Feature: All the E3 2017 Press Conferences Rated and Reviewed

just a question but what grade would have given MS and Nintendo?

@FullbringIchigo I can't speak for @get2sammyb but for me, I'd have gone with...

Microsoft: C

I thought Microsoft's conference was very solid and well paced, but its inability to properly showcase the supposed power of the Xbox One X detracted from the whole thing. Still, good showing as far as games are concerned. ANTHEM in particular was a highlight.

Nintendo: C-

Nintendo gets some stick for its Direct approach but I quite like them, even if they don't always have quite the same impact as a proper press conference. I think Mario Odyssey was quite clearly one of the most impressive games at E3 this year, but aside from that, not much else did it for me. I like Fire Emblem and Warriors games but the trailer for Fire Emblem Warriors made it look a bit naff. Zelda DLC looked fine, nothing amazing. Great that a Pokemon game is in development for Switch, even though it was always obvious it'd be coming. Metroid Prime 4 is great too but it was literally a title screen. For a 25 minute video the whole thing was absolutely fine, though.

@ShogunRok @get2sammyb well you both seen pretty much in agreement

also here you go sammy

Thought Nintendo did very well they crammed a lot in a small 25 minuets.

I think Nintendo won this E3, followed by Sony in second place. The big N has a lot on the horizon, and Sony was impressive with its PSVR support (thank god). Can't wait to see some footage of Prime 4!

I was really annoyed by Microsoft's constant "exclusive!" announces...how many times can you use that word when there is not even 1 (zero) games that is going to be just on Xbox. Meanwhile, Nintendo and Sony had exclusives and never or barely used the word.

I agree with the votes, would give Nintendo a B- too and Microsoft a D+

Personally of the choices, I would have to say Sony too. Most of the criticism aimed at others was also relevant for Sony's - ie Known quantities, knew they were coming etc.

Anthem, although teased at EA's, it was the game-play at MS's that really stole the show. Metro too looked incredible and AC:O stood out as well. I know it was disappointing not to see many big new AAA exclusive IP's and the first official reveal of Forza was predictable, but they did bring a lot of games (inc Ori which looked stunning btw) - true a lot were multi-plat but that surely made it more interesting for Sony gamers too... I think they did show 'some' of the potential of XBX too with Forza and the 3 big multi-plat games. I know that these may not have been running on the XBX itself but were running on PC's with the same specs and are 'target' presentations. Its not like some showing games running on a high end PC and passing it off as 'console' standards. MS still showed more games than anyone else did.

I guess it depends on whether E3 and the likes of Sony, MS and Nintendo should be showing their 'exclusives' or games you can play on their system regardless of the fact they may come to other platforms - eventually...

By choice I much prefer to see the likes of Sony, MS etc show only their exclusive portfolio - even timed is 'just' acceptable as long as its clearly indicated. So by that, MS's was a let down.

Ubisofts would have been my strongest but was let down by all the online stuff. Skull n Bones looked great but I wanted the Single player open world Pirate game - not the tacked on MP naval Combat part. BG&E2 looked great but wasn't BG&E and also online WTF! In fact a lot of the games looked visually great but apart from AC:O (wait for the always online co-op drop in component to be announced) very little seemed to be Single player, story driven games. Far Cry looked interesting until you factor in co-op - still seems a long from the series origins - not sure if people remember the first game now...

Sony's definitely had the most games I will be buying even if only Horizon: ZD DLC was new to my wanted list. MS added the most to my wanted list but most were multi-plat (if that matters). Bethesdas could have been better had the two big games not leaked beforehand - they were rumoured for last years E3 too, EA's was the most unprofessional...

Ubisoft - A- for me, a great line up and a variety of game genres. I would buy 85% of what was shown.

Never thought I would say that!

@Feena Xbox is now a 'brand' and a Win10 system and quite a few are Win10 exclusives! Whether you like it or not, you have to buy/own a Microsoft Win10 device - whether that's a PC or Console - to play these Microsoft exclusives. I don't get why the fact that Microsoft Win10 PC owners should go without to keep the Microsoft Win10 Console games exclusive...

Yes I mentioned Microsoft and Win10 a LOT because funnily enough both PC and Xbox are using Microsoft Win10!!! Its like saying your Android apps on your Android smartphone shouldn't work on your Android tablet. Its ALL part of the same Microsoft Win10 ecosystem!!!

Anyway enough about MS but people need to grow up and realise its not the 80's anymore. Believe it or not, at least 4 games at Sony's show were not 'exclusive either - maybe more if some of those VR games do come to PC's and eventually XBX...

Doom VR, Wolfenstein 2 and Evil Within 2 make Bethesda a clear winner imo, dunno why most people are so down on it. Yes, we suspected Wolf2 and EW2 were in development, but the same can be said for Bloodborne 2 and the Sucker Punch game, which weren't even mentioned from Sony. Also, I like short and snappy, and the whole theme park theme felt like they were having a bit of fun with it.

