It's Monday, June 11, 2018. Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.  E3 has arrived. After you read our recaps for Microsoft, EA and Bethesda’s press conferences, set a reminder for today’s big events from Ubisoft (4 PM ET) and Sony (9 PM ET). (View in browser.) Don Mattrick was right?  No one would argue Microsoft didn't mess up in 2013, but looking back on five years of computational advances and widespread internet adoption, it seems like the company was on to something with an always-on Xbox One. Its original vision for the eighth console generation has come true. Now imagine the street cred Microsoft would have if it had pressed forward with its online version of the future -- and actually succeeded in selling it to the public. | | We heard you like games.  Forget rehashing the mistakes of 2013. Despite being a bit light on platform exclusives, Microsoft stacked its presentation with games, and just games. That included a look at this year’s Forza Horizon release that brings it to Britain, and a quick teaser trailer (wait, were those dinosaurs?) for Halo Infinite. PUBG will see big updates arriving later this year, the next Sea of Thieves expansions have a schedule and Cuphead is adding a new playable character. And it’s using AI to make Game Pass games get ready to play twice as fast. But the big game we know the most about is Gears of War 5, which will debut next year. Maybe by then the exclusives problem will be fixed too -- Microsoft took a page out of Sony’s Worldwide Studios playbook by purchasing four existing studios and one new one: Undead Labs (State of Decay), Playground Games (Forza Horizon), Ninja Theory (Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice) and Compulsion Games (We Happy Few), plus The Initiative. Once all that’s done, Microsoft even talked up a future game streaming service that should put “console quality” games on any device. | | ‘Clash of Clans’ should watch out.  We didn’t get Skate 4 (yet), but EA’s Play event brought fresh looks at staple games like FIFA 19, Madden 19 and the now-battle royale-enabled Battlefield V. There’s also a new Command and Conquer game built for mobile, and PC gamers can get all the newest titles on day one with an Origin Access Premier subscription. Oh, and of course Anthem made an appearance, getting everyone ready for its lootbox-free debut in Q1 2019 while Unravel made co-op play seem more adorable than ever. Go ahead and read, or take 12 minutes and watch all the highlights on your own. | | But wait, there's more... | |
