thatdemoguy
So E32016 kicked off early, with a couple of the big names holding their conferences Sunday night June 12th, 2016. One of those big names is Electronic Arts, a major third party publisher. This is a big deal, because this means they actually got to show off what they had AHEAD of the major console publishers, who won't be kicking off the event until Monday June 13th. So what did EA do with the preemptive strike?
​
Honestly, not a whole lot.....
​
The entire conference can be watched above (skip to 40:30) , but most of their surprises were already leaked ahead of the show, which took virtually all of the punch out of their major announcements. It was neat that the conference was held simultaneously from LA and London via satellite, which was a smart move considering they could get a different reaction when it comes to the sports franchises, you know football vs futbol?
​
Opening the show with Titantfall 2, they were quick to reassure us that the game would NOT be exclusive to one system this time and that it would indeed include a single player campaign, which were both crosses that crippled the original title. The problem I see with this game is that even with story mode, it's not doing enough to make itself stand out from the other big time first person shooters, which have also all gone in the direction of futuristic aesthetics.
​
This then somehow segued into Madden 17, which was well....Madden. There really isnt much they could show to make the game look better, which I will give credit where its due. But now they are pushing their own Madden eSports league. Which given how well ESL and other leagues are doing for other genres of games, this could be interesting move for the franchise if the support remains.
​
Next up was the title that I honestly felt should have been the flagship of the show, especially if there was not to be a new AAA IP introduced, and that's Mass Effect: Andromeda. Unfortunately not much was shown, it was more of a developer diary than any type of reveal.
​
Switching over to London, they then awkwardly showcased the new "story mode" of FIFA 17, with the actor who's playing the main character on stage delivering a few lines, and then some forced exchanges between Peter Moore and the manager of the Manchester United club.
​
PERSONAL OPINION HERE: I see that for both of the major sports titles that bankroll EA throughout the year, they have moved away from showing us how they have actually improved the game itself, and are moving towards new avenues. There's only but so many ways they can promise us players that there's more realistic ways to handle the ball or give us new animations. I personally am not a huge fan of sports games, but I understand their importance to the gaming landscape. I know that annual releases aren't going anywhere anytime soon, but the fatigue is getting real.
​
Next they announced the EA originals program, which I am quite interested in. Given the success of indie title Unravel, EA is taking the initiative to publish indie titles and then pump the money directly back into the indie developers hands. This could be a huge boon for new, original, and innovative games in the future. The first title that was shown for the EA originals program was called Fe, which no doubt looks interesting.
​
EA then made sure to remind us that they own the STAR WARS license, by telling us that they have no less than at least 4 new titles in development by different studios to be published by EA. Of note is there is a title being done by Visceral Games, who previously worked with EA on the Dead Space series. But to make it even better, the title is being directed by Amy Hennig, who is known for the Uncharted series. Needless to say my attention is most definitely piqued. But they shot themselves in the foot by then openly announcing that there will be a new title in the STAR WARS: Battlefront series, this is a problem because of how poorly received the latest installment was from a consumer standpoint. They cannot make the same mistake with the pricing structure and content delivery that they made before or the good graces of the license wont be enough to save them.
​
The show was then closed with Battlefield 1, where they announced the new ultimate vehicles and such. But the major attraction here was that at the end of the show, they did a broadcast of an hour of multiplayer, which was the first time the game could be seen LIVE and in action. Lots of celebrities were on the red carpet talking about the game, like Richard Sherman, Terry Crews, Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco, Tyrese, Justin Beiber, Wiz Khalifa, The Game and Jamie Foxx. To skip all the celebrity endoresements and get directly to the gameplay skip to 2:01:00.
​
All in all, the show was rather lackluster. Nothing that really pulled you in, even with them having such a hotly anticipated tilte such as Mass Effect in their pocket and having the STAR WARS brand behind them.
What did you think of the EA PLAY 2016 conference? Did anything excite you? Feel free to sound off in the comments!!!!