The Jeff of All Games E3 2015 Conference Awards!

With the conferences all wrapped up, the main show of E3 is in full swing. Plenty of news coming out of the show, new announcements, new trailers, etc. However, let us reflect back on when publishers and major players in the industry had the spotlight and the world's attention. Let's dish out some awards for the E3 2015 press conferences. Enjoy the JOAGE3CA's...(I should probably think of a better name for next time):
(To be clear, these awards are for things shown at the actual conferences. There are plenty of games that were announced during the show, but if it wasn't on stage, I am not considering them for these awards)

Most Impressive Game:
 (The game that I had no expectations for and have really seen nothing about, but really impressed me on stage):

No Man's Sky - (shown at Sony)

Wow, this game really showed well. I knew basically nothing about this game, thought I had heard of it and saw a snippet of a trailer, but seeing it in action really impressed me. The sense of scale was incredible and the thought that you can go to all those stars, all those planets, actually go ON the planet and have it all be seamless. Wow!

Runner-Up:

Doom - (Bethesda) Fuck yeah, Doom! I giggled a lot during the gameplay.

Biggest Disappointment:
(The game that looks really promising, yet left us all pretty bummed afterwards)

Kingdom Hearts III being listed as "Now in Development" - (shown at Square Enix)

Do not get this twisted, son. The game looks fucking incredible! The problem is that they didn't even bother putting a year on it. I'm going to take a wild guess and say it's coming out in 2016, and they could have at least put that on there, but listing it as, basically, "Hey, we are....you know...working on it....so..." kinda bummed me out. You could feel the air being taken out of the room when that came up.

Runner Up:

Sony basically giving no release windows or details about pretty much everything.

"Atta Boy" and "Atta Girl":
(Given to the presenter that you could tell was quite nervous, and you want to give them a big hug and tell them they did a good job)

"Atta Boy" - Martin Sahlin - Unravel - (shown at EA)

Martin was shaking pretty bad. He was super excited to be there, though. You could tell he has put his heart and his life into this game. When he pulled out the little Yarney mascot from his jacket, the camera zoomed in to an earthquake. Martin, I will tell you, you nailed it! Your game looks beautiful, it showed really well, and you can breathe easier. Atta boy!

"Atta Girl" - Genevieve Forget - Rainbow Six: Siege - (shown at Ubisoft)

You could see the "Holy crap" moments in her eyes every now and then, but she powered through and gave a great presentation. If you listen closely you can hear her excitement when Aisha introduces her. When she was done she acted like she just stuck the landing at the Olympics. Atta girl!

Most Awkward Moment:
(The best laid plans...and so on...yeah, here's to a really awkward presentation)

Just Dance 2016 featuring Jason Derulo, crappy audio, and a white guy being a white guy. - (shown at Ubisoft)

Look, I like Jason Derulo. I think he is a hell of a performer and a fantastic dancer. My issue here was basically the entire presentation. Aisha did her best to keep it going, but other Jason, Ubisoft Jason, really didn't seem too comfortable. Then Derulo comes out to a barely working mic and does a pretty average performance. I've never seen him live to know if this was normal or just an off-night. Then the interview afterwards was awkward, Aisha sounded like she said "this song's a huge shit", and the whole thing was just bad. Also, did this really have anything to do with the game besides, hey his song is in the game?

Runner Up:
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided presentation - (shown at Square Enix) This felt like a really bad high school play. "Tell them about...the game...eh?" , "Sure, I...would love to...". Oh boy.

Biggest Surprise:
(The game I had NO idea was coming out until the conference and may have lost my shit)

Ghost Recon: Wildlands - (shown at Ubisoft)

When the trailer started, I had no idea what this was. I was guessing some new Call of Juarez or something. My jam "Friction" by Imagine Dragons came on and I was really liking what was going on. Still, I'm thinking, "The hell is this game?" then BOOM Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Yeah, did not see that coming. Looks awesome!

Runner Up:

StarFox Zero - (Nintendo) We have not seen a proper new StarFox game in quite awhile so it is great to see this series come back. It also helps that it looks badass. 

Strongest Presenter
(The games may speak volumes, but the presenter speaks words and helps push the hype meter. )

Todd Howard - (Bethesda)

As I stated during the conference, I like Todd Howard. He gets it. He loves games and he knows when it's time to be corporate and when to be casual. As he talked about Fallout 4 and Fallout Shelter, he talked to us as equals. He put a lot of humor into his presentation, gave us great bullet points for the products, and made us all feel like friends. Best line of the night, when talking about the Pip-Boy app that will launch with the game: "Usually, I find second-screen experiences...they're generally just stupid gimmicks, but as far as stupid gimmicks go, it's the best fucking one I have ever seen". Bravo!

Runner Up:

Shigeru Miyamoto - (Nintendo) It was awesome hear him talk about how StarFox came to be, and I was in awe looking at the original graph paper used to create the original Super Mario Bros. I could listen to him talk about video games for the rest of my life.

Most Adorable Game:

(Some games just make you saw AWWWWWWWWWWWW!)

Yoshi's Woolly World - (Nintendo)

Seriously, this game is so fucking adorable that my eyes rolled back in my head. Add to that, the fact that Amiibo will change the appearance of Yoshi, and you may not be able to play this game because you will be having a cuteness seizure. 

Runner Up:

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer - (Nintendo) This looks like a cute and adorable new take on the series. I am really looking forward to it.

 Best Game Shown at Each Conference:

(For purposes of talking about more games, I am removing my Overall Best Game from this category and will talk about that by itself. Also, I am avoiding repeats.)

 Bethesda:

Fallout 4 

Runner Up:

Doom

Microsoft:

HoloLens

Runner Up:

Cuphead (Yes, I know they showed Halo 5: Guardians among other things, and I think they look great. but Cuphead seems like an absolute joy.)

EA: 

Need for Speed (Don't worry, I know, just wait.)

Runner Up:

Mirror's Edge: Catalyst (Again...just wait)

Ubisoft:

For Honor

Runner Up:

Assassin's Creed: Syndicate

Sony: 

Call of Duty: Black Ops III

Runner Up:

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Nintendo: 

Super Mario Maker

Runner Up:

StarFox Zero

Square Enix: 

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Runner Up: 

Just Cause 3

Overall Best Game Shown at the E3 Press Conferences:

Star Wars Battlefront

Holy shit! This game looks unbelievable!

Who Had the Strongest Conference?

Sure, there were highs and lows of every conference. A lot of things were talked about, many new innovations are coming, VR is going to be a thing very soon, new partnerships are in place, new games are coming to all platforms, video games, y'all. So while there were things to love about every conference, here is how I feel the companies stacked up. Keep in mind, this is only one opinion, and I am basing it on (A) What was shown (B) How they showed it (C) The pace of the show, among other things. Here we go:

(1.) Microsoft

The show began with a bang with Halo 5: Guardians, they showed new IP's, new indie games (Cuphead looks amazing), introduced backwards compatibility, many big titles, a Gears of War beta happening right now, a slick new controller, and that HoloLens demo stole the show. A lot of quantity AND quality, and it was all delivered in a nice, brisk pace.

(2) Nintendo

I love the digital direct format. This allows them to really take their time and put on a proper show. Plus those Muppets are adorable. Great games shown throughout the show StarFox Zero looks great, Super Mario Maker looks amazing, two new entries in the Animal Crossing series, a lot of love for the 3DS, Fire Emblem Fates will be great, and a giant 8-Bit Mario Amiibo. This was fun. Also, I could listen to Miyamoto talk about games forever.

