PlayStation Squandered E3 2018
By: Jay Parks (GrimlockTheDino)
Most people will, in their lifetime, witness a catastrophe of epic proportions. Last night I witnessed a catastrophe that shook me to my core. As I stand here in the wake of this unnatural disaster I ask myself one simple question. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT, SONY?
Welcome to E3 2018, where Sony took the stage and clearly gave zero shits about being in the spotlight. Yes, they showed us The Last of Us part 2 and a few other games, but the majority of it was lost in the circus they called their presentation. From audio and stream issues to poor logistical decisions, Sony put on the worst E3 presentation I have seen this console generation (which is no small feat when you have the competition of Xbox's 2013 E3 presentation).
Ok, I will stop whining and wipe my tears from my face and talk about the games.
Last of Us part 2 - everyone was waiting for this moment, and the trailer did not disappoint. The tension that I felt as I watched Ellie fight her way through a horde of enemies was amazing. Naughty Dog is at it again, building another masterpiece and expanding a universe that is both interesting and scary as hell. But how could it even be possible that Sony's presentation was so bad, that by the end I forgot how special this trailer was... (no release window)
Ghost of Tsushima - Looks beautiful and I'm sure there are fans out there that are excited for this game; however, I am not one of those fans. A year ago I saw the first trailer and was very excited, but after last night's showing I don't think this game is for me. Sure, the graphics are impressive, but the mechanics look basic and repetitive, and the short part of the story we got left me bored and disappointed. Sucker Punch is a great studio, and I love many of their games, but this one is a hard pass for me. (no release window)
Dreams (10 second clips) - I don't even know what to say, Dreams has been talked about for years now and we still have no idea what it is. It got even worse this year, with several 10 second clips in between game trailers. These clips showed us a banana yelling, some other weird sticks singing, and a man playing piano. I thought to myself, "Oh I get it, mini clips leading up to a big Dreams game trailer reveal." I was wrong. There was no game trailer, just these three small clips squeezed in between game trailers, with no reason or explanation as to why they were even in the presentation. (no release window)
Control (2019) - is a new IP by Remedy Entertainment. This new game seems to pull concepts from a previous game by them, Quantum Break. The trailer follows a female protagonist who shoots enemies with a shape-shifting gun. Here is the official description from the press release:
After a secretive agency in New York is invaded by an otherworldly threat, players will take on the role of Jesse Faden, the new Director struggling to regain Control. This sandbox-style, gameplay-driven experience built on the proprietary Northlight engine challenges players to master a combination of supernatural abilities, modifiable loadouts and reactive environments while fighting through the deep and mysterious worlds Remedy is known and loved for.
Resident Evil 2 remaster - Looks great and I can't wait to relive this adventure. We knew this game was being worked on, but had not seen anything until now. The remaster of the game is just another example of Capcom being on a roll with their recent game releases. The best surprise is that we are getting this game relatively soon, considering we just now got to see game play. (January 25th, 2019)
Kingdom Hearts 3 - showed off a different world during Sony's presentation. We got to see the Pirates of the Caribbean world in Kingdom Hearts 3 and, wow, it looked amazing! I had the same problem with this trailer as I did with the others at the Xbox and Square Enix presentations, where are the sound effects? The trailers had voice-overs and some music, but all the sound effects were missing. It made it feel incomplete, and pulled you out of the moment when battles would break out; besides music, there was just silence. Will this game be ready by its release date? (January 29th, 2019)
Death Stranding - This trailer may not have told us a whole lot but WOW it sure was strange. Kojima Productions has teased Death Stranding for several years now, and it's getting to the point where I need to know what is going on in the game, because I'm starting to lose interest. Visually, the game was stunning. The characters and technology in the game are very interesting, but I need to know more about this game. It's time to tell us whats going on, Kojima! (no release window)
Nioh 2 - Not much to say here. The trailer was about 1 minute long and was just some monsters beating up a samurai who then turns into one of the monsters after having two fire shards smashed into his head. Nioh 2 is in development and that's about all we know. (no release window)
Spiderman - Looks amazing and we are all ready to start web slinging and fighting bad guys. The new cut-scenes were awesome, the game play showed us new combos and fun mechanics, and finally ended by leaving us on a major cliffhanger of who is behind all this? However, was this really the best choice to end your show on? I know it's a big game for Sony and Insomniac Games, but to end the presentation on a game that is 90 days from releasing just seems like a mistake. You could have led with this game and ended with Last of Us part 2 (we know it comes out on September 7th, but they didn't even bother reminding us).
And that's the show... After Spiderman, we cut to the outside booth where they show us a PSVR game made by From Software called Déraciné that tells us nothing and then we get hands-on gameplay of Spiderman.
I can't waste anymore time on this write-up, considering Sony clearly didn't care about my time when they decided to throw up all over the stage and call it a presentation. I am still processing what happened last night, but I can tell you this was a bad look for Sony and they better be ready to show their fans what the PlayStation brand is really about at PlayStation Experience later this year. For more coverage of Sony's E3 blunders listen to our recap podcast and continue the discussion in our Discord server.