E3: 8 Hot Video Game Trends
E3 is where all the action is when it comes to video games. Here are the biggest trends coming out of the Expo.
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The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), is in full swing in Los Angeles this week, and we're here to highlight the most compelling trends we're seeing in video gaming. Because we're betting that when you're not doing your day job, you're engaging in pitched battles in your favorite games. E3, as many of you know, is like the Cannes Film Festival of the video gaming industry. Upcoming video games for the all-important Christmas season (and the next couple of years) are highlighted, along with major developments in consoles, PC gaming, mobile gaming and other sectors. This is the chance to check in on big trends in gaming for the next couple of years, and this year represents some major shifts.
One of the things you'll see is that there are more gaming platforms than ever. The mobile gaming industry is poised to pass the console industry in terms of revenue in 2015. And there are new entrants into the field such as virtual reality.
The other big issue, of course, is the ongoing console war between Sony and Microsoft (with Nintendo in its own niche). The battle has started seeping into other parts of the entertainment industry with Sony dabbling in a streaming service similar to Netflix or cable and both Xbox and PS4 adding apps and channels to their increasing lineup of non-gaming activities. Both giants are vying to be the center of the living room.
Check out the trends and tell us in our comments section below which ones matter most to you.
Virtual reality is coming to video gaming early next year, and Sony has led the way at E3 with demos and trailers for many of its Morpheus VR headset games. Trailers for Morpheus games World War Tunes, Wayward Sky and Rigs showed an impressive array of games that were perhaps a little cartoonish (to mask slightly bigger VR graphical needs, I assume). VR gaming should be the talk of summer 2016, with entries from Sony, Oculus Rift, and HTC. What remains to be seen is whether it will be niche gaming or the start of a new console war.
This is a slightly different entry in the VR helmet race. HoloLens is more augmented reality than VR, as it displays 3-D images in a real environment. Microsoft teased Minecraft for HoloLens in its original January announcement. It made a full announcement this week and, I have to admit, it is pretty amazing. There's also a fairly impressive use of HoloLens in the Halo5 launch at E3 that allows a relatively normal real environment to be turned into what feels like a futuristic experience.
Neither PS4 nor Xbox One consoles can play games made for the previous generations of their respective hardware. This was widely considered by gaming critics to be a misstep, especially for the Xbox, which is based on Windows. Microsoft changed that at E3, announcing that many (and possibly all eventually) of the top XboX 360 titles will soon be playable on Xbox One, with or without discs. This may have been a major feature a year ago. It is potentially a deciding factor for those still entering the next-gen market. Many critics are hailing it as a major step in the console wars. I'm apt to think it won't mean much unless Xbox can also win the future title war.
It is no surprise that mobile games are surpassing consoles, because mobile games offer casual gamers fewer barriers to enter the market. However, mobile gamers are fickle, often moving from one hot title to the next. The freemium model for mobile video games is a difficult nut to crack. Some newly announced games from major developers may be attempting to change the dynamic by offering games that might bring mobile gamers into "hardcore" titles. One of the big titles to be announced this year was Fallout 4. Fallout developer, Bethesda Software, is offering a related mobile title called Fallout Shelter. Another huge title for the fall is Star Wars: Battlefront. Star Wars: Battlefront developer, EA, also announced a Star Wars mobile game called Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. Bethesda is also creating a mobile card game for its vaunted Skyrim series. Clearly, it makes sense to take bring brands like Fallout and Star Wars to mobile. But it also makes sense to use a smaller experience on mobile to lead users up to expensive and robust console games.
Nintendo seems to have woken up from the dead. As part of its plan to get into mobile gaming, it seems to have finally started innovating after a fallow period. The newest Mario game Super Mario Maker, would have built-in player-level design. Modding has often been a part of the gaming culture, with people designing content for their favorite video games. And other games have tried crowd-sourced levels before. But opening up one of the most beloved games in history to a modding culture is brave.
Activision's Call of Duty is a billion-dollar-per-year franchise. As one of the crown jewel franchises of the console world, determining which console you want to play Call of Duty on is a major part of the console-buying process. Since 2007, new expansions, maps, and other downloadable content have always come out first on Xbox. The next new pack, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, will come out first on PS4. If you aren't a Call of Duty player, this seems small, but these are the types of business ideas that add up to win the console wars. Think of it as Coke and Pepsi fighting for the exclusive rights to serve their soda at McDonald's. Following all the exclusives for both consoles is the best way predict the fortunes of both consoles. Read on for more on that front.
The list is impressive:
ReCore: A female hero and her robot dog battle through the desert.
Sea of Thieves: A pirate adventure.
Gigantic: A western heroic adventure.
Rise of the Tomb Raider: A continuation of the beloved Tomb Raider franchise.
Halo 5: The venerable franchise that, arguably, put Xbox on the map.
Gears of War 4: Another classic franchise.
Forza Motorsport 6: One of the classic driver games out there.
Combined, we've got some old and some new. There's one major advantage for Xbox going forward. Most of the PS4 exclusives will come out for Windows 10 at some point, meaning that the Microsoft ecosystem will eventually get every game.
Which of these video game trends do you think will change the industry the most? Which games are you most looking forward to trying? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
Which of these video game trends do you think will change the industry the most? Which games are you most looking forward to trying? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
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