6. E3 2013
Let’s just get this out of the way. E3 2013 was never going to be great, but not for lack of trying. The show took place less than a month after their not-so-great (and that’s putting it nicely) Xbox One announcement. Not only did this announcement rub many fans the wrong way by focusing on almost everything but games, it was also dragged through the ditches of the Xbox’s biggest competition, the PS4, in a simple, but extremely effective, video showcasing the power of physically sharing video games. Fans would need months to forgive Microsoft, but with E3 happening less than a month after the announcement, that wasn’t possible.
It wouldn’t matter anyway because right at the start of their conference, Microsoft seemingly shot themself in the foot once more.
“The Xbox One will launch in November for $499.” Sigh. Sony would take the ground once more following this announcement by announcing that their competitor system, the PS4, would launch for $399.
What followed this price announcement was a pretty decent attempt at salvaging what goodwill Microsoft had left, but it wouldn’t be enough. A new Halo was announced among other large announcements, but the thing most will remember from this conference was the stale taste in their mouth courtesy of an expensive price tag on a system of which the announcement was pretty disappointing.