(3) Bethesda

For the first time out, Bethesda's show was a joy to watch. While the number of games shown was low compared to other conferences, what was show and what was talked about added quality to the show. Doom got me all jacked, new content for Elder Scrolls: Online, a Dishonored 2 announcement and, of course, Fallout 4 stole the show. I'm giving them extra brownie points since this is their first attempt at their own conference, there would need to be more game announcements next year for them to be this high up the list again.

(4) Ubisoft

There was a lot to enjoy from Ubi's show. Aisha Tyler is still a great host, you can tell she enjoys what she does and enjoys the subject matter. Plenty of great game announcements, new South Park game, The Division showed really well, and there is even a March 8th release date (don't count on it though), Assassin's Creed Syndicate had an amazing trailer, Rainbow Six: Siege looks pretty damn cool, and Ghost Recon was a big surprise. For Honor stole the show for me and turned up my hype meter. The only reason this isn't any higher is because of that Just Dance 2016 awkwardness. That really slowed the pace down on the show.

(5) EA

Plenty of great releases coming out from EA. Though, it kind of got off to a weird start with "hey, here's Mass Effect Andromeda" (crowd goes wild), "Holiday 2016"......(crowd goes uncomfortable). Then we get going, Need for Speed looks pretty cool and that FMV-to-in-game transition was pretty impressive, Unravel looks super cute and emotional, the Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 got off to an awkward start with zombie mascot, didn't feel like the crowd was too into it. The sports titles basically came off as "Yo, we made the A.I. better". Though, the new Draft Champions mode in Madden NFL 16 seems pretty neat. Also, Pelè is a living legend and it was great to see him. Of course, Star Wars Battlefront looks so fucking good. I am losing my mind over it. It may seem like I put EA a little low here, but it was awfully close between spots 3 - 5.

(6) Sony

You may think I am crazy for putting them this low, but hear me out. Sony had A LOT of game announcements, a lot of GREAT game announcements. The Last Guardian is a much talked about title, No Man's Sky looked amazing, Final Fantasy VII HD Remake got people out of their seats, Black Ops III will make a fortune, Uncharted still looks so good, even if it took two chances to do it. Star Wars Battlefront looks amazing here too, Horizon looks really good, and there's a lot to look forward to. Here are my issues: the pace was blazing fast, too fast, they jumped from game to game to game to game to game to game and nothing was able to sink in. Also, a real lack of any real details. It was nice to see all these games, but I will quote a friend and say "what do we do with this information?". Very few release dates, no real bullet points about anything. It really left me with more questions than answers. Also, real short segment on Morpheus and almost NO mention of Vita. Is Sony just giving up on it? Just felt rushed.

(7) Square Enix

 There were times when this show was downright hard to watch. Great games shown here as well. Just Cause 3 started the show off in a literal explosive way, Kingdom Hearts III  looks incredible, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided looks amazing, and so on, but MAN there was a lot of talking. This felt like the complete opposite of Sony. Square Enix's show seemed to drag on there was too much talking, especially near the end. There was a lot of "Now in Development" labels and really no release windows for a lot of what was shown. That Deus Ex presentation made ME feel awkward, and there was a LOT of talk about a NieR game that's basically just concept art, also that helmet freaked me out. Also, I found it odd that there was no gameplay of Rise of the Tomb Raider. Though, I will say, Hitman sounds very ambitious and has a lot of potential. Hopefully Square Enix will step their game up next year with more games and at least some release windows, and a quicker pace.

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That's it for me and E3 2015 press conferences. Hope you enjoyed and look forward to all the goodies coming our way. This holiday season seems to be loaded with great games and next year is already getting hype. Let the freaking out begin!

Recapping Square Enix's E3 2015 Press Conference

Last conference at this year's E3. Many games have been announced, many VR headsets, partnerships, patches, updates, etc. Here is what I am predicting from Square Enix: Just Cause 3, Kingdom Hearts 3, Deus Ex, Final Fantasy something something. I am sure we will also see some Rise of the Tomb Raider. No more talk, let's just go!

We start about 19 minutes into the video:

- Hype video!

- Man, Just Cause 3 is gonna be so good!

- Phil Rogers, CEO. Introduced like we were watching golf on TV. Also, sounds like someone was holding up a "Quiet" sign.

- Oh, that's right! They did do Life is Strange. Huh.

- Anywho, back to Just Cause 3. Show me more stuff blowing up. Make this game what Mercenaries 2 should have been,

- JC3 is due out this year. That's fantastic, but scary because Q4 is building up QUICK!

- Square Enix Collective. It's basically ID@Xbox as far as a publisher working with indie developers.

- Start the show off big! Just Cause 3. Seriously, let's go. Pick up the pace here.

- Sounds like a HUGE open world.

- December 1st! Very nice!

- Fuck yeah, dude! Opening scene and I am already jacked! It's ridiculous!

- That bridge exploded real good.

- That wing-suit is DOPE!

- I want to blow up that statue SO HARD!

- "Awesome Stunt Action" Put it on the box!

- That grappling hook is SICK!

- Multiple grapples? Sounds like that one gun from Red Faction, the name escapes me but I remember it being the best part of that game.

- "Slingshot vehicles into checkpoints everything." Fixed.

- Wow, parachuting in with a rocket launcher? Game of the year!

- Unlimited C4.....MUAHAHAHAHA!

- F1 car? Yep, I'm gonna go fast.

- Holy shit! Bails out of car, deploys parachute, screen fills with explosion. Drop the mic!

- Little mini games seem pretty cool, races are meh, aerial challenges are meh, but those other ones seem awesome.

- I thought we didn't want to set the world on fire....

- Just Cause 3 looks great. I need to play more of 2. Very happy that it's coming out this year.

- New game.

- Oh PlatinumGames...you so crazy...bring it!

- Actually a new NieR game. Very early in development. I didn't play the previous game. Art in this is very pretty.

- "More information" Fall 2015. That feels weird to include in the video. Can't you just say that when presenting it? I dunno. Maybe I am thinking too critically.

- What the fuck? I won't sleep for a week now.

- Is there a reason for the helmet or is it a "Daft Punk Complex?".

- Whew, this segment is weird and slowing things down.

- Rise of the Tomb Raider is next.

- Still looks REALLY good.

- The Tomb Raider actually raiding tombs!

- It is pretty cool how a vision of a character's looks comes to fruition.

- Gameplay, raiding a damn tomb!

- ...or not...weren't we going to see a tomb? Isn't that what he said? Maybe I heard him wrong. That seemed weird to not show any gameplay.

- I like Hitman: Go. Pretty cool puzzle game for my iPad.

- Lara Croft in a very stylized game? Presumably for tablets?

- Lara Croft: Go, coming to phones and tablets. Cool

- I hate that, "It's (insert property name here) as you've never seen it before". Overused and an easy marketing line.

- Game looks great.

- Just says "Coming Soon".

- Final Fantasy XIV expansion incoming Heavensward.

- Ok, it's a montage, now we see Life is Strange. That game always seemed interesting but just never got around to playing it.

- Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below. I am NEVER going to remember that.

- But hey, Dragon Quest games are a lot of fun. That DS one was pretty amazing. I think it was DQ9?

- Kingdom Hearts 3 time. I hear this looks gorgeous. I am inclined to believe them.

- So, no translator, eh? Thanks. What if he just dropped some HUGE news and we missed it cause the translator either fell asleep or missed that day of Japanese class. I'm sure it was an audio malfunction, but still!

- Ooh, but first, more on Final Fantasy VII HD Remake. HYPE!

- It looks REALLY good.

- "More to come this winter" - so it will be 2016. "Play it first on PS4", so it will come to PC and Xbox One later I assume.

- Oh good, the translator woke up.

- Final Fantasy VII (original) coming to PS4 this winter and iOS very soon.

