Xbox/Microsoft E3 Press Conference Recap
By Zero OmegaIt's not secret that while Microsoft has arguably the most powerful system on the market with the Xbox One X, in the actual console war it seems like they are lagging behind. However with a new E3 starting up this is their chance to try and establish dominance for the year. They start off with a big announcement and let us know that they will be introducing 50 games, 18 exclusives, and 15 world premieres.Halo InfiniteMicrosoft comes out swinging with the official announcement that Halo Infinite is coming. However what we saw was only a demo of the engine that it will be using, Halo Infinite is still a long time off.Ori and the Will of the WispsOri and the Blind Forest gets its follow up game with Ori and the Will of the Wisps, a beautiful looking game and one of the many games that Microsoft said they will be announcing.Sekiro: Shadows Die TwiceComing early 2019 from Software and published by Activision, this new game looks like it is going to be an very fun samurai based third-person game.X-Box Game PassA lot of announcements regarding X-Box Game Pass which is Microsoft's subscription service to get on-demand access to many of their existing and first party games. It was announced that Fallout 4 will be added to Game Pass along with Halo: The Master Chief Collection, The Division, and The Elder Scrolls: Online.The Awesome Adventures of Captain SpiritLooks like a fun and cute game set in the world of Life is Strange, will be available for free later in June.Crackdown 3The continuation of the Crackdown series is coming to Xbox One! Terry Crews definitely rocks it in this trailer.Nier AutomataNews that had recently been leaked, but not terribly surprising to see that Nier Automata comes to Xbox One.Metro: ExodusWe finally get a release date for the new entry in the Metro series, February 22, 2019!Kingdom Hearts IIIWho would have ever thought we'd see Kingdom Hearts on the Xbox? The trailer looks beautiful, showcasing Elsa, Olaf, and character's from Wreck-It Ralph. As announced previously we finally have a release date: January 29, 2019.Sea of TheivesA new trailer for an update to Sea of Thieves named Ancient Evil, looks pretty slick!Battlefield VWe also get treated to a new trailer for Battlefield V, another game that is looking to be pretty good.Forza: Horizon 4Microsoft dedicates a fair bit of time to really getting into the details of Forza: Horizon 4 which boasts a massive weather and season system that will change game play dramatically based on what is going on in the in-game world. You will also be able to seamlessly drop into an open world against other players. The game is going to be set in Great Britain and will launch on October 2, 2018. Will also be available on Xbox Game Pass.Studio AcquisitionsMicrosoft certainly want to establish a huge line of exclusive first-party games as they announce acquiring various studios: The Initiative, Playground Games, Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, and Compulsion Games.We Happy FewA new trailer showed off for the disturbing forced reality game really helps build the hype back up for it after not hearing much since last year.The Division 2A brand new entry in The Division series looks really sweet so far, however the forced role-playing during the conference was definitely cringe-worthy.Rapid Fire Game AnnouncementsA very quick set of announcements for a number of games coming to Xbox, includes: Ashen, Below, Bomber Crew, Children of Morta, Conqueror's Blade, Dead Cells, Fringe Wars, Generation Zero, Golf Club 2019, Harold Halibut, Islands of Nyne, Kingdom Two Crowns, Outer Worlds, Plant Alpha, Raji, Sable, Super Meat Boy Forever, The Wind Road, Vemintide, Waking, WarGroove and a partridge in a pear tree.Shadow of the Tomb RaiderAnother new entry in the Tomb Raider franchise, looks nice, but nothing really new to add at the moment.SessionIt's a skating game that isn't Skate, take that for what you will.Black Desert OnlineThe incredibly popular MMO a few years back is also coming to Xbox One, but is it a little late?Devil May Cry 5Another new entry in a storied franchise, Devil May Cry 5 looks pretty awesome and stars Nero. Will it hold up to the hype it is trying to present? Find out Spring 2019!CupheadThe brand new Delicious Last Course introduces a new character: Ms. Chalice along with new enemies and bosses.Jump ForceMy personal hype game, a huge mash up fighting game from Bandai Namco. So far we've only see Goku, Luffy, Naruto, Freiza, and Light Yagami/Ryuuk. Set to launch in 2019.Dying Light 2Dying Light 2 seems to really emphasize that your choices will dramatically change the story. We were treated to an extended demo showcasing an example of how doing a quest for the Peace Keepers would result in more water being available for the citizens of the world, however refusing the quest would result in a black market taking over.BattletoadsA brand new Battletoads released in 2019. Now we'll no longer know if people calling GameStop asking if they own Battletoads is being done ironically or not.Just Cause 4A beautiful new installment in the Just Cause franchise looks like it is going to try not to disappoint.Gears of WarWe are teased to a new chibified Gears of War that we find out is Gears Pop, a mobile game coming to iOS and Android that features all your favorite characters as Funko Pop figures. Next is Gears Tactics, a strategy spin-off game. The real treat though is, of course, Gears of War 5 which features Kait as the main character.New Console TeasePhil Spencer makes a very brief tease about Microsoft devs and engineers working toward the next Xbox console.Cyberpunk 2077Finally, a new teaser trailer for the next big game from CD Projekt Red, Cyberpunk 2077 which is looking really, really amazing as we should expect from such a great company.Final ThoughtsMicrosoft came out strong with a huge line up of games to announce, however my concern is that a lot of these didn't feel like they were exclusive to Xbox One. Showing off "world premieres" is great for a conference, however if that isn't going to be exclusive to your console then inevitably those games are probably going to be going to other systems. There is no doubt though that Microsoft wants to solely focus on what games it is going to be bringing to their console and dispel the idea that Xbox One has no games. I feel that they needed to do a little more to really get some massive excitement about Xbox One going, but it's a step in the right direction.