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Microsoft changes E3 Prescence

E3 is coming and guest passes are finally out for a general audience to purchase. However, more gaming companies are stepping away from E3 to host their own events. Microsoft has announced that they will not have a dedicated booth at the LA Convention center. Instead, their E3 focus will be held in Microsoft Theater. It will be a separate venue: “a new booth completely dedicated to Mixer, where you can play, stream and interact with games and catch the latest E3 news live throughout the entire week.” The venue will be X-Box focused and have hands-on demos. What will be shown has still not been revealed or leak. Currently, the Xbox One’s Console total sales are $35 million. The PlayStation 4 has sold $70 million and the Switch is almost $10 million since its launch last year. Whether Xbox can surpass the PS4 remains unlikely for this generation. Maybe this E3, Microsoft will showcase exclusives that don’t disappoint longtime fans.

Schedule for their Stream:

Microsoft’s E3 part will begin on Monday, June 10th at 1pm.

Sources:

Polygon

Electronic Arts skips E3 again for EA Play

It seems like every big gaming company is trying to host their own events. PlayStation‘s PlayStation Expo and Nintendo’s Directs are central focused events on their IP’s or games coming out for their generation. The events are easier to maintain and there are no competitors to take away from their main showcase. Electronic Arts is one of the largest gaming companies and they are hosting their own event before E3: EA Play.

EA Play will be hosted in Hollywood at the Hollywood Palladium from Saturday, June 9 to Monday, June 11. The event is free for the public and tickets will be released in spring. Last year, they showcased A Way Out, Star Wars Battlefront 2, and Anthem. This year, press has heard they will showcase more information on Anthem, Sims 4, more EA sports and the upcoming Battlefield game. The game is expected to be playable at EA Plays. There may be a new Dragon Age game announced based on an interview in January where Bioware announced they were working on a new title in the franchise.

Similar to last years event, there will be YouTube creators and Twitch personalities at the event. Hopefully its better and less scripted. OR we can watch a prank YouTuber stumble his way through an announcement. That’s always hilarious to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFBfkX7F0Xg

We’ll see if EA improves their image after the Star Wars Battlefront 2 release. Consumers and the government are watching warily at Electronic Arts as it’ll take a while to recover from the loot box controversies.

Sources:

Digital Trends

EA Plays

Screen Rant

Founders of Sledgehammer Games step down

Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, co-founders of Call of Duty series developer Sledgehammer Games, are both stepping down. After working on Call of Duty: WW2, they will be stepping down to focus on a new role in Activision that is not yet determined.

Schofield thanks Activision for the opportunities as Sledgehammer Games started under their company. Their main focus was on Activision’s shooter franchise but Schofield and Condrey had worked on excellent previous games such as Dead Space and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. Activision has stated that the two will focus on “executive duties” which is separate work from game development. Aaron Halon, a co-founder of Slegehammer will take over the two’s position as lead developer.

Call of Duty: WW2 received a lower score than Modern Warfare 3 and Infinite Warfare but the work Scofield and Condrey was generally received well. Despite this, WW2 sold twice as much as Infinite Warfare.

“Activision has offered me the opportunity to focus my energy on something I’m very passionate about, exploring new game ideas for the company,” Schofield said. “It’s something I just couldn’t pass up.”

“I’m proud of what we accomplished together, it has been the greatest experience of my professional life. I am looking forward to starting a new chapter of my career with Activision,” Condrey said.

Sources:

PC Gamer