- Man, this translator guy, pick it up.

- OK, now Kingdom Hearts III...

- No, this looks like a mobile game, if only the translator told me what I was going to see.

- Don't really get why the speech has to be in two places on the same screen during this video. It's not the game doing that, it's the promo video. But, it's weird.

- Game looks nice though. I'll end up downloading it.

- Kingdom Hearts: Unchained is the game. "Now in development". Hmm...

- Hard to really get excited over that.

- So I guess it's called Kingdom Hearts: Unchained Key? Why is the word "Key" not on the logo then? Or is this another "#FE" thing?

- Coming to iPhone and Android.

- Ok, shush, Kingdom Hearts III.

- Why is the name of the special guests in Japanese, this all seems weird. I mean the video is taken from Square Enix's YouTube channel...I dunno.

- I saw a couple real Key Blades at Comic-Con last weekend. It's a very cool piece of art.

- Coming to PS4 and...whoa...Xbox One gets it too. Nice!

- Im genuinely excited for this. These games are fantastic.

- Yes this already looks great.

- Those colors POP!

- Good sense of scale.

- Is he riding the train from Disneyworld? Awesome!

- This game looks real pretty.

- HAHA now the tea cups get involved, this is great. Wonderful Disney fan service.

- Now Zeus's chariot gets involved. That is what that is, right? It's all a blur to me.

- Tell me it's this year!

- "Now in Development" ugh, you are killing me!

- I think that's a cruel joke to show something so awesome and...."yeah we are working on it".

- You think the crowd liked it though. Nice "Thank you" yell from the crowd.

- KHIII showed great. Looking forward to this one.

- More news on World of Final Fantasy.

- Looks to be the same trailer from the Sony show.

- The audio seems to be out of control since I could barely hear the translator, and the video was going to blow my speakers out.

- He looks like an asian Quentin Tarantino.

- Don't really know much about World of Final Fantasy, despite all the talking. LOTS of talking in this conference. 2016 for PS4 and Vita.

- Give me info on Hitman.

- Yes, it's just called Hitman.

- December 8th release.

- Ever evolving world. Also he said "digital release"...

- Sounds like a specific target for everyone in the world for a certain amount of time. Pretty ambitious.

- Again, that movie comes out this year, doesn't it? Looked like a fun time.

- I do like getting details, this seems like a lot of talk and not a lot of gameplay throughout this conference.

- Community Created Contracts.

- Whatever that card was Agent 47 was carrying was fucking HUGE! No way that fits in his pocket.

- "Hey, who are you?" WHAM! Just asking a question.

- I can get a rubber duck! Sweet!

- Seems VERY ambitious and this idea of one target for everyone sounds really cool.

- PS4, Xbox One, PC. I'm intrigued.

- Now, Hitman: Sniper and Triad Wars.

- Final Fantasy XV. I want to drive that car!

- Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness. That's not a word, right? Also, what about Hitman: Sniper, Triad Wars, and FFXV?

- "My name is..." WHAT? Slim Shady? Did they find this translator in the crowd and ask him if he can at least count to 10 in Japanese. Come on!

- PS4 only.

- Gameplay! Hey!

- Lots of RUNNING!

- Running simulator 2016.

- Looks real pretty.

- Flying crabs!

- 2016 release window.

- I have never played a Star Ocean game. I might give this a try.

- Always aim for 60 frames per second!

- Japan first, winter 2015.

- Deus Ex! Here we go!

- Can the translator come back?

- Well that was an awkward transition between speakers. Wow...

- 2029, 2 years after Human Revolution is when Mankind Divided takes place.

- Sounds like Adam is vs the world here.

- "A Mechanical Apartheid"....hmm ok.

- Adam is part of an Interpol task force.

- And a covert double-agent.

- And Illuminati is in this...

- Hacker activists...

- What's going on???

- So, you are saying this is a Deus Ex game then.

- More awkwardness, geez!

- Trailer! Here we go!

- He's using his Batman voice!

- The trailer is in-game, and looks amazing.

- "Welcome to Hell". Can iD sue them for that?

- Wicked combat. Looks great.

- Physics!

- Very psyched for this.

- Early 2016 release window.

- PC, PS4, Xbox One.

- Waiting for applause? Don't.

- Final Fantasy app? What's in it?

- That's ok, don't tell us.

- A small "woo" for Kingdom Hearts.

- Project Setsuna is...pictures right now by new studio Tokyo RPG Factory

- The end is not really a home stretch, it's a home marathon...ugh...

- Recap of all the games that were shown as the development team files back on stage for a curtain call.

- That helmet/mask thing is still freaking me out!

- and that ends Square Enix's show.

Boy, some of that was rough. OK, there were a lot of great game announcements. There was also a LOT of talking and a LOT of "Hey, we are working on this..." Some takeaways:

- Just Cause 3 looks badass!

- Deus Ex: Mankind Divided looks amazing.

- Can not wait for Kingdom Hearts III.

- Hitman seems really interesting.

- Rise of the Tomb Raider looks really good.

- Square Enix might want to go the celebrity host route like Ubisoft.

The pace of the show at some points was downright excruciating. Plus, there are a lot of awesome games....but we have no idea when they are coming out. Decent show, but a tough one to watch after 2 straight days of non stop conferences.

Stay tuned. Tomorrow, I will be posting some conference awards, and my overall impressions of what was shown now that it's all out there.

Recapping Nintendo's E3 2015 Press Conference 6/16/15

The final day of conferences kicks off with Nintendo. What will they bring to the show? Will we get new Amiibos? More info on Yoshi's Woolly World? Surprise Zelda or Metroid news? Let's cut right to it:

BTW, the conference begins at about 34 minutes into this video. Not sure why all these videos need such long intros. Anywho:

- I love the puppet motif. They did this kind of thing last year and it was very amusing. Plus puppet Iwata is adorable!

- You know puppet Reggie is ready!

- Puppet Miyamoto! This intro is the best at the show.

- New StarFox game? SWEET!

- Nintendo already tugging at the nostalgia strings. This looks and feels like Star Fox 64 but looks great and fast!

- Cockpit view from the Wii U controller.

- Whoa! The planes became amphibious! Or they became a Metal Gear from Metal Gear Solid 4.

- Transform on the "fly"....tee hee....

- Tank mode!

- Hovercraft? Nice!

- Puzzle-solving using the controller.

- "Do a barrel roll!" Pretty much a mandatory phrase when you talk about any game in the series.

- StarFox Zero is the name of this game, due out this holiday. Pleasant surprise! I was just thinking how I wish there were a new StarFox game!

- Great start, Nintendo!

- Miyamoto is definitely on my bucket list of people to meet. One of the most brilliant minds in this industry.

- Ooh, he's talking more about the game we just saw. Hey, Sony, pay attention!

- I hope I can choose whether to use the analog stick or the gyroscope in the Wii U controller to pilot the ship. I don't know how much I want to be swinging that controller around, especially for "evasive maneuvers".

- The cockpit on the Gamepad sounds cool, I will be using that for sure.

- Different transformations, beautiful environments, hopefully multiplayer? Either way, StarFox Zero looks way cool and I'm glad it's coming out this year. (For now).

- So we are going to find out more about "Project NX" next year. At least they acknowledged it.

- Also, I can't wait to go to the Nintendo-themed theme park!

- Super Mario Bros. (much like me) turns 30 this year. I feel like we grew up together.

- Super Mario Maker! Here it comes! Prepare for awesomeness!

- Oh shit! So it can be in the style of the original Super Mario Bros, Super Mario World, New Super Mario Bros U, and Super Mario Bros. 3? Fuck yeah!

