E3 2013: A Perfect Storm of Competing Developers

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Parent Category: Expos and Conventions

Category: Previews

Published on Thursday, 24 January 2013 17:49

Written by Renzo Adler

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3 (June 11 – 13, 2013) has always been an event in the truest sense of the word. As developers descend upon the Los Angeles Convention Center (1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015) tensions run high, gambles are made, and there are dizzying highs and dreadful lows. Every E3 can feel like a death knell or the dawn of a new era for some developers and companies, but for 2013, people seem to be throwing around words like “bloodbath” to describe what is coming.

It may seem like a distant memory now, but the 90’s video game culture was rife with confrontational language while companies touted their superiors “bits,” “blast processing,” and making “Sega does what Nintendon’t” a rallying cry. Once the 2000’s hit, such language and sentiment was (for the most part) downplayed, but this year’s E3 is set against a backdrop of companies looking to go to war and shakeup previously help notions of gaming.

The current generation of systems has enjoyed more longevity than most consoles in the past(the Xbox 360 was launched in 2005 and is still going strong after eight years, while the original Xbox’s was more or less dead after four), but people are wondering how much longer they have. Nintendo is easing people into the next step with the WiiU, but sales have only been stable at best and there is not much third party support that truly excites people.

Sony’s successor to the PS3, codenamed Orbis, has been talked about in hushed whispers, and a recent article on Kotaku has suggested some form of touch screen will be on the controllers, taking a page from Nintendo’s playbook of integrating tablet technology into consoles. Sony has also been speculating on how to create software to lock out used games from being used on systems, thus crippling stores like Gamestop that rely on selling used titles. Meanwhile in a short burst, Valve’s Linux powered Steam Box, the Kickstarter funded Game Stick, and NVidia’s Project Shield have all thrown their hats into the ring, embracing almost purely digital media and Android or Linux based operating systems.

There have been rumors of a new advanced form of the 360's canera based add-on, the Kinnect, being packed with the next iteration of the Xbox, though Microsoft has been more interested in promoting Windows 8 (which was famously slammed by Valve’s Gabe Newell as a “giant sadness”) then hinting at their next move in video games.

It is true that not all of these companies will be at E3, but their presence will most certainly be felt. Sure, every E3 involves companies trying to capture the hearts, minds, and wallets of the public, but this year Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, and more will have to do that while also cautiously trying to shake things up in their own way.

To learn more, go to: http://www.e3expo.com

The Electronic Entertainment Expo
June 11 – 13, 2013

Los Angeles Convention Center
1201 S Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA 90015