Nintendo won in actually displaying games that are interesting and in an interesting way. Microsoft on the other hand had a lot of interesting content, some of it showcased pretty well, some of it showcased in an ok manner, others were pretty weak.
I'll absolutely give credit to Microsoft for showcasing Stalker 2 like it's a big deal, because it should be a big deal (despite the reality being that the series up to this point has been mostly kept to being moderately successful niche PC exclusives), but that trailer went on a little too long in the tooth. Atomic Heart on the other hand was cool, but didn't show a particular lot. Halo Infinite showed a somewhat promising story teaser ... that also seemed to take our perception of the campaign in such a different direction from prior trailers, it almost makes you wonder why those trailers focused so much on other elements? Why was beard guy such a big part of previous trailers if he's going to be overshadowed by Newtana? And no campaign gameplay .... eh, a bit weak on that front honestly. Though, the multiplayer looked cool enough. A good showing from Halo, but it also felt like a makeup cake for last E3 that somehow forgot the icing. Forza Horizon 5 looked cool, but like ... seeing another explanation of what Horizon is and a breakdown of the location absolutely felt unnecessary. Lol.
Nintendo didn't show as many interesting things, but what was interesting had pretty perfect trailers. Shin Megami Tensei V was surprisingly cool and also looks like the first time you can say a Shin Megami Tensei game (including the Persona series) looks great relative to what the system is capable of. They actually showed a lot and it's kind of surprising. The Warioware trailer made this game look a lot more intriguing then prior games in the series, given you are manipulating the characters rather than just using a cursor/pointer to change the environment around you. Apparently this might have been selectively a thing in the series? Here it looks like a big focus though and it absolutely makes a world of difference when looking at how visually appealing this new entry is. And of course Metroid Dread, which is now my most hyped game for the rest of the year. That looked great. I guess the exception is Zelda, where despite Breath of the Wild 2 looking cool, the trailer itself was not especially great. Especially after how long we've been waiting for an update.
They're pretty close setting my Metroid bias aside. But honestly, even if Microsoft showed a greater variety of good content, I can't help but think the presentation was still a tad bit behind. Even if the actual format was very quick and concise for an E3 non-direct presentation.
Edit: Actually should mention that overall, I'm as biased for Halo as I am Metroid. Halo simply hasn't been that good for a very long time. And while I really liked what they showed at E3, it really wasn't the comeback that would have put Microsoft's show over Nintendo's for me.
Last edited by AngryLittleAlchemist - on 16 June 2021