- So the plural of Amiibo is Amiibo? Ok, now I know. Hey, also, it's pronounced "Mo-yang".

- Donkey Kong, Bowser and their vehicles will be Amiibo and will appear in the new Skylanders game. Nice!

- Looks like they will have a base that can switch between "Skylanders Mode" and "Amiibo Mode" allowing them to be used in games other than Skylanders. Interesting.

- Puppet dance party! Puppet Reggie has moves!

- The Legend of Zelda: TriForce Heroes, is up next

- 3DS game.

- Dungeon crawler with an emphasis on co-op, is this like Four Swords minus one?

- Different attires? Why am I surprised at this?

- "Lucky Loungewear"...I got some Lucky Loungewear too, bow-chicka-bow-wow.

- Also due out this year. Looks pretty cool. Would love to see/hear what the solo experience is like.

- Talk to me about this game. This is a great idea.

- Big emphasis on depth and the "Totem Pole" mechanic where each Link jumps on the others' shoulders.

- Ah, "Supporting Doll Characters" that I can switch between. Thank you for clearing that up.

- Looks to have the visual style of Link Between Worlds, which is a great thing.

- Also, doesn't appear to require the NEW Nintendo 3DS.

- Another new 3DS game? Tell me more...

- Ah yes, I heard about this. A 3DS version of Hyrule Warriors.

- A re-imagining of the Wii U game, with all the DLC.

- Also, new characters and content from The Wind Waker.

- The game is called Hyrule Warriors: Legends. So now we have heard of 3 games launched this E3 with the subtitle of "Legends": This, Fable Legends, and The Elder Scrolls: Legends. #Legends.

- Now we get more info on Hyrule Warriors: Legends.

- I really enjoy Hyrule Warriors for Wii U. It's a lot of mindless, beat-em-up, Zelda fan service. Nothing wrong with that. I will be buying Legends day one.

- They are showing the screens on a NEW Nintendo 3DS XL.

- Maybe I should just buy one of those, huh?

- Pretty sure that was the Ocarina of Time.Or at least A Ocarina.

- Due out first part of next year. I like when I am told (at least, roughly) when a game is scheduled to come out. Again, Sony, take note.

- I would watch a mini series with Puppet Nintendo characters.

- Another 3DS game. I'm on board let's go!

- OH SHIT! Metroid Prime: Federation Force....huh? You had me at Metroid Prime, then I got confused.

- 4 player co-op first person shooter.

- Also includes Metroid Prime: Blast Ball. So is Prime becoming its own thing now?

- 3 vs 3 sci-fi sports battles. You have my interest. I love future sports.

- Looks like you shoot the ball towards your designated goal to get points, quick video, looks interesting.

- Coming next year. Cool.

- Is it time for Fire Emblem? I think so!

- Fire Emblem Fates to be exact, and man, that animation looks so good.

- I should go back and play the last 3DS game huh? Yeah, I should.

- 2016 release window.

- Looks like another great game in the series. Fans should go nuts for this. I will definitely pick it up.

- Time for a weird-ass Atlus game....so, an Atlus game! Score!

- In typical Atlus fashion, I have no idea what's going on, but I am way into it and the music is great.

- ...still don't know, but still interested. Lots on anime happening and people shouting Japanese.

- Anime Power Rangers?

- Is the game called FE? Did I miss something?

- There has to be more to this name, right? I can't just go into a GameStop and ask if they have FE.

- 2016 for FE. I'm guessing Wii U?

- (EDIT) Looks like this is a Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem game. Hence the "FE"

- I will look that up later, for now, Iwata, bananas (yes that trailer was bananas) and now, Xenoblade.

- Oh right, this game. This looks amazing by the way.

- This is Xenoblade Chronicles X.

- December 2015. Yep, day one purchase.

- Animal Crossing news now?

- Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer for the 3DS. I REALLY like Animal Crossing.

- So you actually work for Tom Crook, uh, I mean Tom Nook, and are, basically, a realtor?

- OMG that's adorable!

- Cards? Importing characters? Ok.

- You can even design town building. Is this like an Animal Crossing city builder?

- October 2nd, 2015. Very cool. Very cute. Sold!

- Animal Crossing Amiibo! Ah, the cuteness factor is kicking in!

- Wait, wait, wait....is this Animal Crossing meets Mario Party....hmm...

- Ok, there appear to be no mini-games like Mario Party, I feel a little better.

- Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival is this game, I want to see more of this but it looks like a better Mario Party. Holiday 2015.

- Yoshi! Is it time to talk Woolly World? AWWWWWW.

- YES! I want this game. I don't even care if it's not fun to play, I love the yarn/wool aesthetic.

- I can't even hear what you are saying because the only thing in my head is "AWWWWWWWWWW".

- Looks like a great and adorable platformer.

- Solo, or Co-Op mode.

- OMG YARN MARIO YOSHI! I may pass out from cuteness.

- Look at the Samus Yoshi! Getting dizzy....so cute....

- There's a yarn Dog!

- THIS MONTH! June 26th! *passes out*

- New game from Level 5, the Ni No Kuni studio.

- 3DS game! Nintendo going in on the handheld, which is great!

- Is this basically Pokèmon?

- Kind of, but using the combat system of something like Etrian Odyssey. Also a wheel full of these...Yo-kai?

- Using the touch screen to activate abilities, getting cooler.

- Yo-kai Watch. 2016.

- Hey, a new Paper Mario game? Actually, is this Paper Mario mixed with Mario & Luigi? Because that would be pretty rad.

- Hey, it's EXACTLY that!

- Unique puzzles involving both styles of characters.

- Playing tennis to smash an enemy? That looks cool as hell.

- Papercraft Mario! Mega-Mario! Mecha-Mario! Whatever you wanna call it, it looks rad!

- Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros. is the title. Looks awesome! Sold! Spring 2016.

- NEW MARIO TENNIS! Proper console MARIO TENNIS!

- Now it's GIANT Mario Tennis!

- Mario Tennis Ultra Smash. Due out Q4 2015. The end of this year is getting stacked!

- More info on Super Mario Maker? Come on!

- Why the cat paw?

- How much would I need to pay for a sheet of original graph paper used in the game with Miyamoto's autograph? Like, ALL the money?

- Oh my God! The mystery mushroom wasn't just a clever way to transition throughout the show, it's a feature of Super Mario Maker with Amiibo. Hell yes! Already sold but this is so fucking cool!

- 8-bit Amiibo? Gimme! Gimme!

- Holy shit that thing is huge!

- That booklet looks gorgeous! Also, gimme!

- I never thought of World 1-1 as a tutorial of sorts. See? This is why I want to meet this man. He's a damn genius!

- Oh hell yeah, the game comes out in LESS than 3 months. Can not wait! Killer!

- We get a cool outro of everyone loving Mario for 30 years. No love for Luigi? I may have to change that. Must get the cameras rolling.

That's Nintendo's Direct Show. Of course the Treehouse Live will show off more, including voice chat coming to Wii U.

I thought that was great from top to bottom. Nintendo switched to these taped events a few years back and it's working wonders. The presentation was slick, we got a lot of game announcements as well as release windows. My takeaways:

- Everything they showed looked fucking awesome!

Seriously, I have interest in just about every single thing they showed. From StarFox to Super Mario Maker. All the 3DS games looked great, Xenoblade is something I can't wait for, Fire Emblem makes me really want to go back and play more of the last game, Animal Crossing on 3DS looks adorable, Woolly World is so adorable I might actually die, and I need that giant Amiibo.

Well done Nintendo!

One more conference to go, stay tuned for Square Enix.

