Top E3 2016 Moments

The best (and worst) moments of this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo.

“Teraflops!”

With another E3 on the books in the annals of the Internet, it’s good to look back on the parade of demos, press conferences and announcements, and look at what really stood out and, for better or for worse, made an impression at this year’s convention. In no particular order, here is what made a splash at #E32016.

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#1: EA’s Press Conference (that showed nothing)

EA kicked off E3 with a whimper this year, as their two-hour conference consisted mainly on them talking about games on the horizon, and showing footage of developers coding or working on tablets in lieu of demos and trailers. We all know games take years to make, but showing people on computers with a voiceover saying, “We’re working on it! We promise” isn’t a way to build enthusiasm.

#2: Microsoft’s got new ‘Boxes

Microsoft unveiled two new models for the Xbox One, a slimmer Xbox One S, which debuted to a, shall we say, lukewarm reception. However, this quickly followed up with Xbox’s own cross-buy program, “Xbox Anywhere,” and the reveal of an upgraded Xbox with 4K capability and the promise of a whole lot of teraflops dubbed “Project Scorpio,” which was met with thunderous applause. Your move, PlayStation 4 Neo.

#3: Sony’s Reveal-a-Thon

Much like last year, Sony’s conference brought out the heavy hitters, revealing a new, Norse-mythology inspired God of War, a release date for the long awaited The Last Guardian, a trio of Crash Bandicoot remasters and even an Insomniac-produced Spider-Man game. All of this after opening their conference with a giant orchestra playing Nordic music. Sony, when did you become emperor of the universe?

#4: Nintendo Goes All In With ‘Breath of the Wild’

Nintendo made the weird decision to showcase only one title on the show floor at E3: The new Zelda headed for Wii U and NX. Thank the maker it looks like the greatest entry to the series yet, with tons of new features to play around with and a huge, open-world Hyrule to explore. Gameplay demos of it usually ran upwards of 20 minutes, and despite Nintendo showing off the same demo multiple times, it was different every time. Next-gen Zelda indeed.

#5: Hideo Kojima Returns

There is nothing quite like seeing Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima tease a new project. After a long break up with his former employer, Konami, Kojima disappeared for awhile while he set up his new, independent studio. And his return was an entrance only Kojima could make, appearing to burst out of a screen onstage and walking across a bridge made of light to a particularly epic EDM track. Then and only then, he showed a trailer for his new project, Death Stranding, which appears to revolve around Norman Reedus, oil babies and beached whales. It’s good to have you back, Kojima.

What was your favorite E3 moment? What game made the show for you? Tweet me @MaxMielecki. And be sure to follow us @YouNerded.