1. Nintendo
As good as Square Enix was this year at E3 2019, it’s hard to top a lineup that includes the announcement of two new Smash characters, Animal Crossing footage, and a bombshell announcement of a Breath of the Wild sequel.
Even if you indulged in E3 leaks, there wasn’t anything out there that I saw that even hinted at a sequel to Breath of the Wild with any credibility. It was out of left field, adding to excitement in the short term. The bigger picture, though, is that the consensus Game of the Year pick for 2017 for many outlets, including this one, will get be getting a follow-up and that’s awesome.
The Smash announcements, although rumored for quite some time, weren’t any less enjoyable. The two-pack of the heroes from Dragon Quest and Banjo-Kazooie is a one-two punch for both the Japanese and western audiences. Although there’s certainly some crossover, the latter felt more meaningful to fans who have been with the series since the Nintendo 64 days where Banjo-Kazooie first made its mark.
Plus the reveal with Duck Hunt trolling was just hysterical and one of the funniest moments of E3 this year.
We’re just scratching the surface, too; The Witcher 3, incredibly, is getting ported which proves that with some sacrifices, you can get just about any game onto this widely popular platform. No More Heroes 3 is a thing and Suda51 fans should be hyped. Panzer Dragoon flew in out of nowhere.
Astral Chain looked incredible once again and made us feel a little bit better about this summer/fall after the delay of Animal Crossing, The list goes on. You can see every trailer and announcement right here if you’re looking for a recap.
The bottom line is that Nintendo loaded their 40-ish minute Direct with something for everyone and had a few bombshells to drop even after leaks. That’s all you can really ask for out of an E3 press conference. Nintendo more than any other company that presented something to the world at E3, took advantage of the void Sony left behind and, in our eyes, “won” E3 2019.