
We’ve always said that you can’t truly judge an E3 press conference until you work it; the sheer number of news articles in the aftermath is the real test of how many games were on display. And let us tell you, Microsoft just sent us into overdrive in a way that not even some Sony briefings have: there were an insane number of reveals and trailers for upcoming PlayStation 4 games.
The Redmond firm will of course argue that it provides the best place to play, but it’s hard to imagine Kingdom Hearts III and Devil May Cry 5 doing meaningful numbers on anything other than the PS4 – and the same is true of From Software’s samurai epic, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. No doubt, there were some great games on display – but did Microsoft really sell any Xbox Ones tonight?
In fact, the strength of the third-party reveals only served to illustrate just how weak Xbox’s first-party offering is; there’s no question that Forza Horizon 4 looked dazzling, while Halo Infinite intrigued, but the company seemed almost embarrassed to show its new Battletoads, and outside of its Ori sequel, only Gears 5 really springs to mind – its character design still abhorrent despite it trying to play a Naughty Dog-esque emotional card.

Many of the third-party games, like Cyberpunk 2077, looked in an entirely different league to Xbox’s own games – and unless it has marketing partnerships on every single one of them, we’re not sure what the Redmond firm really achieved. It still seems to be looking far off into the future, bizarrely announcing that a new Xbox is in production (well, duh!) and that it’s actually purchased some new studios.
Ninja Theory's acquisition will perhaps cut the deepest for PlayStation fans, but the others are largely already associated with Xbox to begin with. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Playground wasn’t already owned by Microsoft; the same goes for Undead Labs. And while The Initiative will surely deliver something great in the future, it feels like this is all planning for the next Xbox.
Which is all fine and dandy, and the kind of moves that will keep Sony on its toes. The message from Phil Spencer was clear: Xbox is here to stay. But perhaps the fact that he had to enforce that point shows how far the company’s got to go; there’s no question that PlayStation remains far out in front of the competition in virtually every department right now.

And yet despite all that, this was a good press conference. It was a very good press conference. It was a killer press conference for both the Xbox and the PS4. Sony seems determined to focus on its four top-tier exclusives tomorrow, so it feels like Microsoft got dibs on everything that was left. It made for a cool presentation, no doubt about it – one of the best PlayStation pressers we’ve seen, in fact.
What did you think of the Microsoft E3 2018 press conference? Did it convince you to purchase an Xbox One, or did it make you love your PS4 that little bit more? Add some salt in the comments section below.
What did you think of Microsoft's Xbox press conference? (171 votes)
- It was great, lots of awesome multiformat games
- I loved it, particularly the exclusives on display
- It was perfectly adequate
- I didn't really enjoy it to be honest with you
- Erm, I didn't even watch it, Sammy
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Comments 73
HOT TAKE.
again it was a great show for both xbox and ps4 combined but nothing special for xbox itself.
mostly timed exclusives and the ones that are not are just average. no system seller either.
it didn't show any reason to buy an xbox which is what microsoft needs to do.
Thought it was a really great conference. Set the bar really high for Sony and Nintendo
Great confrence, just in terms of content and flow. I had no sound and still thoroughly enjoyed it. Looks like they are heading in a good direction. Still, nothing to make me buy an Xbox but suddenly it doesn't look so gloomy for Xbox only owners.
I agree with Sammy it was great for ps4 owners but I just thinks it’s funny seeing Xbox fans acting like it was the greatest because of all the multiplats that were revealed but when sony shows tons of third party multiplats it was “hurr durr Sony has no gamez” lol
Was a really good conference, probably the best one Microsoft's done in quite a while.
And as PS4 owners, we got to see so many relevant games as the article says. Win-win.
I enjoyed the amount of games shown off. I actually felt good after the conference, as opposed to being bored like I was during EA's presser.
When it comes to Xbox exclusives, I just hope that the acquisitions lead to some good titles. Ori looked great, and I'm not against a new Battletoads, but the lineup needs more than their big 3, and hope this means it'll expand now. I keep hearing competition is good for the industry, and it would be nice if MS could get in a position to actually compete.
For pace and flow it was a very good conference. Quite surprising.
I think MS did really well. A lot of good third party and first party games. Even though I'm a Sony fan, I'm really rooting for Xbox and the Nintendo Switch.
