Microsoft’s E3 briefing had a lot of hype and expectations leading up to it. Many believed they would blow our minds with amazing new and exclusive games to win over Sony fans and please current Xbox fans, and also that they would reveal more of their next gen hardware and software. The end result was a mix, they showed a lot and at the same time very little.
With PlayStation‘s absence this year, the Xbox team had the opportunity to wow gamers with a good look at upcoming and future games. While they did show a lot of games, it was mostly CG cinematic trailers, but little to no gameplay, and a lot of indie games that didn’t get the attention of the core gamers. One of the most anticipated games that was promised to have a strong showing was Cyberpunk 2077, and it was exciting mainly because of Mr. John Wick himself Keanu Reeves, but also disappointing because it showed no new gameplay. It was just a nice cinematic trailer with an entertaining celebrity appearance.
The same could be said for the majority of their conference such as the reveals of Halo Infinite and Project Scarlet. Halo was revealed with trailer barely showing anything significant with supposedly in game graphics which were disappointing for a next gen debut game. Honestly Halo 5 looked better. Then we got a date holiday 2020, which was really the only new thing we got about “Project Scarlet“ also, holiday 2020, because the rest they said about it was pretty much what Sony had revealed about the ”PS5” in an online article. Most of what was shown at the briefing were fancy cinematics of game’s with no gameplay with release dates in 2020 and some later this year.
In conclusion was Microsoft’s big E3 briefing a hit or a bust? The hardcore Xbox fans might say it was a hit, but for most it seems to be a bust. Their biggest game this year Gears 5, got a confusing trailer and a short look at a multiplayer mode, and not much else and ended with little fanfare, it’s not even being talked about much now. Also the fact that their biggest highlight was a celebrity appearance and not a game or console reveal says a lot about it. It was filled with hot air and little substance, it was over inflated with stuff but deflated quickly. They missed an opportunity to get a lead in the next gen race, so it will at very best be a close race if Sony doesn’t end up getting ahead once again. Next years E3 will tell us.