You should have included both Nintendo and Xbox; and made it into a poll. That would have been awesome!

Also, an overall grade for E3 in general would have been cool too.

EA=D (but Anthem looks cool)
Ubisoft=B (variety!)
Bethesda=C- (maybe nothing new but their presentation was cool and the games look good)
Xbox=C+ (may have lacked exclusive games, but they did announce a new system and their show was good)
Sony=B- (show was boring and had audio issues, but had the most games that I want to play)
Nintendo=C+ (Don't mind the "direct", had best game of show in Mario Odyssey, but I'm not getting excited for their 2 big games when they can't even show art, trailer, or short clip.....the games title and/or director saying it's in the works is not cool.
E3=D (one of my least favorite E3 cons in a long time. It lacked the big surprises and announcements.)

@BAMozzy it is NOT an exclusive - no matter how you want to spin it and imho it came off as desperate, underlining that they really don't have them. You don't need an Xbox to play any of the game shown. Also Microsoft doesn't build the many many hardwares that run Windows 10.

I quite liked Bethesda's, granted Skyrim is far from new these days but it is for VR and we also got Doom VFR but by and large there were very few surprises across the board and the new Xbox does look like a stunning bit of kit but they could really do with some quality exclusives for it

Didn't Bethesda also announce Fallout 4 VR and Doom VFR? To me, those are pretty big announcements, especially since Doom VvFR is coming to PSVR.

EA - D (soccer, cars, guns, esports, and, best of all, incredible corporate cringe! Nothing worth seeing here, folks)
Microsoft - C- (new console with no compelling features, no exclusives, and a hefty price tag, but original Xbox backwards compatibility is awesome and there were one or two good games they showed off
Ubisoft - C (Mario+Rabbids was the only good game in the presentation, but it looked pretty darn good, and bringing Miyamoto on stage was an inspired move! BG&E2 should have been a huge moment, but it was just a travesty all around)
Bethesda - C+ (Pretty solid conference all around, with a few cool looking new sequels and ports. Wasn't mind-blowing, but I was pretty thoroughly entertained the whole time)
Sony - B- (The conference wasn't amazing, but there were a couple of pleasant surprises here and a minimum of corporate chattering; too bad a big fraction of the presentation was dedicated to the incredibly dull looking Days Gone)
Nintendo - B (Most of the games here were awesome, but a few things keep it from being as good as it could be: a number of announcements without reveals, the lack of at least one major game that was announced in the Treehouse presentation afterward (Metroid: Samus Returns), and Reggie bizarrely wasting time in the lightning fast 25 minute video randomly waxing poetic and talking about E3 tournaments that nobody really cares about)

If you could mix the games of Sony with the human touch of Ubisoft then I think you would have a clear winner.

@Feena You don't need to have an Xbox, and whilst 3rd party's can build PC's, You still need to buy a Win10 licence to play the games and sign up to Microsoft, create an Xbox type account and ONLY buy the games via the Microsoft store - virtually the SAME store that's on the consoles!!!

You can't go into GAME and buy these for your PC, Won't work on Linux or older versions of Windows OS so its still keeping the games in the same Windows 10 ecosystem.

Regardless of whether you 'have' to buy an Xbox or not, you still have to buy a Windows 10 device, still need a Xbox/Microsoft Gamertag and IF you buy a PC, have no choice but to buy Digital directly from MS...

Regardless of how ignorant or narrow minded you are being, the games are still exclusive to the Windows 10 ecosystem and you still have to have to buy a Windows 10 device to play them. Whether that happens to be a 'console' or the 'virtual Xbox console' on Windows 10 PC, its still exclusive to the same ecosystem!!!

I would of gave Nintendo -B the showing Mario is enough for me to win me over and announcement metroid prime and Sony should of gotten B* for showing actual gameplay from there big three next wave exclusive for 2018, from god of war, spider man and days gone plus the vr games

@shafedog247 @carlos82 Worth pointing out that Skyrim VR was at Sony's press conference, not Bethesda's.

@Wesker I think you may be onto something.

@BAMozzy thank you for calling me ignorant - really uncalled for -and then proceed to prove my point in the rest of your post - you don't need an Xbox to play these games in the same way that you need to buy a Switch to play Mario Odyssey. Do you think if you could buy Mario on PC just setting up a Nintendo account it wouldn't affect the Switch sales? I'm out of this conversation.

@ShogunRok Shhh nobody noticed 😉

A mixed E3 for me. Didnt watch all conferences but I tried to catch up on everything except MS as I dont have Xbox and Scorpio (hate the new name) doesnt impress me.

My highlights are Mario Odyssey, Spiderman and seeing how VR is still a thing. Prime 4 is great but it felt like a trump card added at the last minute.

@Feena As stated you need to buy a Microsoft powered device to play Microsofts exclusives. Just because a PC can be assembled out of parts from manufacturers like AMD for example and not assembled by MS themselves, you still have to buy a Windows 10 machine.