I heard they teased their next console which if true must feel like a kick in the gut for those that bought the X.
Like I said earlier most were 3rd party games and their usual franchises (who on earth asked for 3 Gears games?).
Their studio acquisitions was needed but one is completely unproven, and Compulsion smacks of them taking one from the bargin bin.
And of course Ninja Theory turning their back on PlayStation is a bitter pill to swallow. So much for the "independent AAA" ethos eh?
It was a great conference. Sure it was lacking the first party exclusives, but it had a lot of wonderful multiplatform games.
Xbox really is dead this gen
Slightly rose-tinted but fair article and surprised you managed to write your thoughts across so quickly.
You (and of course the rest of the guys at Push Square) have done an awesome job keeping up to date with all the news so far. Really appreciate that and just wanted to say thanks.
Definitely a strong conference for both Xbox and PlayStation. I really enjoyed it. Hopefully sets the bar high for the rest of E3 to follow.
I found it exhausting; almost every game was super violent, loud, and over the top. I had a friend actually turn the feed off for the same reason. I did love the From reveal, admittedly, but the rest of the lot was largely junk.
I mean, hard to argue with this article. Mostly multiplatform games on display which was great and I felt like the exclusives department was a bit lacking. Yeah they showed Halo teaser with no gameplay and no info whatsoever, additionally, Gears 5 and Horizon 4 - which are the same old franchises Microsoft relies on time and time again. There was nothing new or innovative from the first party studios.
They do have the better tech in the 1X, that's undeniable. So multiplatform stuff should play better or look better. But that was an awful lot on non exclusives show, they're laying the groundwork for the next generation I'm sure by getting these devs on board. Now lets see what's happening on the Sony side....
I've been wanting to buy an Xbox One for a while and while the exclusives shown weren't the biggest, they do look neat enough for me to inch closer to getting one. Terry Crews Simulator (aka Crackdown 3) should be fun at least. At this point however I'll probably wait for the next Xbox (which Phil Spencer did mention at the end) especially since Microsoft is putting a big focus on backwards compatibility (which Sony really need to take notes on) so I won't really be missing out if I skip it entirely.
The third party announcements were definitely the highlight however, but I'm guessing that was because of how Sony is handling their conference with the major focus on those 4 games. Shadows Die Twice and DMC5 would certainly have been there otherwise.
It was a great conference, the best they've had in years, the best thing to come from it was of course the news of five 'new' (ahem) studios which should improve their line-up going forward.
I liked the look of Horizon 4, Ori 2, Gears 5 and Crackdown 3 and great to have more Cuphead content, a new Halo and a new Battletoads announced and whilst it's true that the majority of games were multi-platform, i tend to get more third party games on Xbox than PS4 so lots for me to look forward to personally.
That doesn't say anything about attracting new people to the X1, i'm not sure the announcements today will do much of that but overall, as an X1 owner, i am happy.
It was great for GAMERS!!! Whether others can play a lot of these Great games on other platforms or not is irrelevant - it was GREAT for gamers. It had enough of interest for those who were looking specifically at exclusives and the best news for Xbox fans was MS's obvious commitment to the Xbox now and in the future.
As for Gears playing the 'emotional' card, you have never played the 360 games - especially the 2nd as that has a LOT of emotional content - long before Naughty Dog tried it with the Last of Us or Uncharted 4... The character models are still relatively stylised as they always were so I see no issue with that.
50games, 18 of which are exclusive - OK so maybe not all AAA game of the year contenders but still some great games. I wouldn't bet against Ori winning best Indie game (like Cuphead did last year) or Forza Horizon winning best 'racing' game (like Forza 7 did last year) but I am excited to play a LOT of the games shown at MS show and happy that a LOT of other gamers will get the opportunity to play them too....
When it comes to gamessss I will say MS had a great conference showing off a lot of world premiere which there were a few that caught my attention. But to there exclusives they barely showed anything beside the same old faces and a few timed console exclusives. Beside loosing ninja theory and playground games been an awesome developers the other new companies haven’t been capable of making any eye popping exclusive games.
Outside of Ori, Crackdown, Halo, Forza, Gears (6, Funko Pop, and a turn based strategy game), and expansions for Sea of Thieves and Cuphead, it was all multiplatform games. Some great stuff coming!
