our mind and weigh in on the show’s pressers and what we thought of the reveals.
In short, we’re “grading” each company and how impressed we were with their press events. Of course, that won’t stop us from letting you know how we feel on other things not associated with the actual press events and just in gamescom in general.
So, without further chit-chat, let’s get to it.
Andrew Esposito:
Gamescom has quickly come and gone. We saw a plethora of new games and we got a ton of new information on previously announced titles. Two major announcements coming from gamescom both came from Sony. The first being the PS4′s release date, the other big announcement was one that both Williams and I predicted — a price drop in the PlayStation Vita. At $199, its price point is very tantalizing to those on the fence and add the price drop in the PS Vita memory cards (albeit still expensive), and we actually might see this thing in more people’s hands.
Regarding games, I loved the new Castelvania: Lords of Shadow 2 trailer. As a huge fan of the original (and the Castlevania franchise as a whole) I am incredibly excited to see what LoS2 has to offer when it’s released later next year. I was also excited to hear a little more news on Hotline Miami 2, since the original was one of my favorite games of 2012, and I know the sequel will be nothing less than stellar.
Microsoft Grade: B-
Sony Grade: B+
Zarmena Khan:
Microsoft: Despite their PR department completely failing this year, it can’t be denied that Microsoft has a very strong line-up of titles heading for the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One. In fact, their line up is better than Sony’s. It’s unfortunate that a lot of people won’t get to experience that, however, due to Microsoft’s inability to launch its console worldwide.
Grade: B –
EA: I wasn’t too impressed. Nothing fresh to see. Sims 4 and FIFA 14 made me cringe.
Grade: C
Sony: As usual, Sony starts off slow and picks up pace. I was very happy to note that they have more games lined up; a glimmer of hope that they’ll work on more exclusives and fresh new IPs going forward. They still have a long way to go, though. The best part of Sony’s presser was the PS4 announcement date. At last!! And it’s even better that the console will launch in 32 countries.
Grade: A
Matt Hadden:
Microsoft: Doing everything that they can to win back their fans with a tonne of exclusive deals on games etc.
Grade: C
EA: Aww yiss EA, blowing everyone away with Battlefield 4, Titanfall is starting to grow on me as well, looking like a solid shooter.
Grade: B
Sony: What can I say about Sony, taking a big dig at Microsoft made me laugh. They also revealed plenty of exclusive indie titles but the actual presser wasn’t that amazing. They basically just said what we know, revealed the remote play on Vita and then gave us a release date.
Grade: B+
Patrick Day-Childs:
Gamescom just felt like companies bought their B game to an A game event. They didn’t announce anything big really.
For me, EA stole the show, they were the only guys that were there about games not price drops or little deals.
Grade for gamescom pressers: D
Mack Ashworth:
Microsoft – The Xbox One has an incredible line-up of launch titles coming, and that is undoubtedly one of the console’s greatest strengths. The reveal of Fable Legends was also nice to see, as well as the timed exclusives: Peggle 2 and Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare.
Grade: B
EA: EA’s showmanship knows no bounds, as we again got to see some incredible gameplay from confirmed blockbusters Titanfall and Battlefield 4. Both games are going to be huge!
Grade: A-
Sony: Starting off a little slowly, Sony eventually got around to hitting us with some bombshells. Minecraft will be coming not only to PlayStation 4, but also to the PS3 and PS Vita, which is awesome. War Thunder, an incredibly popular flight simulator on PC, will also be coming to PlayStation 4. Oh, and I’ve got to mention the new IP Rime,which looked very pretty, beautiful, gorgeous… *mans up*.
Grade: B+
Tyler Colp:
Microsoft: Not having a livestreamed press conference hurt Microsoft this year. Gamescom was the last chance it had to make a splash before the Xbox One arrives this November. Instead, it kept mostly quiet and sunk beneath Sony’s big announcements.
Grade: D
EA: Electronic Arts did the expected and released a bunch of trailers of its announced games. If you were hungry for just about anything regarding Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, The Sims 4, or Titanfall, EA’s gamescom was probably entertaining. But this wasn’t a pivotal show for the company. Can you blame them? Not really.
Grade: C
Sony: Sony kept to its story and touted independent games. The conference itself seemed to lack a presence from the company’s impressive first-party lineup, but I can’t complain too much when we got to see games like Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture up there.
Grade: B+
Alex Co:
Microsoft: Microsoft did not hold a live-stream of their press event at gamescom and once you read up on what they showed, you’ll know why. The publisher almost literally just re-hashed what they showed at E3. Sure, there were a few new trailers for games coming to the Xbox One, but their big reveals was a Kinect game and a new Fable that was not Fable 4.
Add in the fact that they didn’t announce the release date of the Xbox One and well, you do the math on that one.
Grade: C
EA: Electronic Arts had a relatively “tame” gamescom showing since we already know what to expect. There was a new trailer for EA Sports UFC alpha gameplay, which looked good but way too short, something new regarding Dragon Age Inquisition and of course, a new (awesome) trailer for BF4.
I admit, I was hoping for any Star Wars Battlefront showing, but that was wishful thinking on my part since DICE is in very early stages developing it. But there was Titanfall as a consolation, which looks sexier every time I see it.
Overall, not disappointed but not exactly “wowed,” either.
Grade: B
Sony: Ah, the new “darling” of the gaming scene. So, how did they do? While they started off slow and focused way too much on indies, they more than made up for it by highlighting remote play on the PS4 (as they should), reveala few significant PS4 games, and of course, announce the PS4′s worldwide release date.
Truth be told, I was way more impressed with Sony’s gamescom presser compared to their E3 one. Not only did they reveal more games this week compared to LA, but they officially dropped the price of the PS3 and PS Vita, too.
Overall, couldn’t have asked for a better showing from them, I think.
Grade: A
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Do you agree with our grades? If not, share yours in the comments and let us know what you think. Don’t forget, you can re-watch all the press conferences to see it unfold again, or read up on our awesome day one recap covering the most relevant gaming info out of the show.