The Button Presser

6/10/13 11:30PM |

If you're like me, you one day hope to attend E3, but I'm glad that I'll be able to check out all of the latest from the show, right from home thanks to all of the various gaming outlets that attend, especially GameTrailers and Spike TV. After watching all of the big press conferences today, here are some quick overviews on each for you to check out:

While there are still issues regarding the online functions of the Xbox One, Microsoft made good on their promise of showing off games for the new console, which was announced to be coming this November for $499. Killer Instinct will return, Halo is coming, and they showed off some pretty impressive gameplay demos of Dead Rising 3, Metal Gear Solid 5, Ryse, and Titanfall. The Xbox 360 will also be getting some new games as well, and there was even a new version of the console, which was announced and made available for purchase today.



They also announced that come November, Microsoft Points will be a thing of the past for Xbox One, which is something most other platforms have been accustomed to. Microsoft also seem to be taking a not from Sony, as they announced that starting next month, Gold Members will receive two downloadable games to keep a month, which will start with Assassin's Creed II and Halo 3. Older games sure, but you can't beat the price. Deadly Premonition fans like myself should be happy that Swery, creator of the cult-hit title, will be at it again with a new game called D4 for Xbox One. Sign-me up for that one!

Another nice nugget of information from the conference is that your subscription to Xbox Live will also carry over, and the price to play online will remain at $60 a year. That's a pretty nice positive.

If Microsoft can allow every game to be played offline, allow for trades and rentals, and make newer games available for free each month, they'll be able to help sway the hardcore gamers that may be considering a PlayStation 4.


EA had a pretty good press conference. NBA Live will look to make it's comeback later this is with Live 14, UFC will be coming next spring, Battlefield 4 showed 64 players on consoles, Star Wars: Battlefront will be a long-awaited return, and there will be a new Mirror's Edge title.



There was also a quick showing of the next Dragon Age title as well, which will apparently take some of the great elements that everyone enjoyed in Skyrim.

No matter which console you choose to purchase, you'll be able to enjoy most of the titles that EA showed off today.


While the big dogs from Ubisoft were shown in a trailer with Watch_Dogs, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Assassin's Creed IV, and Rayman Legends, the company also had a nice variety of new games to show including the racing title Crew, a new MMO title called the Division.



South Park was also shown, but it's appearance at the conference was pretty brief, but it's nice to know that the game should be available for everyone to check out later this year. Red Lynx is also gearing up to bring not one, but two new Trials titles which will allow for interactivity between the games, which is something a lot of games will apparently do for Next-gen.

One good pattern that the conferences seem to be showing is that new IP is very important, and expanding and bring back titles will make fans happy, which Ubisoft has a nice mix of.


Sony is all about games. If this wasn't apparent before, it definitely is now. Whether it's on the Vita, PS3, or the upcoming PlayStation 4, you'll be able to enjoy a wide array of games in the next few years from them.

So Kingdom Hearts 3 was announced, Versus XIII is now Final Fantasy XV, Destiny was actually shown, and the PS4 will support used games and won't require any sort of online verification. Major points to Sony for this.



Gaikai will allow for games to be streamed, when it launches in 2014, which will allow for Vita, PS3 and PS4 to enjoy games granted they have a nice connection.

Indie developers will also get love too, as they will be able to self-publish on the console, allowing creators a chance to have control on their games and earnings, which I assume Sony will get a nice piece of.

All of this, plus the system will launch at $399, so that gamers of all types will have a great reason to consider the PlayStation 4 over the $499 Xbox One.


The Next-gen console war seems to have officially started today, and throughout the week, more awesome games will be shown, detailed, and made available in video form to watch online as the discussions across the internet begins.
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