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Sony had little new at E3 2017, but is that bad?
It was a year of consolidation over revelation at E3 2017 for the major platform holders – but whether you’re a Sony fanboy or a Microsoft die-hard, that’s a good thing.
For the most part, Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox E3 2017 press conferences shared a similar theme. Namely, that they were dominated by games we already knew about – whether sequels to existing franchises or entirely new propositions already previously announced. For the masters of both the PlayStation and Xbox brands, then, this is clearly a year focused on doubling down on their current offerings as opposed to expanding greatly beyond them.
Microsoft spent a while firing stats off at us regarding GPU numbers here and liquid cooling systems there for the upcoming Xbox One X and Sony detoured for a while to promote the ideas of virtual reality and 4K gaming, but even here the games associated with all of these technologies were typically ones we’ve played before or already know about. This was not an E3 of big announcements; it was one about creating more of a spectacle around the games already out there.
Sony kicked things off with the Uncharted, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, whilst Microsoft chose to lead with Forza Motorsport 7. Forza is rolled out like clockwork when Microsoft want to highlight a graphical advantage over their competition.
The likes of Shadow of the Colossus, Horizon Zero Dawn’s The Frozen Wilds DLC, Call of Duty WW2, Days Gone and God of War followed for Sony. Monster Hunter World for the PlayStation 4 hadn’t been confirmed prior to the show, but it continues the theme of promoting franchises already well-established – as does the Spider-Man demo shown to close the show. Everything looked visually stunning, of course, but the surprises weren’t there.
Microsoft focused on cross-play capabilities being added to the Minecraft franchise it now owns, gameplay for Metro Exodus, picking up where they left with Sea of Thieves last year and showed a story trailer for Ori and the Will of the Wisps, sequel to the wonderful Ori and the Blind Forest. Anthem, the new IP from BioWare, made a splash, but subsequent information released and gameplay shown fails to reveal many new ideas relating to gameplay.
God of War had a lengthy showing at E3 2017
© Sony
Whether or not this a negative turn of events depends on your view of the games industry, what it might be and what you want it to be. There’s little question regarding the financial success of the medium and the huge audiences attracted to games, not least the kind of mega-budget affairs offered up by Sony and Microsoft, so a consolidation of what has brought success is not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, it’s entirely understandable.
If you’re looking for genuine and continuous innovation, and subscribe to the idea that money poured into new kinds of games via a top down approach is the best way to promote progress, then you might be less convinced by what E3 2017 has offered.
From both Sony and Microsoft what we seem to be witnessing is the same plateauing of game design ideas that all console generations up to this point have experienced. A plethora of ambitious concepts, some better than others, tend to accompany a new console launch. Those ideas are then built upon, better understood and made more efficient as the console grows into middle age.
Forza 7’s graphical qualities are stunning
© Microsoft
At the end of the console lifecycle, once the technology has been mastered and efficiency improvements means more money can be squeezed from every dollar, we usually see another flurry of progress.
Certainly, we’ve seen some wonderful games released as consoles come into their old age. Okami, Dark Souls, The Last of Us and the original God of War titles are excellent evidence of exactly that.
The slate of games at this year’s E3, then, could be seen as the continuation of the typical cycle that ultimately leads to new and better games in the future. Essentially, the PS4 and Xbox One are coming towards the end of that stage in which creators working with the platforms are figuring out just what is possible and how they might want to put those possibilities into best action.
There is a case to be made that this console generation is different from those have come before it, however. PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X are changing the game in terms of how we perceive game consoles, with the idea of a single platform morphing into one of ‘console families’. The PS4, PS4 Pro being one family, the Xbox One, Xbox One S and Xbox One X being another.
How this will change the way creators envision and use the hardware available to them over the long-term remains to be seen. It could trigger the conception and launch of more ambitious games, or it might slow down that process as developers, studios and game engine builders opt to take a break from designing games in order to work out the technicalities of using the new hardware.
Whatever the case, new or not, there have been a lot of great looking games on Sony and Microsoft hardware over the course of E3 2017 and there’s plenty worth looking forward to. Forza 7’s innovations in so far as how weather and, specifically, standing water on the track affect how you must drive will please dedicated fans, whilst seeing Shadow of the Colossus up close and personal, its scale seemingly supported on PS4 in a way the PS2 couldn’t manage, is enough to bring a nostalgic tear to the eye.
For now we’ll need to concentrate on and enjoy the continuation of these forms of great games, familiar though they may be, with a view to enjoying what they’re going to lead to tomorrow.
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