Sony doesn’t need to worry didn’t they open a few more studios and what I like about this move from MS. Is that those move will make John kodera even more focus on delivering more exclusives and restructure more there studios to make new games
@lacerz exactly the same old faces but they had a great presentation on 3rd party games which now we know what to look foward
Just my opinion.
(Gears 5 still has some of the worst character designs I've ever seen.)
Also want to add that i could not stand the smug vibe i got from phil.
The whole look of "yeah i bought your studio" and his several claims that xbox is the best place to play was just a bit too much On the nose.
even Sony doesn't repeat that so many times (while in their case,ps4 is Indeed the best place to play)
Oh and the crowd did not sound exited either during most of the show.
@BAMozzy Unless you wanted to play Ninja Theory's next game on a PlayStation, in which case it's "screw those GAMERS".
I only watched about 10 minutes and it sounds like the wrong 10 minutes.
If they had their usual staple of 1st party - Halo, Gears, Forza - and all of those multiplats, and they bought 5 game making companies, that's a great show for them.
You need to look at it from a game fan going in - is MS done since Xbox 1 has been crushed by PS4? The answer seems to be a resounding NO!!! Not only are they not done this gen, though they are conceding it to PS4, they are very much planning for X2. That was why he must have mentioned it at the end. Not to kill X1 sales, those are already dead, but to tell people there will be an X2, don't start thinking about a PS5 or Switch just yet. We are still here, although in 2nd place, but we will be here in the future and we will try harder.
That was pretty much what they needed to tell their audience with this show, that they weren't getting out of the console business. Mission accomplished.
They can worry about winning over Sony and Nintendo fans with their next gen console and games, it ain't happening this gen, it's over. But the people who bought an X1X will still have plenty to play. And with Gamepass those who wait and get an X2 will have tons of games waiting for them.
So I didn't watch it, but it sounds successful.
@rjeir A pity really was hoping they would pull out of the console market and multiplatform.
Can't wait for FH4
I think this is a tad harsh against them, it was a generally good presser IMO. If you own an xbox and skipped over Ori you must play it, honestly one of the best games ever made no joke
@adf86 if Microsoft goes 3rd Party Sony gets an almost WW Monopoly. PC ain’t popular and Nintendo is too weak
You do not want that. Cus then Arrogant Sony = Standard Sony.
@Derpie1 No I prefer if there's two consoles that cater to different markets, which right now would be PS4 and Switch. Microsoft are largely doing the same things Sony has been doing for years and that's why Xbox fails to get any meaningful fanbase outside the U.S.
@bbtothe I don't think it's harsh, but still just my opinion. I agree with you that it was very good; I said so in the article.
My PS4's going to be busy AF next year.
@get2sammyb you win this skate4 debate
They closed the conference with a multiplatform game, that's really unusual. It shows how MS trust their "exclusives".
Great conference. The big news is the Gamepass. This is actually bad for developers imo. New games as part of a subscription service will stop people buying new games. The developers will then have to get into bed with a publisher running one of these subscription services, regardless of shared values.
Xbox is already in third place in terms of mindshare and will be third in sales by mid 2019.
Microsoft actually had a good conference for gamers. As an Xbox owner maybe not. Phil kept repeating 18 exclusives... 4 were dlc...and a whopping 7 had been announced previously! Add the 4 gears, gears, halo, forza and there wasnt much to get excited about exclusive wise.
I do think it was a good conference though maybe a solid B
I know some people are going to be pissed about the Ninja Theory acquisition and some bs will be said about it, but the way I see it those were all good, sensible picks ups for MS and better than seeing giant companies like EA, Sega or Capcom get picked off. From my perspective as somebody who's always liked Xbox but has been disappointed in its first party content the last couple years, this is great news. All are talented studios and now with MS' money backing them I expect even better things. My only disappointment, eventhough it likely was never going to happen, this pretty much kills any chance of a Heavenly Sword sequel. And even if a miracle did happen and the series returned, it wouldn't be from the original developers. That part sucks. Does keep Sony on its toes though, I'd say don't let Bluepoint slip away...
