5 Questions We Still Have After Watching Microsoft’s E3 2019 Presentation

Where’s All of the Gameplay and Release Dates?

Despite the fact that Microsoft’s E3 2019 presentation was full of plenty of exciting upcoming games, a lot of titles were lacking two of the most basic and important things we look for in a reveal at the event: gameplay and release dates.

On one hand, the conference unveiled awesome gameplay for titles like Psychonauts 2 and Battletoads but featured no release dates for either game. On the other, we saw new IPs like Elden Ring that didn’t have any gameplay to show off.

Then there were a handful of trailers for games that have already been announced that didn’t get introduce significant new announcements whatsoever. Neither The Outer Worlds nor Gears 5 featured any footage in either video that had groundbreaking gameplay that really merited a brand new presentation at the event.

Even the show’s biggest title, Halo Infinite, didn’t have any gameplay to show for itself. Instead, Master Cheif rounded out the show with a cutscene that, while impressive, displayed little to no new information about the game.

Will Phantasy Star Online 2 Remain Exclusive to Xbox One for Console in North America?

Landing Phantasy Star Online 2’s North American localization is a huge get for Microsoft. Since it was released in Japan around seven years ago, Western MMORPG fans have been dying to play the title but were left with only demos that teased the possibility it could come to the US.

American Microsoft fans especially have been waiting to play the second installment in the series, as the first game was an important part of the original Xbox’s roster. Alongside games like Halo, Phantasy Star Online was one of few games Xbox fanboys had to hold over PS2 users in the early console wars.

The irony is that the second installment in the series has yet to release on an Xbox Platform. The Japanese version of PSO2 released for PC in 2013 and was ported to PS4 in 2016.

It is with that in mind that the question of whether Microsoft can keep PSO2 an Xbox One exclusive in North America arises? If not, they may just lose one of their best chances they have to corner a hungry market of fans.

What is Keanu Reeves’ Role in Cyberpunk 2077?

Somehow, CD Projekt Red managed to get fans even more excited for Cyberpunk 2077 at this year’s E3 2019, and it wasn’t just by revealing the release date. Instead, it was the reveal that Baba Yaga himself, Keanu Reeves, would be in the game.

Reeves is set to play as Johnny Silverhand, a legendary rockstar you may remember from the radio segment and posters that were apart of Cyberpunk 2077’s first gameplay footage. In the latest video, the character is shown waking V, signifying he’ll play a supporting role throughout the events of the game.

With that said, the question still begs as to how much of a role he’ll play. Is he just a character that shows up every now and then? Or is he a companion throughout the entirety of Cyberpunk 2077, with unique skills and customizable traits?

Either way, I for one hope that the Boogeyman is on our side.

How Does xCloud Deal With Streaming Data Caps?

Project xCloud could be the next big thing for Microsoft. Not only does this technology allow players on mobile platforms to play previously inaccessible games, but it is also free to use.

If this is successful, it could also be the company’s equivalent to the Nintendo Switch. Using xCloud, players would have the ease and accessibility of playing their titles on mobile platforms with the same high-fidelity experience they come to expect on PC and console thanks to utilizing Microsoft’s various data centers worldwide.

The main problem that could occur with this system revolves around data caps. So far, it hasn’t really been made clear as to what would happen in countries where there are no unlimited data plans, like Canada.

It’s likely more information will be revealed after the preview that has been promised for this October.

What is Xbox Scarlett’s Design?

Rounding out the tail end of Microsoft’s E3 2019 conference, the company revealed a whole lot of new information for its brand new console, the Xbox Scarlett. In a video dedicated to describing its power, the Xbox Scarlett’s developers stated the new hardware will feature a state-of-the-art processor that has been co-engineered with AMD.

At the end of the video, they even unveiled that the console will release in the 2020 holiday season, officially beating Sony to the punch by attaching a concrete release date for their next generation.

Yet, even though they did, it really feels like Microsoft missed a big chance to capitalize on Sony’s absence by showing off the Scarlett’s design.

Despite the fact that we now have an idea of its power, as well as an actual date we can expect it, it is still a bit odd that we still have to make our own visual interpretation of what the powerful machine will look like.