Rate-a-Conference E3 2016: EA
For the first time ever EA decided that they didn’t need to go to E3 this year, and could instead hold their own conference simultaneously in London and Los Angeles, clearly believing that what they had to show was strong enough to stand on its own. However, if this conference is anything to go by, maybe EA should quietly return to E3 next year…
Big titles were shown, but these did little save the poor conference
Their conference was truly atrocious this year. EA showed a fundamental lack of understanding about what their fans wanted to see, as well as how to run a gaming press conference. Big titles, such as Titanfall 2 and Battlefield 1, were shown, but these did little save the poor conference. With almost zero actual gameplay being shown, instead being replaced by an over-abundance of developer diaries, nothing was able to stand out. Prior to the event, fans were excited to find out more about the Star Wars games that are coming, as well as the next game in the Mass Effect franchise. After the event, fans are still as clueless as they were before, thanks to the mind-bogglingly poor decision to hold Mass Effect info until autumn.
Rather than show the games that people wanted to see, EA opted to spend large periods of time discussing their new (and almost certainly doomed) venture into e-sports, as well as an enormous amount of time talking about FIFA (despite the fact that the audience clearly couldn’t care less about football). This included an incredibly awkward interaction with Jose Mourinho – who I am informed is some type of manager – which was about as painful to watch as the PC Gaming Show.
maybe EA should quietly return to E3 next year…
There was one bright spot amidst all the crap of the conference: Fe, a game coming out of EA’ s new ‘EA Originals’ program, which showcases smaller indie titles. The game looked beautiful in the video shown, but there was no indication as to whether the gameplay would be as breath-taking. Nevertheless, it was certainly an exciting trailer. (Plus, it showed EA’s newfound obsession with bringing shy Scandinavian men onto their stage year after year, which is bizarre.) Despite the beauty of Fe however, it couldn’t save the conference. So far, EA Play is off to a shaky start.
Game of the Conference: Battlefield 1 (because the World War 1 setting looks interesting)
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