@Derpie1
I agree with you. Wanting Xbox to go away has never made sense to me. I've barely used my Xbox One since the start of 2017 (after I finished Gears of War 4) but I've been hoping to see MS do things to show a commitment to the brand and start getting it relevant again. I think some of what was announced at its press conference shows the company is serious, and that's a good thing. Even if in the future I was gaming on PlayStation and nothing else, I'd still want to see MS and Nintendo do extremely well because I've seen arrogant, 'we rule the world' Sony and I hate it.
I haven't watched it yet but I can't believe they've announced the best Xbox and it's in production already what a blow to X1X owners. And again it's good for Sony as they didn't show any new IPs just same old 3 franchise's again yawn. And Ninja Theory been bought out huh sorry but what they did with Rare I can see happening to them which I hope not. Shame no more games in playstation now from that dev
@Nakatomi_Uk
Sony was asleep at the wheel.
Sony show was awful last year and we’ve had a great year for PS3 since then. Don’t put too much stock in E3 anymore.
I knew there was a reason I didn't buy GT....new FH baby!
Lets get it right xbox had a great showing for the video game industry, meaning a great show for xbox one/PC and PS4. Xbox didnt show anything that would move consoles off shelves. Halo Gears and forza will not move consoles. They will see well but thats because the people who bought consoles 3 years ago expected them games. I would imagine Sony is over there thanking Microsoft for showing everyone these world premiers world first timed exclusives that will be available on all platforms so Sony wouldnt have to waste time showing. Now Sony can focus on their exclusives/timed exclusives.
I think this show is more aimed to nintendo rather than playstation, I mean if there's no ps4, I rather have xbox x than switch (if I can only have 1 console). The 3rd party support is way better.
The only exclusive game I want is gear of war 5, but I can buy it on win10 store. Ninja theory acquisition is good for them, but I like insomniac and quantum dream way more than ninja theory.
It's a good game show, but microsoft still doesn't show me why I need xbox. I hope their next gen effort is better than this gen.
Microsoft won today hands down, though I am still sad about Ninja Theory being bought out.
What I wanted to see was games I got that. The games I saw I enjoyed. There was enough there to convince me Microsoft continue to go in the right direction. Not only in games development but aquiring new studios. Sony is going to show numerous games we have already seen before. Is it going to suprise us with anything of significance? Highly doubtful.
I'm going to miss Ninja Theory Microsoft shouldn't be allowed to acquire studios after Rare 💔
The only advantage for Xbox owners is that most multiplats run a lot better on the One X. I don't see both consoles as direct competition for exclusives.
PlayStation has the best single player experiences & Xbox does multiplayer better. The perfect 2 console garage.
didn't watch it. is there a list of all the trailers somewhere, so i can just look on youtube for the 3 or 4 that would interest me?.
Good number of games but it was just sequel after sequel nothing new and unpredictable. They were very confusing with what was exclusive and what was timed exclusive. On the exclusive front it was the same games they always trot out. Sea of thieves is the only triple A new ip game i can think of in the last 3 years for xbox.
I was really impressed, to be fair. Probably the first time I've genuinely thought about buying an Xbox One. For me the biggest story was MS acquiring Ninja Theory. Absolutely love their games and the idea of not getting those on PS4 anymore is definitely a disappointment. Forza Horizon looked incredible, the Ori and the Blind forest sequel looks beautiful as well. I did get a bit frustrated at how many times they said 'exclusive' when they absolutely weren't though, but hey.
If I was an Xbox owner I'd be pretty pleased with that, they're closing the gap bit by bit and the new studio announcements were very exciting. In all honesty it's probably not going to persuade me to buy an XBO as it's just a bit late in the console lifecycle now, and there are still too many generic shooters, but it does make me think more positively about Xbox's future in general.
As a PS4 owner though, some of the multi-format games look amazing. Devil May Cry 5, Cyberpunk, Shadows Die Twice...oh yes. Gimme gimme gimme.
