E3 2011: Microsoft Vs. Sony: Who Won Day 1?

A decade ago an unparalleled rivalry was created between two major companies. You may know them as Microsoft and Sony. Since then, these heavy-hitters duke it out at E3 every year to try and walk away with the number one spot (Nintendo hasn’t been considered real competition, but maybe that will change with Project Cafe). Over the years, the shift in dominance has changed constantly with each company playing a never-ending game of tug-of-war. With Microsoft’s and Sony’s conferences completed, the question remains: Who won E3 today?

Sony

Sony’s conference didn’t kick off with flashy Uncharted 3 gameplay, surprise announcements, or even a comedic speech from the iconic Kevin Butler. Instead, Sony took the mature approach and acknowledged the recent PSN outage that took gamers away from their PS3’s online component for nearly a month. The heart-felt and sincere speech started Sony out on a positive note since they owned up for their mistakes and answered to their loyal consumers, the “life blood of Sony.”

Following the successful sweet-talking, Sony turned their conference up to 11 and unleashed their golden boy, Uncharted 3. The demo started out with Drake sneaking around a large ship silently eliminating enemies who were blissfully unaware of the danger walking up behind them. A few snapped necks later and its time to go guns blazing. The action picks up quickly with Drake pulling a pin on an enemy’s bandolier resulting in an exploding pirate. With another explosion set off by a white sedan, water rapidly pours into the area leaving Drake with no option but to escape as fast as he can. This leads to epic, cinematic pieces that litter his struggle to escape. Unfortunately, the demo ends before the escape is completed, but it left everyone in the audience wanting more.

What came next was a plethora of 3D and move supported game announcements. Filling this list were Resistance 3 (which got a short, but satisfying demo), God of War Origins (HD remake of GoW PSP titles), Ico and Shadow of the Colossus HD remakes, inFAMOUS 2, Starhawk, and Medieval Moves: Dead Man’s Quest. Sony set out to make sure they were utilizing their 3D capabilities and Move peripherals to their fullest potential by implementing them in nearly every exclusive title as well as expanding specific compatibilities to multiplatform games such as Bioshock: Infinite and NBA 2K12 (NBA on the Move).

Sony was also sure to show Microsoft that they aren’t the only one who can obtain exclusive deals. Saints Row: The Third, Star Trek, SSX, Need For Speed Run, and Battlefield 3 are all receiving PS3-exclusive content to hopefully sway multiplatform owners to choose Sony when these games release.

Now that Sony had announced additions to their existing titles, it was time to reveal new exclusive titles. Sly Cooper Thieves in Time and Dirt 514 rounded out this section of the conference. It had been rumored that E3 would unveil Sly 4 due to the Sly Collections hints and inFAMOUS 2’s easter egg. Dirt 514 is a MMO (with Move support!) that will be the first title to share one consistent world between the PC and PS3 versions. That’s right. PS3 players and PC players will inhabit, interact, and battle each other on the same server. Now that sounds promising.

With all this build up, it was time to whip out the big guns: new hardware. Sony revealed a financial-friendly 3D TV that revolutionized how split screen is done by allowing two people to see different images on the same screen. But that wasn’t the big announcement. The NGP was officially labeled “PS Vita.” The WiFi model costing $249 and the 3G model (also available exclusively with AT&T) going for $299 this holiday season. The remainder of the conference covered PS Vita titles such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Ruin, ModNation Racers, LittleBigPlanet, and Street Fighter X Tekken (featuring Cole as a playable character).

While these announcements were exciting, it did end up leaving the conference feeling too PS Vita-heavy. With rumors floating around of a Syphon Filter 4 and God of War 4 reveal, it was disappointing to see everything come to an end right after the lengthy PS Vita portion. While rumors can easily be dismissed, I believe Sony’s biggest mistake was leaving out Twisted Metal (the small snippets in the montage don’t count) especially since they had a life-size Sweet Tooth ice cream truck sitting outside. Now that’s just a huge tease.

Microsoft

Microsoft knew how to get the audience’s attention right away. Their conference kicked off with nearly 10 minutes of fresh Modern Warfare 3 gameplay. The demo displayed aquatic gameplay with special forces moving carefully through a flooded access tunnel located in New York City. Mines were just as lethal as enemies and had to be avoided as such. Upon emerging from the water, the devastation of New York City became apparent to the viewers. After some heart-tugging images, the demo continued onto a submarine where the player was tasked with infiltrating the vessel in order to launch missiles. After completing that objective, the demonstration ended with a u-boat escape sequence.

Up next came Tomb Raider. This was a smart move on Microsoft’s part. They knew Sony would show Uncharted 3 and Tomb Raider was the perfect counter, even though it isn’t an exclusive. The gameplay rivals that cinematic style Uncharted is characterized with and added an old, iconic character from gamers’ pasts. Lara Croft looks to be providing the most promising adventure yet as she tries to overcome the numerous survival issues facing her.

Much like Sony’s Move-compatible frenzy, Microsoft went on to list upcoming titles that would have Kinect functionality. The list includes popular EA Sports franchises (ex: FIFA, Madden, etc), Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Mass Effect 3, Ryse, Forza 4, Star Wars, Fable: The Journey, and Disneyland Adventures. The games seemed to go on forever. It was obvious that Microsoft was trying to sell everyone on their latest console accessory.

Of course they didn’t forget their major IPs. Gears of War 3’s cooperative gameplay was demonstrated on stage by Cliffy B and Ice-T. The biggest addition here was the inclusion of mechs in the game for players to jump into to wreak havoc. An HD remake (wow these are getting popular) was revealed to be in the works called Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. The game does what every other remake does and updates the graphics, but this one went a bit further by adding Firefight and online multiplayer components. The “biggest surprise” came at the end of the conference when a trailer played for Halo 4, starting a whole new trilogy.

Microsoft could have had a much stronger presentation if they had focused on the hardcore a bit more. The several Kinect titles seemed a bit overwhelming and seemed to run the show. I’m sure everyone was pleased with Gears of War 3, but we’ve all known about it for some time. We want new exclusives. But, then again, I guess that’s where Halo 4 comes in. Unfortunately, with Bungie out of the picture, who knows what this new trilogy will hold for long-time fans. Only time will tell.

Verdict

Today, Sony took first place at E3. Their combination of unique content, exclusive games, and new hardware put them far above than Microsoft’s Kinect-focused presentation. Sony struck a good balance of appealing to hardcore and casual gamers alike with major FPS, action-adventure, racing, and family titles on display. Besides Halo and Gears of War, Microsoft’s conference came off as one big Kinect sales pitch, which just didn’t do it for me and many others. Kinect isn’t the end all be all and it would have definitely helped to have seen less multiplatform titles making up their line-up.

What do you think? Do you have a different opinion? Let us know in the comments below.