If that is too complex for you to understand - then I pity you. Good luck trying to play any of these exclusives without paying a lot of money to MS!! All a console is these days is locked down PC anyway. Sony's is locked to its proprietary software OS but still just a box of PC type components assembled by Sony. All a PC is, is a 'console' with a bit more freedom to customise and a bit more versatility. Component wise, they are virtually the same and can have the same Architecture too. The only difference is a PC is a LOT more likely to be running the same OS as an Xbox - with a few extras - but still the same OS.

You still haven't answered my question as to why MS should not support their Win 10 PC gamers that paid MS for the Win10 OS. However you look it, There is NO way you can play any of the MS exclusives without buying something from MS.

The Xbox was always a closed PC box for gaming anyway - more than 'just a console. The whole design philosophy was about taking a PC and making it into a 'console' form for just 'gaming' - removing all the unnecessary clutter.

The fact these Microsoft owned Exclusive are exclusive to Microsoft powered devices still makes them Exclusives to Microsoft devices. Still means MS are supporting their Users, still means that if you wanted to play would need buy Microsoft products.Just because the form factor of the bunch of components is different, they are all Win10 devices.

Anyway its NO point talking to closed minded people who are too ignorant to understand this concept but you as a Sony fanboy will never get to play these anyway. If you do, the you will have to buy a Windows 10 system... Whether the Hardware is made by MS or not its still running MS's OS

@ShogunRok wasn't referring to Skyrim, actually I never mention it.

@ShogunRok I would have loved to have heard from people from Insomiac, Sony Santa Monica and Quantic Dream the way we heard from the Ubisoft devs. I honestly find game devs to be pretty cool guys; Jens Matthies of Wolfenstein 2 really stole my heart this year and made me want to play his game even more.

@shafedog247 Whoops, forgot Fallout 4 VR was even a thing!

I was a little put off watching the E3 show with no really big wow moments. In retrospect looking back now I feel much better about all the showings. Sony still has all the cards! The most exciting AAA games I am hyped about playing over the coming year.

Ubisoft Im a sucker for and they got me with that human connection stuff in the show. Their really great looking games and humor I liked (that monkey LOL) Along with toys to life mini space ships I can set on my desk!! Disney and Skylanders are out this look great!

Bethesda only one word needed "WOLFENSTEIN" I loved the old blood,

@Wesker Sony spent days speaking with the developers on their floor stage and it's posted on Youtube. I really enjoyed the Ace Combat demo and discussion with the Dev. I have a lot more to get to. 😊

@FATPC I should watch those, though I find questions like 'how will this game make use of the Pro's features' kind of boring. I guess I'm more thinking of the guy from No Man's Sky and the Media Molecule guy that gave Sony's previous conferences soul and character.

@BAMozzy I saw Phil on his yearly PR circuit, Gamespot, Giant Bomb, etc. But I don't really know about Microsoft's participation at E3 aside from the conference. Does MS do something similar to Sony's demos/interviews? My favorite part of the event are the showcases (get the most media coverage too), but I love the developer interviews Sony does too. Just wondering if MS does that too or do they rely on the media outlets - IGN, Gamespot, etc.

@Wesker that's fair...I just think it's the best of both worlds by doing a blast of great game announcements in quick succession and then deeper dives into the games with Dev commentary on the show floor. For Ace Combat the developer talked about (and showed) how rain would build up on the canopy of the plane as it went through clouds and it could turn to ice at high altitude. And the Skyrim VR demo included how the wands could be used to handle a weapon or magic in each, but movement would be teleportation...but you could use DS4 too...a lot of options! I can't wait to be sick in Skyrim!! 😒

@FATPC MS has its own version of the daily shows like Playstation - called Xbox Daily: Live - with Major Nelson, Acey Bongos etc. Its very similar to Playstations Daily show too and the same 3rd Party devs go round all the live shows and pretty much say the same thing. The only real difference is where Sony and MS focus on their own titles. If you are interested - look them up on youtube on the official Xbox channel.

I try not to watch too many of these just because most of the games I will buy, I don't want too much info on. I may watch individual ones that get put up separately on games I wasn't 100% sure about to find out more - often helps me decide one way or the other...

@BAMozzy Thanks, I figured they did, I'm just not tuned into their ecosystem as closely. I do watch Unlocked regularly for the general game info and I like their cast.

I also try to keep the information feed limited, unless I'm on the fence (Need for Speed...I'm really not a racing game fan, but it looks fun), there's nothing to spoil (I just want to fly around in an A10 and blow stuff up in Ace Combat and play golf in Hot Shots) or if there's something specific I want to learn about (traversal options and scope of Skyrim VR).

Clearly Devolver Digital won E3!

Out of the shows in the poll, Sony, but it really wouldn't be hard to have the best given the competition. Mixing in Nintendo and MS. I think Sony's show was just ahead of MS, both finish behind Nintendo.

I'd give Ubi a B+, Nintendo a C+ and MS a C I reckon.