Another year of E3 has come and gone. Games were shown, competitions were had, and the future of gaming, both solo and competitive, is looking as bright as ever. It was a game heavy year for a lot of segments of the show, but some certainly felt a little bit more lacking than others, while a select few blew the fans’ minds.
With this in mind, we here at Twin Galaxies Editorial were closely watching the whole thing. We most definitely have our share of opinions on the matter. Who wowed the most? Who got us giddy? What games landed on our radar and have us planning our disposable income for the next two years? Everyone at Twin Galaxies Editorial weighs on exactly who “won” E3!
Jesse Collins
My winner, without a doubt in my mind, is Xbox for E3 2018. This isn't fanboy-ism talking either, as I was gladly rooting for Sony and Nintendo to bring their A-Game again this year. Xbox won by sheer numbers alone, but also by keeping leaks under wraps for the most part (Thanks Wal-Mart Canada). While Bethesda had some great (even potentially better) reveals and is very much my second place option, Microsoft was able to keep their secrets and leaks under wraps, leading to many more surprises than any other presentation this week.
Winners shouldn't be determined by "Who showed the better game?" alone and I think Microsoft just flat out wins by a landslide in the amount of "edge-of-seat" moments they gave the entire time. Though, Bethesda's Andrew W.K. Concert and surprise Elder Scrolls VI reveal comes a very close second, for sure.
TJ Denzer
I had to think hard on this. I really liked the Andrew WK segment of Bethesda, but the conference games didn’t really drive me bonkers. Microsoft was neat and I’ll definitely play games like Tunic and Ori and the Blind Forest 2, but not much else there grabbed my attention. Nintendo spent 30 minutes on Smash Bros, which is… okay? And I don’t even want to talk about what EA thinks my beloved Command & Conquer series should look like in 2018. I think for me it’s a toss between a passion and a surprise. I have supported Rainbow Six Siege since Day 1 and it made me really happy to see Community Developer Justin Kruger come out be able to say just how far Rainbow Six Siege has come alongside a roadmap of 2018/2019 esports for the Rainbow Six Pro League. That was a heartwarming moment.
That said, while Sony was a bit disjointed, when they showed the Resident Evil 2 Remake, I lost my mind. Baby-faced Leon and sharp-dressed Claire are looking great and the game looks intense. I’m ready to be spooked and fight viruses with Colt Pythons again. For what made me proud and what blew my mind, I guess it’s a tie between Ubisoft and Sony for what left me with the greatest impressions.
Nicholas Barth
Microsoft won E3 for me, easily. The deliverance of a good amount of highly anticipated and desired titles and the major acquisition of talented studios shows that Microsoft was motivated to bring their A game to E3 2018. Refreshing to see Microsoft knew they had to bring some strong stuff with Sony dominating in the past. It payed off because while Microsoft came ready to play, Sony looked to maybe a tad too cocky. The aesthetic of their show was confusing, disjointed, and quite a bit disappointing by comparison.
Zac Cameron
It’s a tricky question to try and work out who “won” E3, because obviously there are a lot of different things going on that will appeal to different people. EA kicked off the show, and while it was cool to see some of their new games, it was a little lackluster overall. That really opened things up for Microsoft in my opinion with Phil Spencer walking out to say that they’re going to show off 50 (!!!) games. That feels like E3 to me. Seeing teasers for new games in franchises that I really enjoyed is what I want to see from E3, and I wasn’t disappointed. Push comes to shove, it would come down to Microsoft and Bethesda, and I just feel that pound for pound Microsoft had more cool stuff.
If the question is who had the worst conference, then to me that is easily going to be Square. Covering E3 from a different time zone is a struggle that a lot of us have to deal with (I’m in Australia), and you usually make it work, but getting up at 2 AM to watch Square show off almost nothing new except a cross-over between Final Fantasy 14 and Monster Hunter World was a big disappointment in my opinion. Poor form Squenix.
Jeff Kotuby
For me, the clear winner was Microsoft. The conference was wholly interesting, with great games and great exclusives. There was very little downtime and when there was, Microsoft made up for it with more games. I'm especially excited for Gears Tactics and the Cuphead DLC. Second would have to be Nintendo, as I'm probably buying a Switch due to the games they showed. I'm not sure anyone really lost, but if I had to pick one, it would've been Ubisoft. The games they showed weren't riveting, especially the Division 2 gameplay trailer. Not having Splinter Cell there also hurt their conference in my eyes.
Alex McCumbers
For me, there are two games that really stood out, Fallout 76 and Ghost of Tsushima. Fallout 76 is Bethesda taking a major risk by switching to a more emergent style of play, giving them the opportunity to develop more ways for players to interact in an environment that they seem to be putting a lot of energy into getting right. With me being from West Virginia, it's probably my most anticipated title this year.
Sony took a long time to show off Ghost of Tsushima, which looks to be absolutely nailing the cinematic samurai tale. Visually its stunning in both technical application and composition. I can only hope it plays as good as it looks. Either way Ghost of Tsushima will likely push the envelope of video game presentation.
Jason Fanelli
Who won E3? The gamers did, like we do every year. I have grown weary of the “who won E3” debate, because the press conferences are not the entirety of the show. Sure, they show off the big titles of the year, but there’s so much more to take in! Games like 3 Minutes to Midnight from a small studio called Scarecrow that emulates the best of LucasArts’s heyday. Or Sleep Tight, a top down wave-based shooter where kids fight off monsters invading their bedrooms at nighttime. There are examples of this everywhere on the show floor, and unfortunately the general public that didn’t attend likely won’t hear much about them.
Of course, there are some heavy hitters to celebrate as well. Resident Evil 2 Remake finally appeared, as did Cyberpunk 2077. Kingdom Hearts III has two different trailers drop, while Halo and Gears both welcomed new entries. Smash Bros, Pokemon, Spider-Man, I could go on, but I think you get my point. The lineup of games shown this week should be celebrated as one big pile of awesome if you ask me, and that’s what I’ll be doing as I digest this banquet of beauty.
Ford James
It was a strong E3 all round for the big three. Microsoft opted for game after game, Sony showed gameplay for all of their big upcoming releases, and Nintendo appeased the Smash & Mario audience to no end. The conference that really impressed me however was Bethesda. We knew there was going to be more on Fallout 76 and they delivered. There was news for almost all of the games under their publishing banner: Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Doom Eternal, Prey DLC, Rage 2... everything they showed off is right up my alley. Then they went ahead and closed the show by confirming both Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI are real? Todd Howard and Pete Hines undeniably know how to please their fans, and now the internet can stop begging for confirmation.
And that covers our opinions of the show. All in all, it was a good one, and if we say anything, it’s that there seemed to be a little something worthwhile for everyone. Did you watch E3? What stood out to you the most? Which crew and show got you hyped the most? Let us know!