Recapping Sony's E3 2015 Press Conference

One more conference left for the day, and it's Sony. They have had all day to see what Microsoft announced and are ready to fire back. What will they do? This time, I am going to embed the video on the blog, maybe that will help you readers follow along.

Again, I am starting when the actual conference starts (26 minutes in):

- Montage!

- Batman, Mad Max, Destiny, Metal Gear, more Battlefront, BASEBALL!

- Street Fighter, Uncharted, let's go already!

- Hello Shawn Layden, you sound like you just ran a 5k.

- "That's an applause line". Clap you bastards!

- First game up: shut up and let the man talk...WHOA!!! OOH AHHH!!, SHH!!!

- OH! Now I know why they wouldn't shut the hell up...The Last Guardian

- He's so fluffy!

- Looks beautiful.

- 2016

- More difficult accents, lovely.

- He said Guerrilla Games by the way. The Killzone team.

- Cue the trance music. Yes!

- You can hear the low humming on the mic right? Bad mic day all around I think.

- New franchise? So not a new Killzone game?

- Oooh, is this life after electricity?

- Wow! Look at those environments!

- Robots!

- Stealth stab!

- Combat seems fun as hell and very engaging.

- The game is Horizon: Zero Dawn, and looks superbly awesome!

- Also, great ambient music.

- No release date, just move along, nothing to see here.

- This game seems weird, I'm interested...

- Hitman, bitches!

- Asad Qizilbash. Perhaps the name of my new character in World of Warcraft.

- So the game is just called Hitman? Ok.

- Hey, btw, that new movie comes out this year, doesn't it?

- No info really about it, just that it's happening.

- Street Fighter V time!

- New characters announced! Birdie & Cammy,

- July 23rd Beta, exclusive to PS4. HYPE!

- More games...can we talk about the ones you've announced? No? Ok...

- No Man's Sky gameplay!

- Space dogfighting! Awesome.

- "I've only got 3 minutes", geez. I feel rushed here.

- Talk about scale...WOW!

- The game looks incredible. Sold!

- You can go on the planet? Extra SOLD!

- That was seamless...wow!

- That showed extremely well.

- Really, this pace is kind of extreme, game, game, game, game, game, game...chill.

- That was awkward... "Thank you"...for what? Who are you? Oh, Media Molecule, there we go!

- Dreams is next from the LittleBigPlanet studio.

- A drawing game eh? Well, I'm screwed.

- Kidding aside, the visual style is very striking and looks like nothing I've ever seen before.

- You can edit other people's creations.

- AWWW Baby polar bear! It's also so fluffy. I might die.

- I guess I don't know what this game is... looks interesting, whatever it is.

- No release date...I'm sensing a theme here.

- Firewatch! I'm going to reference Jeff Gerstmann when he talked about this game at PAX..."What the fuck is Firewatch?" Let's see.

- ...Still don't know.

- Adam Boyes, going to tell us something about Firewatch? Nope, moving right along. You GUYS! Seriously!

- Let's talk Destiny.

- New expansion!

- The Taken King, 9/15/15.

- What's in the expansion? I don't know? New locations, enemies, raids...the usual?

- Adam, what's in this expansion?

- New things....moving on...

- DAMMIT! This pace is grueling, I want details about things!

- Assassin's Creed Syndicate being talked about.

- Yep, the game looks brutal. I can't wait!

- Exclusive missions.

- MOVING ON!!

- Final Fantasy game incoming.

- World of Final Fantasy, featuring cute mini-versions of characters from games past, coming to PS4 and Vita in 2016.

- He must be talking about Final Fantasy VII now, huh?

- The crowd goes wild! Looks like a FFVII HD remake. Hell yeah!

- 4 new games from Devolver Digital...sweet!

- Ronin, Eitr, Mother Russia Bleeds, and Crossing Souls all look freaking cool!

- I'm sure Adam will tell us about the games and any sort of release window...NOPE! (Side note, I like Adam Boyes).

- Shenmue 3!

- Great to see that game get attention, hopefully that game gets funded, and I see no reason why it won't. Hell, I will back it.

- Batman: Arkham Knight time! FUCK YES!

- I can't wait to play this game!

- Can SOMEONE, say SOMETHING, about ANYTHING? PLEASE!

- At least now we get to hear from Andrew House about project Morpheus and how Sony is entering the VR game.

- Morpheus is pushing the multiplayer aspect of VR gaming, which seems awesome.

- With it comes Rigs. A new multiplayer battle arena style game.

- Partnership with Spotify.

- a la carte channels without buying a multi channel pack, seems pretty cool.

- Let's talk about Call of Duty...finally...

- Mark Lamia seems like he is bro-ing out HARD!...bro!

- Almost too hard...

- 4-player co-op. NICE!

- Did he just make an enemy puke? That seems like super dope!

- I may play the whole game that way...

- Black Ops III is going to be amazing!

- Multiplayer...what every player actually cares about.

- Yep, that's some Call of Duty multiplayer and it looks fast, intense, and still some of the best online experiences in gaming.

- November 6th. Mark your calendars.

- Sony now has the rights to getting map packs before everyone else.

- Exclusive beta for PS4 this August.

- Another montage of games that flies by WAY too fast to sink in.

- S....Star Wars Battlefront? More? YES!

- Nope, Disney Infinity 3.0. including Star Wars. Awesome! I like Infinity.

- Johnny V is great at this. That dude rocks!

- I don't care that I'm 29 years old, I'm buying this! Shut up!

- Boba Fett. I want!

- Launching this Fall, at least we get something of a release window.

- Ok, Star Wars Battlefront....FUCK YEAH!

- "Luke Skywater?" Man these accents are getting more and more tough the later it gets and the more I drink. He said "Skywater", right?

- GOD DAMN this looks like a great fucking game! Also, listen to the sounds of the lasers, if you have a meaty sound system, this thing is going to KICK!

- Horde mode? Awesome!

- HYPE!

- We have one last video to see..I think...did it freeze or...ok then....oh there we go!

- Gotta be Uncharted right?

- Yep, Uncharted.

- Side note: I saw a really good Nathan Drake cosplayer at Comic-Con this past weekend. Had to take my picture with him.

- Hey, Nathan...do you want to move? Sully left you...he's gone...Nate...Nate....Reset! Fuck it, we'll do it live!

- There you go...

- Graphically impressive, like every game in the series.

- Wow, the ultimate Superman punch off a building. Roman Reigns would be impressed.

- Dammit! I just want Nathan to pick up ammo off the ground automatically, instead of hitting Triangle. they STILL haven't changed that.

- Great banter with Nathan and Sully, some of the best voice actors in the business.

- I do want to meet Nolan North (Nathan Drake). Bucket List.

- Little framey, hope it performs better when it's finalized.

- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.

- Wait..what just happened? Bruce Straley gets nothing? No intro, no talk, nothing?

- And that's Sony?.....I guess...

Hmm...let me get another beer before I give my analysis.

I don't know what to think...there were A LOT of games that were shown. A LOT of awesome games being shown, but nobody that bothered to talk about them or give any release dates. The pace was so fast, it was a real "blink and you'll miss 10 things" vibe, and nothing really sunk in.

Morpheus was BARELY mentioned, and games for it flashed on screen for a second, besides Rigs.

Also, hey you guys are still thinking about Vita....right?...right?

My highlights:

- I want to know more about Horizon

- Assassin's Creed still looks sick!

- No Man's Sky looks amazing!

- Call of Duty, yo!

- Star Wars Battlefront looks like my Game of Show thus far.

- I'm glad we saw SOMETHING about Uncharted.

That's the day of conferences. Whew! A LOT to digest from the day. But for now, it's time for sleep. 2 conferences tomorrow with Nintendo and Square Enix.

