You Just Had to Be There: Impressions from the Xbox E3 Briefing

Let me start by saying, having the opportunity to experience the XBOX briefing was amazing. Not only did they announce the acquisition of five studios, they also showed 50 games, 15 of which were “console exclusive”. Of course, console exclusive doesn’t make a game belong to Xbox, some may be on PC as well (e.g. PUBG), others may only be exclusive to XBOX for a limited time.

While XBOX announced several console exclusives, including Forza Horizon 4 and Gears 5, the most notable things for me were Devil May Cry 5, We Happy Few, and Cyberpunk 2077.

Many people complained that the briefing didn’t do enough to get new people to buy an XBOX. I agree that there needs to be more XBOX exclusive content, but I hope that is the advantage the new studios will provide. This is not clear, as of yet. For example, We Happy Few (Compulsion Games) is slated to be released on XBOX, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, and Linux.

Since I already have an XBOX, I’m most excited to use the XBOX game pass to try games that I haven’t purchased. This is especially exciting to me because many of the New releases they announced will be available with the game pass ON LAUNCH day!

While the content of the briefing wasn’t entirely novel, I was struck by the grandeur of the experience. Since video games have surpassed movies in revenue in recent years, it makes sense that the release of new games feels as grandiose as Hollywood releases. The sound quality, lights, smoke were effects that made you feel completely immersed.  At one point, when discussing the effect that seasons have on gameplay, they released hundreds of leaves from the ceiling onto the audience.   Being at these events really reminds you of the magnitude of the games we love.