@SegaBlueSky
Agreed what microsoft are doing lately is definatly closing the gap. They may have lost the inital battle but I can see them maikng a strong puch towards the next generation of consoles.
all in all a good show, plenty of games shown even if most wasn't of interest to me but i like how it was focused on the games most of all
OH and Jump Force and Devil May Cry 5 were big surprises, they were the kind of games i would expect to see at Sony's event but then again with the MS event being at a more reasonable time AND the fact that they obviously want to target the western audience i guess putting them on the first of the big events makes sense
i still maintain that Kingdom Hearts 3 on XB1 is dumb though, a series like that you have to have experienced them all to understand it and i doubt a vast majority of XB1 owners have, it's not like Final Fantasy where every game is unique, this is one large intertwined story
and it was still strange that Square didn't save it for their own event
Although it went on a while I thought it was a great conference, definitely the best Microsoft one I've seen. If I didn't own a PS4 it would certainly make me think of buying an XBox, of course that will never happen.
A great display of forthcoming games.
However, to me the underlying theme re Xbox from Phil was "Wait till next year" and "coming soon", "Future developments".
Not much for the rest of this year was there barring Forza, and I doubt that game alone will sell many Xboxes.
For example the Halo reveal is a nice bit of video, all classic Halo stuff (all mocked up of course) followed by "With Halo Infinite we will join Master Chief on his greatest adventure yet to save humanity" - and that was it! No details, no dates nothing.
Makes me think it's just another Phil Spencer tidbit to keep people interested but without any backup, same with the "working on new Xbox" quip.
Again it's mainly smoke & mirrors from Microsoft. The games look nice though.
It was great not only for PS4 owners but for PC owners to, all those so called "exclusives" lol
I quite enjoyed it, but as you eluded to, there was nothing I found remotely interesting exclusive wise. If it wasn't for the fact PS4 doesn't have a UHD player I probably wouldn't even own an Xbox One I've become so disinterested in their exclusives (that and the fact I can play all those on the PC anyway)! If PS gets a Games Pass equivalent that may be the final nail in the coffin for me exclusives wise.
calm down blackbee.
like i say,the show was great for xbox AND ps4.
but for xbox exclusives it was a let down.
It was a great show I really liked it! Great for gamers! Though ninja theory was a bit sad but I have a pc and Xbox too so I’m ok with that.
Not a bad showing from Xbox, although it was full of multi-plats. I can't believe the lack of new IPs from their in house studios....Gears of War, Halo and Forza yet again, they're as bad as Ubisoft for sequels 😴😴😴
Phil Spencer was all "let me keep my job for one more year, we just bought Ninja Theory!"
For me the highlight was the Cyberpunk trailer. Im surprised you guys at Push Square havent set up a news story relating to this!
It was the best Microsoft conference in forever, but it has the same issue as most Microsoft conferences in that all of the most exciting stuff they showed off is on PS4.
@Derpie1 don’t worry. Sega dreamcast 2 will “Phil” the void.......lol 😂
@Gamer83 yes! Buy bluepoint Sony, they are making and will reveal the “demon soul remake” at E3 and any other projects they might want to tackle.... not forgetting to stand on their own two feet by announcing a brand new IP made from scratch......
on one point i managed to nab game pass for 12 months for just over £40 which is a great deal at moment. like both consoles but having the 4k player and power of the x for tv is great. (i got mine on a sale) i think they need take a hit lower the price of the x console. looking see what sony does, and see if the VR gets any love
Forza Horizon was an awesome series, but now they have completely focused on multiplayer, which is terrible in my eyes. I'm fully against turning great single-player experiences in soulless multiplayer ones. It's all very unfortunate, because the Forza games are ahead of Gran Turismo when it comes weather effects, and now even seasons.
The only pull for me with buying an Xbox was the Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon games, but they have all been aiming for multiplayer nonsense, so I don't feel inclided to buy an Xbox at all.
@tabris95 Not to mention what they did to PlatinumGames, Microsoft cancelling the Scalebound game would have bankrupted the developer had not Nier: Automata been such a hit (source: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-06-01-why-platinum-games-may-never-work-with-a-publisher-again).
@get2sammyb Burly guys with metal Uggs boots and earrings squatting behind things...what's not to love?
I actually surprised myself and tuned in to watch the conference, I loved most of the game reveals especially Cyberpunk 2077. However I'm still a little shocked at how little interest there was to actually buy an Xbox, you would think there would of been a bit more of a push. I'm all for multi platform but you also need a strong exclusive lineup, and I didn't feel that from Microsoft. Just a liitle strange.
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