By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Sony Discussion - Sony Dominates Microsoft In Game Critics Best Of E3 Nominations

Link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2013/06/26/sony-dominates-microsoft-in-game-critics-best-of-e3-nominations/

Sony Dominates Microsoft In Game Critics Best Of E3 Nominations

While every Web site has its own Best of E3 system, the game industry looks to the Game Critics Awards every year because it features the opinions of over 30 top journalists from across the country. The editors of outlets ranging from IGN and Kotaku to USA Today and Wired nominate what they believe were the best games, technology and hardware of the annual trade show. So this collective gives an aggregate view of the best of what’s coming out this Christmas and beyond for gamers.

Gamers already know Sony dominated E3 this year with everything from its press conference to PlayStation 4 functionality (including used games sales and rentals) to PS3 and PS4 games. Now the top journalists have weighed in with 10 nominations for Sony, compared to three for Microsoft and three for Nintendo.

The PlayStation 4 was nominated for Best of Show, while Xbox One was not. Sony and Microsoft’s next gen consoles did both make the Best Hardware list, along with Nvidia’s Project Shield, Oculus VR’s Oculus Rift and Razer’s Blade.

PlayStation-exclusive games like Sony Japan Studios’ PS3 game Rain (two nominations), Sucker Punch Productions PS4 game Infamous Second Son (two nominations), Quantic Dream’s PS3 game Beyond: Two Souls (one nomination), Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo 6 (one nomination), Media Molecule’s PS Vita game Tearaway (one nomination) and Guerilla Games’ Killzone Shadow Fall (one nomination) earned recognition at the show.

Microsoft did find success with its exclusive partnership with Electronic Arts and Respawn. Titanfall set a new record for the most nominations ever at E3 with 6 nominations including Best of Show (the previous record was 5 nominations). Respawn also helped EA earn 16 nominations, the most of any game maker this year. EA Sports dominated the sports category with Madden NFL 25, NHL 14 and FIFA 14 and found early success with Battlefield 4, Plants vs. Zombies 2 and the new Command & Conquer game.

According to video game analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities, these awards are used by game companies to market titles. Since the games nominated are already the top games at the show, nominations don’t impact sales, per se. But the honor is something that is highly respected within the game industry.

It’s worth noting that issues like DRM, used game sales and game rentals don’t play a role in the nomination process. In addition, the nominees were filled out after E3 and after Microsoft made its full reversal on its Xbox One functionality.

“This summer and into fall, Microsoft will have to put a stake in the ground on these policies and keep them clear, consistent and deliver them at launch,” said Jeremy Miller, video game analyst for DFC Intelligence. “More importantly, Microsoft needs to communicate the positives of whatever the final policies are. Same thing for Sony. It would be very concerning if they started jockeying back and forth on various business models, DRM strategies and other digital policies. Gamers want clarity and certainty about what they are paying for. If they feel like they are getting a raw deal or if they suspect there is a high chance they will get duped or suckered into one thing and then get delivered another, they will get justifiably angry. Microsoft will still have to overcome jittery feelings and overall negative sentiment that came out of E3 and that will take time and is not guaranteed.”

Microsoft also has the issue of price point to contend with. The Xbox One costs $100 more than PS4.

“If consoles become more niche, serving the demanding and lucrative core gaming audience, price might not be such an issue,” said Peter Warman, video game analyst at Newzoo. “Sales numbers will be lower than expected, but the core gamers might be enticed more by available IP and tech specs than price. If playing games is your favorite pastime, wouldn’t you want to own the best machine available regardless of price?”

The best IPs come directly back to the Best Games of E3, which puts Sony in the driver’s seat, for now. Microsoft still has a new Halo game, which wasn’t eligible at E3 because it wasn’t shown, coming out in 2014. Microsoft did receive nominations for Turn Ten Studios’ Xbox One game Forza Motorsport 5 (one nomination) and Team Dakota’s Project Spark (one nomination) and Disney Interactive/Harmonix’ Xbox One game Fantasia: Music Evolved (two nominations).

Exclusive games will drive next gen console sales, especially in 2014 and beyond. Pachter forecasts Sony and Microsoft will sell 3 million next gen consoles each this fall. Both Sony and Microsoft are investing in exclusive games for current gen and next gen consoles as they prepare for the transition.