Recapping Ubisoft's E3 2015 Press Conference

Next up, the studio that brought you Far Cry, and Assassin's Creed: Ubisoft. . I'm starting around 28 minutes into the video. Though you should watch the pre-show where they read mean tweets about their games.

- Right out of the gate, new South Park game. Stick of Truth was my 2014 game of the year, so I can't wait to see what comes next.

- And it's already hilarious.

- Towelie!

- Bait and switch, it's a super hero game! SCORE!

- The game is South Park: The Fractured but Whole...tee hee.

- Ah, Aisha Tyler. She is great at doing these conferences so I am glad she is back. Pretty sure Ubisoft will never let her go.

- Trey Parker and Matt Stone, y'all, this already is great.

- "These mics are fucking dumb". Amen.

- Good back and forth banter, great start Ubi.

- You still are the new kid, just now playing super heroes.

- No release date.

- To the stage, CEO, Yves Guillemot.

- new IP.

- This seems like Chivalry.

- Intense and very well put together trailer here.

- For Honor. You look badass.

- Jason Vandenberghe comes out and thank God he seems like exactly the kind of man you want leading this project. I'm actually glad the man has a cane, he uses it for support, yet he could kick your ass with it.

- Jason wins for "Best maniacal laugh at E3 2015". I wanna party with that guy and drink a flagon of mead!

- Demo running on PS4.

- BRUTAL execution!

- I assume "be the very first to play the game" implies a beta. No release date though, but WOW, HYPE!

- Info on The Crew.

- New vehicles.

- Monster trucks!

- Wild Run promises badder vehicles, "massive gatherings", and a complete graphic overhaul.

- 11/17/15 for this expansion.

- NEXT!

- There's a gun-wielding cat riding a unicorn....Game of the year!

- Triple rainbows and FIRE! Game of the decade!

- And it's an expansion for Trials Fusion called Awesome Level MAX.

- July 14th. So like SOON!

- Tom Clancy's The Division is next, hope this shows well.

- "Highly anticipated" in that we would just want it to fucking exist!

- Online, open world, action-RPG. Sounds like you need to have an internet connection to play.

- "The Dark Zone", be careful to not say "Twilight" here.

- LOOT!

- Ok, that was pretty neat how the other players could have turned hostile and the whole thing could have been a shit show, but instead the crews are working together.

- Definitely showing a lot better than it did at the Xbox show.

- Then just like that, the tables turn. That's a really cool mechanic.

- Individual agents can go rogue? That's intense. Trust nobody!

- That game looks great!

- Beta "early next year", earlier I heard December, did it get pushed back mid show? WTF?

- RELEASE DATE! (that won't actually happen) March 8th, 2016.

- A city builder in space? Sounds intriguing.

- Anno 2205, due out November 3rd. Very interested in this game.

- Looks like you start on Earth, and work your way to the Moon.

- Good job, Jason, let Alicia announce your game for you, Just Dance 2016. Glad you could be here, Jason.

- Ok, you don't need a camera connected to your console to play, you just need a smartphone. INCOMING SARCASM: Oh great, so now instead of throwing my Wii Remote around and breaking shit left and right, I can throw my phone around and break that. END SARCASM. This seems weird.

- Surprise, Jason Derulo with a faulty microphone. Does he come with every copy? Or is he a pre-order. Actually, you can keep the awkward performance. It was awkward, right?

- Oh boy...follow the awkward performance with an equally awkward interview, plus I'm pretty sure Aisha just said "Obviously, this song's a huge shit"... you're losing me Ubi.

- Any input Mr. Executive Producer? No...ok...

- Coming this Awktober....get it?

- Just Dance Unlimited Streaming Service for Wii U, Xbox One, PS4.

- Subscription based content. Promising year round new content. Interesting.

- Whew, thank goodness that segment is over. Yikes.

- SHIT YEAH! Rainbow Six Siege. That trailer was DOPE!

- Angela Bassett, the voice of "Six" on stage. From the trailer, she gives a great performance.

- I go back to earlier "These mics are fucking dumb", Angela's could use some help.

- Genevieve Forget is on stage, ooh boy, this is gonna be a tough accent.

- "DAMN RIGHT!" "FREE BIRD".

- Oh, she said "Terrohunt"....I was sure she used a racial slur, this is much better.

- "Anything can happen", can that cat riding a unicorn make an appearance? NO! This shit of bull!

- Oh sure, their mics work, and I'm reminded why I don't use voice chat, the heavy, erotic, breathing...

- Gameplay seems very Vegas-like, which is a great thing.

- When shit pops off, it pops off hard! This game still looks great and showed really well.

- "Everybody helse back at khome". Just poking fun. Love you.

- The bita, or Beta, starts September 24th.

- Full release this October.

- Despite my poking fun and Genevieve, you rocked it out, you're beautiful, nailed it!

- Trackmania Turbo. Holy shit! News about Trackmania!

- Coming to consoles.

- One car drops in and I am already stoked!

- Is that a spotter I hear? Voice work? Sweet.

- 200 in game tracks, plus a random track editor, infinite possibilities, awesome!

- Sold!

- It's Assassin's Creed time y'all.

- Before we get too deep into this. I am genuinely looking forward to Syndicate, the setting and the ideas they have thrown out seem super awesome to me.

- HAHA, "Hold my hat while I put on my hood". I think that's great.

- This trailer is kick ass!

- Looking technically impressive.

- YES! That's probably the best trailer in the series.

- I'm sorry, how do I pronounce your name? Yeah, I was way off. Is it like "Mo-yang"?

- Release date? No? Ok then.

- Fake ending, gotcha! Too bad Bethesda did it first.

- Oh fuck! Call of Juarez?

- Oh shit! That song I like by Imagine Dragons. It's called "Friction". Jam out to it.

- Great trailer, showing combat, environments, traversal, massive world...wait, what the hell is this game?

- OH SHIT!!! Ghost Recon Wildlands. Did NOT think this was a GR game. Holy shit! HYPE!

That's Ubisoft. Great show I thought, minus the Just Dance awkwardness.

Some takeaways:

- Aisha Tyler needs to stay.

- For Honor looks badass

- The Division had a great showing.

- Love you, Genevieve. You're adorable!

- Trackmania!

- Assassin's Creed Syndicate looks amazing!

- HOLY SHIT Ghost Recon. Man, that's.....wow!

One more conference to go on this day. Your move Sony.

Recapping EA's E3 2015 Press Conference 6/15/15

Next up on the conference chopping block: Electronic Arts.

- Right out of the gate, FUCK YEAH! Mass Effect Andromeda. I kinda got a giggle as the applause and excitement sorta faded out when "Holiday 2016" popped up. Bummer.

- "Lohs Angelees" Wonder where that is?

- Star Wars, am I right? You can just say those words and any crowd goes nuts.

- Really good intro here by Andrew Wilson, EA CEO. He actually says "Thank you for playing our games and making us better". He truly means that and it comes across as genuine. Refreshing.

- Next game up: Need for Speed.

- Good trailer, nice weather effects. While I was confused at first to why this series needed a reboot, now I understand. EA wanted to get back to what made the series great to begin with and focus on the racing and lifestyle of a street racer. They want to make this the "definitive" NFS experience.

- Talking a big game: big open world, customization, cops to worry about.

- November 3rd.

- FMV Cutscenes? Please keep these in!

- Oh shit! Was that a seamless cut from FMV to in-game? Wow. Impressive.

- Lots of customization. A little framey at spots but it is a Pre-Alpha build.

- Pretty cool drifting action camera.

- Digging the beats.

- The frame rate on that jump was not so speedy...again Pre-Alpha, can be fixed.

- Looks interesting.

