E3 2014: top five moments from gaming's biggest show
The best of the best
E3 is off with a bang! Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft and Sony are all holding Day 1 press conferences, and we're gathering all the news you need to know below.
Plus, there was a little something on the Steam Machine front from Alienware.
Keep it locked on this page for more from video gaming's biggest show as we'll have plenty more - including news from Nintendo - to share as the week goes on.
In the meantime, here's what we wanted to see before all the press conferences. As the show wraps up, we'll also let you know our favorite parts of this year's E3.
Microsoft at E3
It was games, games and more games for Microsoft's at E3. The emphasis was of course on the company's Xbox One console, and many titles were teased for this year and next.
The company gave word of The Master Chief Collection, a package of Halo 1 - 4 that will eventually include access to the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta. The Collection comes out November 11 for $59.99 (about £35, AU$64). The Halo 5 beta is out in December, and as an extra bonus The Master Chief Collection includes Halo: Nightfall. The original series from Ridley Scott and Sergio Mimica-Gezzen will provide an origin story for a crucial Halo 5 character.
Also revealed by Microsoft was a new Tomb Raider called Rise of the Tomb Raider. The new title, out in 2015, gives a look at how Lara Croft became the bad ass we know her as today.
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As for the other major titles, Call of Duty fans can grab the new Advanced Warfare on November 4. Forza Horizon 2 will be out September 30 followed nearly a month later by Insomniac's Sunset Overdrive, due out October 28.
Thanks to Ubisoft, we learned Assassin's Creed Unity is due the same day as well.
Other games include October 21's Disney Fantasia, a new digital-only Dance Central game and a (take a deep breath) new DLC expansion for Dead Rising 3: Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus Alpha. It's not really a game per say, but Capcom hopes it serves to celebrate its "31st fanniversary."
A Fable Legends multiplayer beta is due this fall and we got a good look at Dragon Age: Inquisition.
There was plenty of time devoted to Xbox One games releasing in 2015 besides Rise of the Tomb Raider, including a new Crackdown and a dragon-slaying adventure called Scalebound.
Keep your head up for The Witcher 3: Wilde Hunt, a new title in the Phantom Dust series and Ubisoft's Division next year, too.
Microsoft showed a quick succession of new indie games, including Aztez, Knight Squad, Plague Inc Evolved, White Night, Earthlock: Festival of Magic, Cuphead, Hyper Light Drifter, Lifeless Planet, Slash Dash, Fru, Lover in a Dangerous Spacetime, Mighty No. 9, Grave, Threes, FenixRage, Woolfe, #IDARE, Hellraid and Below.
EA at E3
EA naturally focused on games for all platforms - Xbox One, PS4 and PC - during its EA presser, and some major titles got some major news during the proceedings.
Battlefield Hardline was given its due, but the most exciting thing about the new title was that it's opening up in beta on PS4 and PC. However, it's a first come, first served deal and only running for a limited time.
Also on EA's docket was a tease. Well, actually, two teases that provided few details but plenty of buzz.
A new Mass Effect is on the way, maker BioWare confirmed, however beyond the fact that it's not part of the franchise trilogy, there's little to go on.
New looks were given to Mirror's Edge 2, though more attention was paid to how DICE built the world around Faith (and Faith herself) instead of details like plot, settings and release date. We do know it will be an origin story of sorts. Oh, and she's got way better parkour moves this time around.
Ubisoft at E3
Perhaps the strangest press conference of the day, Ubisoft didn't disappoint in showing its next-gen games. It did have the Day 1's only on-stage dance-off to showcase the new mobile Just Dance Now, for better or for worse.
Things started out promising enough with a trailer for Far Cry 4 (out November 18) and Archer's Aisha Tyler before taking a turn with Just Dance 2015, Just Dance Now and a fitness game called Shape Up.
We did learn Assassin's Creed Unity will release October 18 on the Xbox One and PS4. What's more, here's a gameplay trailer to whet your whistle and know that four-layer co-op has been confirmed:
The proceedings did end on a high-note though as Ubisoft confirmed Rainbow Six Siege, - a five-on-five first-person shooter. Early gameplay footage of Siege pitted two teams of five - one set terrorists, the other SWAT - against one another in the attempt to rescue/hold a hostage in a small, presumably suburban, home.
Rainbow Six Siege will be released sometime in 2015 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Meet 'Alpha,' Alienware's Steam Machine
It was quiet on the Steam Machine front on Day 1 except for one vendor - Alienware.
The firm revealed the name of its Steam Box to be Alpha and said it would release in time for the 2014 holiday season. The plan is to have it ship with an Xbox 360 controller since the Steam OS and Steam Controller are delayed until next year. However, Alpha will be compatible with other gamepads, Alienware told TechRadar.
The console's price starts at $549 (about £327, AU$588) and like Valve had promised, its parts will be swappable.
Sony at E3
Sony. Oh, Sony. How confident you were, and rightly so. Not only did the makers of the PS4 announce new titles, it also came out with, surprise: new hardware.
First up, we expected Microsoft to unveil a white Xbox One, but Sony instead announced its own white PS4 console. The bleached console will be available bundled with the game Destiny and a 30-day subscription to PlayStation Plus.
The PS Vita TV system has been available in Japan for awhile now but Sony has rebranded the hardware as PlayStation TV and is bringing it to North American and European shores in the fall. The PlayStation TV will sell for $99 (about £58, AU$105) on its own and $139 (about £82, AU$148) as part of a bundle that includes a DualShock 3 controller, an HDMI cable, an 8GB memory card and your very own copy of the Lego Movie video game.
Major game announcements ranged from a surprising, brand new Little Big Planet 3 to the teased-before, and the highly anticipated Uncharted 4 - where we finally got ... a slightly longer trailer.
Bloodborn, or the formerly leaked Project Beast, was also teased and got the internet-verse in a happy tizzy thanks to all the love for Demon's Souls and Dark Souls developer and creator, both of which are behind the new title. Bloodborn is scheduled for a 2015 release.
Equally crowd pleasing, was another surprising announcement: a remaster and re-release of the classic adventure game Grim Fandango.
As if that wasn't enough, Sony also told us we can travel to GTA V's Los Santos on the PS4 this fall with Rockstar revealing that the Xbox One and PCs will also get a share of the popular game.
Finally, the PlayStation Now beta opens up for PS4 beginning on July 31 in the US and Canada.
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