In the Battle for E3 2017, Sony Just Beat Microsoft to the Punch

After quite a bit of hype from both camps, Sony and Microsoft finally took to their respective stages at E3 2017 and made their pitches to wow fans and newcomers alike. Both took similar approaches, and while the core goal of getting everyone to like one over the other was the same, they each had side goals in mind as well.

On the one hand, you had Microsoft needing to push a brand-new piece of expensive hardware, a task that is always much easier said than done. On the other, Sony needed to make clear why everyone should stick with them and invest in their future, even though they didn’t have any shiny new boxes to show off like their competitors in 2017. With the two going head to head once again, many watched on to see if Sony would once again steal the show from beneath everyone’s feet with some secret, super huge announcement, or if Microsoft would finally grab the spotlight and hold it with a steel grip.

The best way to take a look at who came out on top is to see who succeeded more at what they needed to do. So we’ll be taking a look at Microsoft’s push with the Xbox One X (the official name of what was formerly known as Project Scorpio) and Sony’s attempt at keeping the focus on their own consoles and their upcoming library. 

Microsoft at E3 2017

Coming into E3 2017, Microsoft knew that they had a lot to get done. After slowly releasing details on Project Scorpio and dealing with recent delays and cancellations of big games (the loss of Scalebound is still felt) the company knew that it had to reignite faith and excitement in the Xbox brand. With everyone having their heads down as they toiled away at the new hardware, games, particularly exclusives, fell to the wayside. With Sony and Nintendo shipping out blockbuster exclusive after blockbuster exclusive, Microsoft has been primarily cruising along on third-party support.

The reveal of the Xbox One X was simple yet direct. It was made clear exactly what it is and what it does. If you were in the market for a powerful video game console, then this is a more than viable option thanks to its ability to play all the games you already own on a standard Xbox One (or One S), use all the same accessories, and even upgrade old experiences with better resolutions and framerates. However, outside of telling us that (which was definitely welcome information), the company struggled a bit to actually sell it, this is in large part due to how they presented games during the show.

Microsoft had an impressive 40+ games take to the stage, 22 of which had some form of exclusivity. Yet, and this is certainly an odd thing to say, it felt like too much. When trying to sell new hardware, a focus is required, a slow down that allows devs and other speakers to really dig into the games on the screen, giving everyone watching a reason to pull out their credit cards. It didn’t help that the 22 exclusives weren’t exactly clear either. There were “launch” and “console” exclusives, “timed” exclusives, and “Windows 10” exclusives. It left question marks over the bigger games like Forza 7 and Crackdown 3, since they’re also available for PC. If someone has an Xbox One and a PC, there’s really no reason to invest in an Xbox One X.

All of this created a sort of dual message that didn’t exactly mesh. It was proof that the Xbox One ecosystem has games, a lot of them, something that has been an issue for the past year or so. And that was grear, but when you look back at the focus – introducing and selling the Xbox One X – it was a missed opportunity. Honestly, this is something that should’ve been broken into more than one event, sort of like how Sony did with the PS4 Pro and PSVR. Extended explanations of what everyone can expect from the hardware, so that games can do the heavy lifting later on.

Of course, we’re not saying that Microsoft’s showing was completely unimpressive or anything like that. It was good to see that there are some big exclusives coming soon and some serious third-party support thanks to the advent of the Xbox One X. Overall, it was a good showing, it was just shy of the greatness that it needed to have.

Sony at E3 2017

Sony had a mild press conference in comparison to its showing in 2015 and 2016, but they kept to the same general setup. Once again, the show was all about the games, though they did take the time to make it clear that they are pushing the PS4 Pro and the PlayStation VR headset, both of which were released late last year. This was clearly in response to Nintendo’s new hardware and the Xbox One X, a new mid-generation console that happens to be more powerful than the Pro. Yet, they didn’t feel a need to once again hammer in the capabilities of the hardware, which was appreciated. This allowed the conference to focus on the games.

Sony didn’t bring as many as Microsoft did, which was honestly expected. Yet, while it was cool to have a seemingly endless stream of games, much like Microsoft’s showing, it needed to slow down and talk about what we were all seeing. However, while it did feel like a rushing stream, one area where Sony excelled was with major exclusives. Last year, a lot of games were announced, and this year we finally got to see some solid gameplay that gave us further glimpses into the worlds and action we’ll be exploring.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy looks to be every bit as exciting as Uncharted 4 was, if not more so. A further look into the action of God of War ahead of its 2018 release was definitely appreciated, and Detroit: Become Human is shaping up really nicely. The star of the gameplay reveals was easily Insomniac’s Spider-Man. It looks to be the Spider-Man game we’ve been waiting years for.

One section that wasn’t as exciting as others during the conference, though it did have some interesting titles, was the whole PSVR segment. There were some intriguing trailers such as The Inpatient from Supermassive games, but nobody was talking and breaking down how these would be VR experiences you absolutely need to play. It also didn’t help that several of the trailers were quite vague, with only quick glimpses of gameplay spliced with cinematics that didn’t tell us much. Even with the vagueness of it all, though, it did show that they’re serious about PSVR support, which was a worry coming in that has been calmed. Hopefully, they can actually get these games to PSVR owners in a timely fashion.

Interestingly enough, Sony’s pre-show had a lot to offer. There were a lot of games shown off, and we even got some updates on GT Sport, which has been on shaky ground for some time. There were demos shown off, dates provided, and bright trailers. Sony breaking things up between smaller and larger did provide a good progression, but it was odd to not just have an extended stage-show. And the fact that it was condensed in place of slowing down and going into the games was at times lackluster.

Still, if the purpose was simply to show reasons to keep playing on PS4, then mission accomplished. Strong first party offerings over the next year and solid third-party support (including exclusive content for Destiny 2, which was expected). 

Verdict

E3 2017 is leaving us with an incredibly close call. Both companies had solid showings, but neither were as great as they really needed to be to get their points across. If we had to choose one though, Sony just slightly edges out Microsoft for two reasons. One being exclusives – Microsoft’s exclusive wording is as odd as ever, yet Sony showed clear, bonafide exclusives with stunning gameplay. They also didn’t have a console to sell, which let the focus be entirely on the games without any overcast.

Microsoft did a great job, don’t get us wrong. In fact, this is possibly their best showing in years. But, the fact that the Xbox One X was so central to the theme, many are left uncertain of why to bother outside of some graphical upgrades. There wasn’t enough exposition as to why games like Anthem or Assassin’s Creed Origins were better on Xbox One X outside of them being prettier. They also didn’t bring their strongest first-party IP to make Xbox a must-have console.  The strongest games showed were third party and multi-platform titles which takes the edge off of them a bit, even if they are getting full 4K support.

I will say that both definitely dropped the ball on opportunities to really expand upon the biggest titles shown, which is sort of disheartening. However, it’s looking like the rest of 2017 and 2018 are certainly going to be exciting. We can’t wait to see more of what they have to show in the coming months.