Who Won E3 2013 - A Students Perspective

Who Won E3 2013 - A Student's Perspective Sony at E3. Photo via Flickr user tarciltarcil At E3 2013, June 11-13 this year, gamers everywhere got a glimpse of the near future in video game tech and software. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, the big three gaming companies, all strutted their soon-to-come line up of new games and consoles. When it comes down to it, who won? Cost/Value: Nintendo For a student, one of the biggest things we worry about is money. As students, many of us dont have time to work to put moolah in the bank and many of us are just learning how to get a grip on our finances. We look for value per dollar in a gaming console since we have relatively few to spend. Nintendo wins here. Their Wii U is $100 or more cheaper than Sonys PS4 launch price of $399. Sony almost won here, but we have yet to see the Vita really build itself a reputable library and $399 is still a steep price for a college students wallet. Convenience/Size: Sony and Nintendo tie PS4 controller, photo by Flickr user technomcr Having had to move all my worldly possessions twice a year since I began college and having had to live in small dorm rooms, I can safely say that size is a big concern for college students. Consoles require a TV, which in of itself is a huge hassle to have, but the build of the consoles themselves should also be considered. While it is true that the Wii U is smaller than the other next-gen consoles, it also comes with a tablet controller that is roughly twice the size of a normal gaming controller. Sonys PS4, while somewhat boxier, is still considerably slim for a gaming console and the controllers are smaller and therefore easier to store in small spaces such as a dorm room. Microsofts Xbox One came in last for convenience, with considerably larger dimensions and assumingly heavier build since the Kinect One is built into the Xbox One. Games: Microsoft When it comes down to it, E3 is about the games, and on that front, all of the Big Three came out swinging. New Halo? New Halo. Commence the fangirling. Photo via Flickr user BrickUltra Microsoft had a very strong conference of games, having come under fire for the hardware and entertainment focused Xbox One reveal. Appealing to its fanbase of first-person shooters and action games, Microsoft revealed trailers and gameplay for an exclusive Killer Instinct reboot, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, a gorgeous Forza Motorsport for racing game fans, Dead Rising 3 and Quantum Break (both exclusives), and Witcher 3 and more. And who could forget that astonishing Battlefield 4 and Titanfall trailer. and new Halo teaser? Microsofts conference was jam-packed every which way with games that (while not my favorite genre of games) would appeal to a lot of college gamers looking to blow some steam after class. While Microsoft came out strong, thats not to say that the other two big gaming companies didnt have amazing game line-ups as well. Nintendo went for its niche of dedicated first-party games, announcing new installments in fan-favorite franchises such as Pikmin 3, a new Super Smash Bros., Pokemon X/Y, and Mario games. While Nintendo did bring out the inner fangamer in everyone with its clips of Megaman, the WiiFit Trainer, and Animal Crossing Villager entering the Smash arena and had an overall strong conference at E3, those less interested in Nintendos first-party games walked away less satisfied. Sony sent some gamers squealing with their announcements of the long-awaited Final Fantasy XV and longer-awaited Kingdom Hearts 3, and announced Infamous: Second Son, showed Destiny gameplay, announced new games The Order and Transistor, and showcased the work of many indie developers bringing their games to PS4, supporting their dedication to the independent game developers. However, when it was announced that FFXV and Kingdom Hearts 3 would not be PS4 exclusives, those big announcements were somewhat lost. Microsoft won this round by bringing out plenty of enticing One-exclusives that will definitely help sell the console. Policy: Sony Policy-wise, Sony wiped the floor with Microsoft When it comes down to the features that the college gamer wants, Sony was the clear cut winner, and they knew they were. At the end of their E3 conference, Sony had some not-so-subtle jabs at the Xbox-One, which has endured weeks of criticism for its many restrictive policies, including a necessary online connection at least every 24 hours, always-on Kinect, necessary Xbox Live Gold subscription to access many of the advertised features of the console, and extremely restrictive policies on used games and trading with friends. On top of all this, Microsoft slapped at $499 price tag on the package, sealing the deal as a no for many gamers. Sony directly addressed these concerns in their E3 conference and a seriously hilarious if somewhat gloating Youtube video  by announcing no online connection required for the PS4, no restrictions on used games which alone earned a standing ovation from the E3 crowd, a whopping $399 price tag (and another standing ovation), and PSN+ subscriptions and games announced as carrying over to the PS4 as well. For college gamers, swapping games with friends is almost a fact of life. To have that taken away makes Xbox One extremely unappealing to a lot of students. Also, the always-on Kinect is plain creepy. With all of these policies in place, it seems clear that Sony won by a landslide. Xbox One might be needing some ice for that burn. Conclusion While in the end, it will be up to each gamer to decide which console to go with for next-gen gaming, I think that Sony won E3 just with its unrestrictive used-game policies and solid lineup, though its games were not on the exclusive level that Nintendo or Microsoft had. Sony created the largest ripples in the gaming community, in my college community, and on the interwebs. I, and probably a great majority of college gamers, will be leaning towards the PS4 for my next-gen console. Though I may consider getting a Wii U just for that Super Smash Bros. because of all the glorious memes that have surfaced. No. No, it does not.