Sure.

Man, this is one of the dividing Gamescoms. I spend some time on IGN forums on occasion, and some of the Sony fanbase is ranting about how 'Blarghblargh indies, blargh not enough AAA blargh Children of Tomorrow looks so indie blargh why not more Order 1886 lookit de GRAPHIX' until I basically want to strangle each and every one of them. -_- It'd be like saying 'I'm Only Going To See Michael Bay Movies, Gosh Darn It! What's The Budget on That Film? Ten Million Dollars? Pfffft I Don't CARE What It's About, Fifty Million Blockbuster Or No Deal!"

Anyway, another way I look at Sony's strategy, and I like this, is how their conference is being used, essentially, as a launch pad for a number of new properties. Sure, some time is given to the ones we're all looking forward to, like Bloodborne and Order: 1886 trailers, but it's not just sitting around rehashing titles we already saw at previous events. They brought honest-to-goodness NEW things to the conference, getting them into the public eye; they'll still have plenty of opportunities to individually promote each title via the usual social media sources, and people will keep track of what they're most interested in. Hell, Bloodborne is PLAYABLE at Gamescom, so any time spent on it beyond the trailer would have been a big waste in my book, because it'll be getting plenty of spotlight in the wider conference. It's that initial spotlight on other titles, that 'Here's some things you should consider keeping an eye on' that is so vital, and it's a fantastic use of conference time, even if the ending was a bit flat.

Overall, gives me strong hope that Sony'll continue their push towards varied and new IPs, with interesting and unusual ideas.

I guess the winner of this gamescom was down to personal preference, It wasnt as obvious a winner as it was in gamescom 2013.

Lovely response, and you're absolutely right. Sony barely spent any time on The order 1886 & lbp 3. And to be fair not alot of time on bloodbourne. Almost everything there was new, in some sense.

Alot of MS was known, such as cod, fifa, halo, AC. I dont think I learned anything new about those games.

After having time to clear my head and reflect on both showings, I feel Sony won.

If I didn't have time to process the situation I would said it was a tie, and with my own bias would give it to Microsoft. I love Halo, Forza, and I love the Dreamcast vibe Sunset Overdrive has that Microsoft provides. At first I was stuck by the Tomb Raider announcement, but now it sounds like a timed seasonal only exclusive (3 months or less) and it's also won't be released tell the end of 2015. I also love Bloodborne, the variety, and willingness to show new IP's that Sony provides.

Then it hit me. Microsoft is showing games that have year(s) in development, and Sony is able have a competitive showing using only games that will be available within the next 6 months. The thought blows my mind, and that's why I now feel that Sony won.

Yup. At this point, it's more or less cemented my decision to save the Xbox One for an end-of-generation purchase. I went into Gamescom actually looking forward to the 'Big Announcement' they had to offer, figuring it'd be some cool new game or something that would renew my interest (it's been faltering a bit in the wake of the PC portings, and resulting questions on what else will be getting ported to PC) Instead we got 'Hey, guys, remember that game that already got announced awhile back that got positive buzz? Well, guess who's playing it? ...NOT SONY GAMERS! =D "

Don't get me wrong, I understand yada yada, exclusives securing happens, blah blah, but if Microsoft's strategy with their properties is to just try and buy games that are already on their way to completion WITHOUT the financial assistance, and focus on the usual Guaranteed Profit Makers they did at the end of the 360 gen, (which led to its reputation as a dudebro console in the first place) I'm just so incredibly not interested. x.x Maybe they'll do something later on that'll change my mind, but as things stand, the direction they're going in is just not my cup of tea.

Murphy McManus showed up in a Pan's Labyrinth style Silent Hill game by the Metal Gear creator. That seals it for me.

great post. notlike always the same "won the console war" or "won this generation" bullshit
just a plain won 2014

no1 doubt that.
now lets see if sony can increase the distance to xbox one, or lose some ground this holiday and what will happen in 2015 :)

The sole possibility of SH being a exclusive will bring so much attention to the PS4, that even if it isn't a exclusive, its already a huge victory.

So yea, Kojima + Del Toro + Reedus won this.

90% are indie games.