5. E3 2016
From this point on, it was somewhat tough determining where each conference falls when compared to each other, and that’s a good thing. Why? Other than their 2013 E3 conference, Microsoft has been on the upturn, both in public perception and announcements overall. During their 2016 E3 press conference, Microsoft announced the Xbox One S for $299, effectively making their console $100 cheaper than their competition. This system also included a 4k blu-ray player, something the PS4 Pro is missing. Following that announcement, Microsoft teased Project Scorpio with a flashy, hype trailer. Scorpio would go on to become the Xbox One X, which still serves as the most powerful home console on the market today.
To accompany those announcements, Microsoft did what they do better than any other company that has a showcase at E3: games, games, games. This isn’t to say that Microsoft has better games–that’s up to you–but it’s to say that where other conferences have 5, 10, 15 video game announcements, Microsoft has 40. These announcements aren’t always giant–sometimes they’re a character reveal for Killer Instinct–but sometimes they are. Regardless, Microsoft’s conferences are filled with information about a multitude of games. In 2016, Gears of War 4, Sea of Thieves, Scalebound (rip), Recore, Final Fantasy XV, Dead Rising 4, Forza Horizon 3 and more took to the stage, leaving Xbox fans with no question as to what they could be playing in the months to come. It’s unlikely that each of these games and their showcase on the Microsoft stage had you excited, but just by the sheer number of games detailed, you were bound to have some announcement to revel in.
