E3 2011: How Sony Beat Microsoft

Microsoft and Sony’s press conferences are now over, we’ve been through hell here at DamnLag. Pouring over four different press conferences to gleam any sort of new information that most of the major press did not get already. Now that Sony and Microsoft are done, we now look into both press conferences and critique what went right and what went wrong. If you happen to glance at my title you already know who I consider the victor, read on to see why.

For the rest of the article be sure to hit the jump!


Microsoft – In terms of games Sony already had an immense lead in terms of exclusives. Microsoft came out with a few heavy hitters such as Halo HD and their Kinect titles. I think this is where Microsoft gained some ground while managing to lose even more ground at the same time. The Xbox 360 is in an interesting place right now. Many consumers have stopped buying the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft has seen some of those consumers drifting towards the Xbox 360 with its attractive price point. I believe this is why they are pushing so hard on the family front. Granted this will get more families to buy 360s and it’ll give parents another reason to buy a console for their kid if they don’t like violence, but I think the telling thing at this press conference is that too much focus is being put on family, Kinect games. How many hardcore titles did we get exclusively? Ryse? Minecraft? Halo 4?

These are not titles that will push a system to the hardcore, and that is what Microsoft needs to focus on. Parents will only buy so many $60 games for their little ones. A hardcore gamer will buy a console and many games to their hearts content (mainly because they have disposable income that will not be spent on family matters.) Microsoft showed some hardcore games don’t get me wrong, I just don’t think it they showed enough.

Sony - Sony went a different route when beginning their press conference. The PSN collapse was a situation that affected everyone in the business. Sony chose to go the class route and had Jack Tretton give a heart-felt apology to the masses. There was no Kevin Butler, no sarcasm, no jokes. The apology was completely professional, and that was the perfect way to give it. After the apology Sony decided to not bore us with long winded speeches, instead they dove right into the games. Sony showed off their heavy hitters such as Uncharted 3, Resistance 3, and Infamous 2.

Now the big question was Sony’s future. Sony revealed God of War: Origins Collection, Bioshock Infinite Move Support, Starhawk, Dust 514, Saints Row 3 exclusive modes, and that is only a small portion of what they had to show for just the PlayStation 3! Sony then came out with their NGP portion of the show, giving the handheld the name of “PSVita” and showing off exclusives like Modnation Racers, Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet, Street Fighter x Tekken, and many more.

Verdict

This is quite early in the game, we still have Nintendo’s Press conference early tomorrow (hence the short length of this column.) But I must say after Sony’s showing, Nintendo has a lot to prove on the game front. Microsoft is clearly heading the route of a “One Box for Everything” system, this with their heavy focus on family games is the reason they are dragging behind Sony in exclusive hardcore content. Sony on the other hand, is going balls to wall with 3D while also catering to those who bought the Move and still would like to play some hardcore titles. The 3D TV bundle is a smart move for Sony and is a move that I think will gain some traction. The numerous EXCLUSIVE titles that Sony announced for their home console alone would of won this E3 against Microsoft, the PSVita announcements only made the Microsoft beating worse.

So as it stands right now the contenders place as follows.

1. Sony
2. Microsoft
?. Nintendo