- Next up: Star Wars: The Old Republic, a game I have to keep reminding myself exists.

- New expansion titled Knights of the Fallen Empire.

- 10/27/15 Release date

- The twin knights there? If I shaved my head I would look exactly like that. Maybe I can make some money off this... (joking of course...)

- FREE!

- Hmm, maybe I need to get back into this game. Better find my authenticator.

- Unravel, a new IP.

- Tell me this is like Kirby's Epic Yarn or Yoshi's Woolly World...

- Not only is it a cute looking game, there is a deep meaning and loss of love.

- You can tell Martin is nervous as hell being up there. Either that, or there is an earthquake in California that is only targeting that specific stage.

- I kid, but this is a big deal for him and his team, so it's understandable how nervous he is. Don't worry, Martin, the game looks adorable.

- It's always super interesting to me how game concepts come up, so these pictures of Yarney (I assume that's the spelling) in the real world and as a concept is really cool.

- I like this guy, you think the Shark Tank is nerve-wrecking? Try standing in front of all those people with your game idea, knowing every single word you say is being criticized by journalists, fans, shareholders and bloggers (oh hey!).

- Unravel looks like a delight, in the same respect as a game like Braid or perhaps even Limbo. Interested to see where this goes.

- "Danger Zone", ok, let's do this! POINTS!

- We get to see more about Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, and we get a mascot. Which hits me a little too close to home, can I pursue this career and be a real life video game mascot? Hey, EA...

- I REALLY liked the original Garden Warfare, and the idea of the plants being on the attack really interests me.

- Graveyard Ops is the exact same as Garden Ops, but for Zombies...right?

- New zombie classes being shown, Super Graves (I think?) might be my new favorite. With his tornado punches and hadoken-esque projectile.

- Little framey there...

- and the Imp calls down a mech, sweet!

- Solo and local split screen options; nice touches.

- Character transfer from original game.

- Spring 2016.

- Free content updates!

- Apart from the few performance hang-ups, the game showed well and I look forward to playing it.

- And now for sports!

- NHL with the first look, damn right!

- Mascots making an appearance this year? I have extra love for that.

- Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is shown and is the first to use the Frostbite engine. Looks gorgeous.

- No load times between holes eh? That's impressive.

- Ultimate Team mode is pretty much my go-to for any sports games, good to see they acknowledge that.

- NBA Live 16 up next.

- Improvements to Gameface.

- "Hoop God"...I took him down when I ran that WoW Raid, didn't I?

- 9/29/15 Release date.

- I have had SO many problems with Gameface, hopefully this HD will make it not look like I got drunk making a Mii.

- Live 15 was a step in the right direction, so hopefully 16 will push forward, not sideways.

- "Let's talk about mobile"....aw geez, look at the time...I gotta go...

- Oh geez, Apple Watch apps.

- Amazing games like The Simpsons: Tapped Out....really?

- Another Star Wars card game? Doesn't one already exist? Pretty sure it does. Ah screw it, I'll end up playing it.

- Minions Paradise is going to make a fortune.

- Due out this year.

- Awkward pause, check!

- Pelè is absolutely the best soccer player of all time, so he has the right to sit there and tell you how good he is. He even gets a standing ovation, damn right.

- So hey, FIFA 16.

- I could hear Pelè tell stories all day, he seems like a fascinating man. A living legend.

- Sounds like the bullet points here for FIFA 16 are: we added animations and made the A.I. better. Also sounds like his mic is complete crap.

- Also, you can play as women. It's about time. Very nice touch.

- Looks like your Ultimate Team got a little more stacked with Messi and Pelè cards. Boom!

- The game looks gorgeous and will again be the best selling sports game in the world this year. Still waiting for the year that adds the "Rioting Crowds" feature. You know, like real soccer.

- Hello Sara, how YOU doin?

- Oh Mirror's Edge, of course, *waves at Sara*

- Mirror's Edge Catalyst is the name of this game.

- The original game had a lot of great things going for it. Looking forward to seeing more about this.

- No loading screens? That's a bold proclamation there, Sara.

- This is an origin story. So a prequel.

- 2/23/16 is the release date. So far the first game of 2016 (I believe) that isn't marked as "Spring" or "Holiday".

- The game does indeed look beautiful, I do want to see how it performs.

- bye, Sara ;)

- More sports...this time Madden NFL 16.

- Hey, Robert Flores! I know that guy.

- We are treated to a new mode: Draft Champions. I'm intrigued, go on...

- So it's like Ultimate Team, but there is a draft instead of just getting cards.

- Play Solo or Online. Great, because I don't like going online and getting my shit rocked.

- Once your run ends, you draft a new team and do it again. I like this. Adds replayability.

- Ooooh, sick burn on the Seahawks...

- August 25th release date. Will be the best selling sports game in America.

- Odell Beckham Jr. is a beast, just FYI.

- Peter Moore on the stage.

- The closer: Star Wars Battlefront. Talk to me, Pete.

- "Photogramatry"...that's as bad as "Infotainment"...ugh...

- Side note: A life's dream of mine is to sit down and talk video games with a number of the greatest minds in the industry. That would include Ed Boon, Shigeru Miyamoto, Todd Howard, Hideo Kojima, and Peter Moore, among others.

- Pretty sure Sigurlina has, like, all the letters of every alphabet in her name. Also pretty sure I make that sound every time I get super drunk.

- Kind of hard to hear her with that combination of accent, the monotone delivery, and holy shit that music is loud.

- That's a great looking Luke Skywalker.

- I'm usually in the mood for "Mooltiplaya".

- These screens look amazing, just wish they were in motion, like, a game!

- "That's vat ve are going too doo, lllight now!" YES! Zat is vat I chave been waiting for!

- By the way, I am just poking fun, I'm sure she is a lovely lady and I am glad she is making this game.

- Hey, I thought you were going to show us gameplay right now, instead you show me a picture of the Hoth level. Of course there is a Hoth level.

- "Now...Let's Play...Star Wars". I hope that soundbyte is how every match starts.

- Two soldiers run by, gun comes up...OK I WANT!

- Probably won't write too much about the footage. Because (A) You need to see it for yourself and (B) Holy shit, I am in awe!

- Those explosions look amazing.

- The shots are all about that bass, bout that bass, no rebel...SORRY...

- I will never be able to fly a TIE fighter as well as the demo showed. I'll be lucky to even take off.

- Oh SHIT! Darth Vader!

- OH SHIT PART 2! Luke Skywalker!

- Excuse me...Didn't Luke not have the green saber until Return of the Jedi? Isn't the Hoth fight in Empire Strikes Back? Am I thinking too much? AAAAHHHHH!

- Never mind that shit...there's a saber duel!

- That sound you heard is all the nerds there, and me, having a collective nerdgasm.

- November 17th. One week after Fallout 4.

Wonderful, wonderful showing from EA this year. Lots of great announcements. Great pacing, speeches didn't feel forces, and Pelè. Can not wait to see more of what EA has planned and I want to see more Battlefront.

The train keeps rolling, next up: Ubisoft.

Recapping Microsoft's Xbox E3 Briefing 6/15/15

 We are scratching the surface of E3 2015, with Bethesda kicking things off the right way, it's time for Microsoft to make their mark on the convention. LOTS of news to cover from the show, so let's get right to it:

- Another great intro video, get the hype going.

- Bonnie "What do I do with my hands now" Ross starts the show. Maybe the arms of her jacket were just sewn to her sternum, I don't know.

- Want to start with a bang? Halo 5: Guardians should do the trick.

- Fun drinking game: drink whenever Bonnie spreads her arms out like that with those jazz hands.

- To the trailer!

