Gamescom will be better presented this year too. SCEE is simply better at that aspect.
The third party section can't be avoided at E3 though. You're going to see games at Sony's conference that you'll see at other publisher conferences. It's important to have them on stage, because it's about promoting the platform. Just like you want to see new games, Sony wants to show everything that it has coming, and that includes big franchises. Titles like Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Madden, Battlefront, and others, are all important for both Sony and Micrsoft. You're going to show what you can.
The way I view this issue is a bit different. The problem isn't necessarily that you have third party games given a lot of time, it's just that in the past two years, some people were fatigued with the ones being shown. That's not to say they're the ones with the only valid viewpoint, because Destiny has a lot of fans on GAF, and it's probably the main title that takes the brunt of that criticism. It still had over a dozen OTs on here. The other issue the focus tends to be with is franchises that have a lot of exposure.
The important thing is balance. If you were shown third party games, but it wasn't just the annualised titles, and you got to see new announcements, or footage of different types of titles, this wouldn't feel like as much of a sticking point. Would people feel like that about titles like DMC, Persona, Resident Evil, and various others? I'll take this a more general route now, rather than as a response to you.
The way the E3 conference is organised is that it involves speaking to a lot of different developers, writing scripts for people, coordinating what's going to be shown, how the segments are broken down, where everything fits, how much time is given, and then the people responsible have to put everything together. I'm not trying to make excuses for them here. Microsoft and the other publishers also do presentations, so it's not a unique situation necessarily. SCEA's conferences do feel bloated, and the pacing can be off. They also want to give developers a place to kind of talk, and present their games, and how you feel about this is going to vary from individual to individual. Some people would probably prefer a more focused presentation with one presenter, who keeps things flowing (amongst bringing in a few folks at times to talk), while others might not mind the current format too much. It allows the people involved to do something too. Mind you, they're aware of this. And not just that, but also the idea of trying to get more presence from other types of games, and Japanese games. You just have to fit everything in, and that's not always easy. There's pressure on them too.
It's about balance though. SCEJ/A has their own presentation later in the year, and you also have TGS, and they need a platform to promote games that appeal to their market. Not everything can be at E3, but at the same time, E3 is still very much an important place to be. So bringing titles that you might not usually expect at E3, and trying to promote them isn't a bad idea. That's something that can be addressed, and will kind of be addressed this year a little bit.
I, personally, feel very good about this E3. Not about the presentation itself, but I'm talking about the content. Most of the first party titles initially announced are out of the way, or soon to be out of the way. This naturally puts us in a position where you start looking towards the next set of titles that will take most of the focus over the coming two years.
You're still going to get people upset because they don't like Morpheus, or they don't like more casual titles, or they don't like western titles, or for some other reason. There's always something. The key is just to provide a good balance, and give people a bit of everything. If it's presented well too, then it doesn't feel too draining either. And that's a good strategy because that's what Sony wants the PS4 to be. You're not just trying to appeal to one set of people, and everyone has different tastes.
There's a good variety this year. I'm not trolling, or trying to get your hopes up so I can see them crash and burn. Japanese gaming fans should be pleased, because there's a good presence there. It's not at the expense of western published titles, so they'll absolutely be there, and if people don't like that, then you have to understand that there are those who do like to see those titles. Not everyone is going to watch every conference. Since there's a couple of new announcements, and some nice surprises at Sony's E3, there should be enough there to make most people happy, even if there may be certain segments not everyone will be interested in.
Like I said before, this year is about as good as it gets for the most part. Most people are going to come away from E3 feeling more positive. But every year, there's always people who expect half a dozen megatons. A lot of people say it as a joke, but there's people who think of it very sincerely. In my eyes, it's not about that one big announcement, it's about having a good balance of everything. That "high" is only going to last so long, if everything else isn't where it needs to be.
And the kind of big announcements that people really want, such as huge third party exclusives, or the fabled FF7 remake, all of this stuff is not possible every year. And no one should be going in with that kind of mindset. That should be your icing on the cake. You shouldn't be thinking that's what it's going to take to be satisfied with the conference. Even if a big third party exclusive isn't announced, does that really make a difference to gamers? If just a big third party game is announced, you're still going to be able to play it. It's silly to look at these things as being the most important part of the conference, and it tends to be these things that disappoint a lot of people. They're always waiting for that one big exclamation point, and some massive surprise. But here's the thing, if we deliver something like that one year, and there's going to be a moment when it happens, then what about the next year, or the year after that? It's not going to happen all the time. Those are your rare moments, and it's part of why they're so memorable.
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