The full list of nominees is below:

Best of Show
- Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
- Oculus Rift HD (Oculus VR)
- PlayStation 4 (Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Titanfall (Respawn Games/Electronic Arts)
- Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)

Best Original Game
- Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
- Fantasia: Music Evolved (Harmonix/Disney Interactive)
- Rain (Japan Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Titanfall (Respawn Games/Electronic Arts)
- Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)

Best Console Game
- Batman: Arkham Origins (WBIE Montreal/WBIE)
- Beyond: Two Souls (Quantic Dream/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
- Infamous: Second Son (Sucker Punch/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Titanfall (Respawn Games/Electronic Arts)
- Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)

Best Handheld Game
- Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (Armature Studio/WBIE)
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies (Capcom/Capcom)
- Plants vs. Zombies 2 (Popcap/EA)
- Tearaway (Media Molecule/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Two Worlds (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)

Best Hardware
- Oculus Rift (Oculus VR)
- PlayStation 4 (Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Blade (Razr)
- Shield
(Nvidia)
- Xbox One (Microsoft)

Best Action Game
- Battlefield 4 (DICE/Electronic Arts)
- Call of Duty Ghosts (Infinity Ward/Activision)
- Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
- Killzone: Shadow Fall
(Guerilla Games/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Titanfall (Respawn/Electronic Arts)

Best Action/Adventure Game
- Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)
- Batman: Arkham Origins (WBIE Montreal/WBIE)
- Bayonetta 2 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
- Infamous: Second Son (Sucker Punch/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Watch Dogs
(Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Best RPG
- Dark Souls II
(FromSoftware/Namco-Bandai)
- The Elder Scrolls Online (Zenimax Online/Bethesda)
- Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (AlphaDream/Nintendo)
- Shin Megami Tensei IV (Atlus/Atlus)
- South Park: The Stick of Truth
(Obsidian/Ubisoft)

Best Racing Game
- Forza 5
(Turn 10 Studio/Microsoft Studios)
- Gran Turismo 6 (Polyphony Digital/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Mario Kart 8 (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)
- Need for Speed: Rivals (Ghost Games/Electronic Arts)
- The Crew ( Ivory Tower/Ubisoft)

Best Sports Game
- FIFA 14
(EA Canada/EA Sports)
- NHL 14 (EA Canada/EA Sports)
- Madden NFL 25 (Tiburon/EA Sports)
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 (PES Productions/Konami)

Best Strategy Game
- Command and Conquer
(Victory Games/Electronic Arts)
- Company of Heroes 2 (Relic/Sega)
- Pikmin 3 (Nintendo EAD/Nintendo)
- Total War: Rome II (Creative Assembly/Sega)

Best Social/Casual
- Disney Infinity
(Avalanche/Disney Interactive)
- Fantasia: Music Evolved (Harmonix/Disney Interactive)
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (TT Games/WBIE)
- Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time (Popcap/EA)
- Skylanders: Swap Force (Vicarious Visions/Activision)
- Project Spark (Team Dakota/Microsoft Studios)

Best Online Multiplayer
- Battlefield 4
(DICE/Electronic Arts)
- Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
- Titanfall (Respawn/Electronic Arts)
- The Elder Scrolls Online (Zenimax Online/Bethesda)
- Watch Dogs (Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft)

Best Downloadable
- Contrast
(Compulsion Games)
- Octodad: Dadliest Catch (Young Horses Inc)
- Outlast (Red Barrels)
- Rain (Japan Studio/Sony Computer Entertainment)
- Transistor (Supergiant Games)



Around the Network

n1 blog post.



Imagine not having GamePass on your console...

God. This site has become a d**k measuring contest,



JLMC said:
God. This site has become a d**k measuring contest,


Its been this way for years



Of course Sony beat them, their first party is better. MS cant take credit for other peoples games unless they published them like Crytek and Remedy titles which is pretty much just two games. Its about to get worse at Gamescom as well when Sony reveals even more exclusives.



Around the Network
S.T.A.G.E. said:

Of course Sony beat them, their first party is better. MS cant take credit for other peoples games. Its about to get worse at Gamescom as well when Sony reveals even more exclusives.


Why not, if its an exclusive game its theirs to brag about.  Heavy rain and Beyond Two Souls are technically 3rd party games and Sony and its fans tout those games.



The two companies did pretty good. I don't know why everybody is so obsessed with proving one was better than the other. There's another thread trying to demonstrate that M$ dominated....



Vetteman94 said:
S.T.A.G.E. said:

Of course Sony beat them, their first party is better. MS cant take credit for other peoples games. Its about to get worse at Gamescom as well when Sony reveals even more exclusives.


Why not, if its an exclusive game its theirs to brag about.  Heavy rain and Beyond Two Souls are technically 3rd party games and Sony and its fans tout those games.


I edited my post to taking credit only for second party published games a little while ago. MS really shouldn't brag about third party titles.



im half tempted to start a thread about wiiu winning the best of E3. lol

 

no love for nintendo?



 

Vetteman94 said:
S.T.A.G.E. said:

Of course Sony beat them, their first party is better. MS cant take credit for other peoples games. Its about to get worse at Gamescom as well when Sony reveals even more exclusives.


Why not, if its an exclusive game its theirs to brag about.  Heavy rain and Beyond Two Souls are technically 3rd party games and Sony and its fans tout those games.



Why did you delete "unless they publish them" ??? So you could ignore a post that would invalidate your point?

Edit: sorry, apparently the post you quoted was stealth edited