- The idea of hunting down to find Master Chief sounds awesome. The dueling squads idea has a lot of potential.

- You know what's also awesome? Nathan Fillion. Sweet!

- The action was so awesome it made the video freeze

- Yeah...they aren't actually playing the game. But at least their intro was cool.

- Looks like a Halo-ass Halo game and that's fine by me.

- That ground pound looked pretty bad ass.

- 10-27-15...SWEET!

- Spit me some knowledge, Josh.

- Seamless drop-in, drop-out co-op, you can control 2 different squads. Intriguing.

- Now we get into Halo multiplayer. At this point you could just say "It works" and it will be a big step up.

- Josh, some advice from someone who has been on stage often, when the crowd applauds and hollers, let em.

- This "Warzone" idea seems awesome as hell! Two full teams are fighting each other, as well as the A.I.

- Any more talk on that? Nope, MOVING ON!

- We get a trailer for Inafune's new game: Recore, and while we don't get much info on it, it looks interesting, and will be out Spring 2016.

- Phil Spencer time! Let the Spencer Shirt Watch 2015 begin!

- Phil! Can't see the t-shirt, c'mon!

- Spencer dropping the bomb on the show with backwards compatibility, giving us the power to play Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One.

- Check out the people standing and losing their minds. It's as if Oprah just gave him a car.

- Then the air kinda gets taken out by saying "we will have over a hundred by holiday, and more soon thereafter". So it's not like every game will be playable right out of the gate. But the idea of playing my games on 360 while using some of the Xbox One features sounds appealing. Also, as a preview member, I can do this today! Please have Red Dead Redemption as your top priority.

- This feature seems pretty cool!

- Now we get to the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller. Spoiler alert! This thing looks BAD ASS!

- Interchangeable parts, circle pad, hair triggers, custom button remapping. This thing is incredible.

- For Xbox one and Windows 10, due out this fall.

- Todd Howard! YAY! This conference got way better!

- We miss a good chunk of what he says due to the video cutting out, boo, but this looks to be the same montage we saw at the Bethesda event.

- The big catch here: mods made on the PC can be transferred, played and shared for free on Xbox One.

- And now for Peter Moore, this conference is flying!

- I'm a member of EA Access, and....meh. I like the idea of paying less for games (10% discount or more) but the idea of playing "first" is a bit of a stretch. Sure, I can download and start playing the game a week in advance, but only for 8 or so hours before the game goes, whoops, gotta wait now. It's only $35 a year though so, for what I am getting, it's pretty much worth it.

- Also, EA Access makes older games free, so that's always good.

- I like free things, so I will have to check out "The Vault" and see what I don't already own.

- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. Hell yeah! Next Spring...Ok.

- Trailer looks great, many new characters, plus any trailer that includes "Danger Zone" gets points with me.

- Sold! Can't wait!

- Forza Motorsport 6 incoming...

- ...or to be more accurate, 2016 Ford GT incoming, like from the ceiling.

- "Thanks, Henry"....for what? I think someone at Microsoft mandated that anyone on stage has to read the teleprompter word for word or risk never being invited back.

- Ford is putting A LOT of money behind the marketing of Forza 6, and that GT is sexy as hell.

- Hey, in case you couldn't tell, Forza Motorsport 6 looks gorgeous. Promising 1080p and 60 frames per second. 24 cars for online racing, and, hey, it comes out in 3 months. That's like really soon! AWESOME!

- Oh SHIT! Dark Souls III.

- As I am watching, I am counting the death toll in my head.

- Early 2016

- MOVING ON!!!

- Hey, Tom Clancy's The Division, fancy seeing you here. How have you been since we saw you last year?

- That trailer made you seem like a generic shooter, can someone tell me more?

- Thank you, Laurent. I think?

- Action RPG shooter, eh? Ok.

- Xbox One exclusive beta....this December...this game is never coming out is it?

- Rainbow Six: Siege, ok I'm back on board. Allons-y!

- By the way, you can also play Vegas and Vegas 2 via backwards compatibility this holiday. Sweet, but I have already played those games to death.

- They will come FREE with Siege. Again, sweet.

- Siege looks bad ass and will be out October 13th. Really looking forward to this title.

- Gigantic comes to Xbox One and Windows 10, and looks like class based warfare with a striking art style. Also a giant fucking dragon!

- FREE TO PLAY. Also sounds like cross-platform between Xbox One, and Windows 10 machines.

- Beta starts this August. Looks interesting, may give it a try.

- We come to the indie portion of the show, the opening montage had some killer games in it, including Westerado and SuperHot.

- Tacoma looks like a beautiful mind-bender.

- Ashen looks cool as hell.

- Beyond Eyes looks like a watercolor acid trip. Nothing wrong with that by the way.

- Cuphead sound awesome. The thought of playing a 1930's cartoon style platformer is unique and sounds like something I need to play. The cartoon feel is superbly captured.

- Xbox Game Preview. It's Steam Early Access. Though you can give the games a free trial before deciding on putting money on it. Nice touch.

- He mentioned Elite: Dangerous and DayZ! Just saying....I like those games.

- I can play Elite: Dangerous on my Xbox One like NOW? GREAT!

- Ion, from the studio that brought you DayZ, looks like it has a lot of potential, if only we had any idea what it was.

- We get a look at Rise of the Tomb Raider.

- I really liked the rebooted Tomb Raider, and this game looks gorgeous. Yet again, Lara Croft gets her ass kicked.

- While the previous game showed Lara being a survivor, this new one looks like her beginnings of being a badass.

- 11/10/15 eh? Save your money now, I guess.

- Rare Replay is 30 Rare games for $30. Including: Perfect Dark, Banjo - Kazooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day and Viva Pinata, and is due out August 4th. Yep, I'm buying.

- New Rare game? Didn't see that coming.

- Sea of Thieves looks to be a pirate-themed MMO. Also looks like something I absolutely need in my life.

- Oooh. Fable Legends. You lookin' so pretty. Also, lookin' so free! I love all this FREE stuff.

- This was the game that was shown during the Windows 10 announcement and the big selling point of it was cross-platform play.

- This E3, the key theme is going to be VR gaming. Here it comes...

- also, here comes the most awkward pause so far at E3 after the Valve VR partnership announcement. Whoo boy.

- Maybe it was everyone thinking, "Wait, isn't Microsoft with Oculus?" Well yeah, and now also Valve VR, all VR's are welcomed here!

- Yes, every Oculus Rift will come with an Xbox One controller.

- Xbox One games can be played on the Rift, as long as you stream it through Windows 10.

- Oh right, Microsoft is also DEVELOPING a headset with HoloLens. This headset thing better pan out.

- The hell is Mo-yang? Don't you mean "Mojang", the Minecraft people? WHAT? It's pronounced "Mo-Yang?" This might be the most mind-blowing thing from E3 thus far.

- AHHH Stop it! Mo-yang sounds so weird.

- OK, this HoloLens stuff is kinda nuts. This is the Tony Stark dream. I, and many others, were blown away by this. I can't waiot to see more HoloLens demos.

- Oh shit, Gears of War.

- Gears of War Ultimate Edition. The first game in the series redone, with 60 frames per second. Coming August 25th. Yep! Sold! Multiplayer Beta starts today!

- Oh and also...Gears 4. Holiday...2016.

- Ah, the Spencer shirt was a Rare shirt.

That's pretty much the conference. Strong showing overall, I thought. Fast paced, lots of games, new console features. My standouts:

- That controller is sick.

- Xbox Game Preview sounds interesting.

- That HoloLens demo was great.

There is more to come from Microsoft as far as game reveals and release dates. There is a lot to love about what is coming from the Xbox/Windows 10 teams.

Next up: EA...