E3 2017 has come and gone, and gamers are suitably excited about the upcoming calendar year. Nintendo unveiled the release date ofSuper Mario Odyssey, a game that could rivalBreath of the Wildin terms of how drastically it will reinvigorate its franchise, while Microsoft finally dished on its new console, theXbox One X, previously known as Project Scorpio. Although there weren’t any earth-shattering announcements made by any of the video game industry’s major players, E3 2017 was largely a success based on the quality of the games that were put on display and the amount of titles that will be arriving within the next six months.
Of course, not everything at E3 2017 was a success. While the presentations themselves contained the same kind of awkward blunders viewers have become accustomed to over the years – with one in particular, when a presenter literally forgot how to pronounce their own name, being a particularly egregious offense – there were a number of disappointments in terms of the content each company failed to produce over the course of the week-long journey. Here’s our list of the biggest disappointments at this year’s E3.
5The Last of Us 2is a No-Show
After the absolutely electric response from the crowd last year during Sony’sLast of Us 2trailer reveal at PlayStation Experience 2016, many people considered the upcoming sequel to be a lock for this year’s conference. Those expectations were dashed, however, when Sony closed its presentation on anewSpider-Mangameplay demonstrationthat, while exciting, wasn’t exactly what many were expecting from one of the most influential companies in gaming during the industry’s flashiest week.
Although the initial reaction toThe Last of Us 2’s absence was that of concern for its development status, that, at least, doesn’t appear to be an issue. Sony president Shuhei Yoshida went on record after the E3 2017 presentation as saying thatPlayStation held back on its E3 presencein order to make both its Tokyo Game Show and PlayStation Experience conferences more exciting. Given the fact that Yoshida was likely cognizant about how much buzz the lack ofThe Last of Us 2was generating within the PlayStation fan base, it seems as though fans of Joel and Ellie won’t have to wait until 2018 to receive some more significant news about Naughty Dog’s second crack at a post-apocalyptic adventure title.
4NoSuper Smash Bros.Announced for Nintendo Switch
This might seem nitpicky given Nintendo’s excellent and concise presentation during E3 2017, but the set-up for this one had already been done and all the company needed to do was announce it. The Switch is already gaining a reputation as the home for Wii U games that were ignored because of that console’s technical failures, andMario Kart 8 Deluxehas already proven that thoseremakes can be extremely lucrative for Nintendoas well. Nintendo could have probably flashed theMetroid Prime 4announcement on screen, followed with the announcement of aSuper Smash Bros. Deluxefor the Switch, and called it a successful E3 2017.
Unfortunately, we all know that didn’t happen. While some other titles got their time in the remake spotlight, including an exciting new 3DS game inMetroid: Samus Returns, there was no mention of Nintendo’s generational fighting IP. That could be due in part to the surprising success ofARMS, a game that initially existed as an afterthought in the Switch’s early launch lineup previews thanks toBreath of the Wildbut has quickly gained steam as a viable new IP in its own right. Still, though, would it have been so hard to just throw together a teaser for 2018?
3Bethesda Announces… MoreSkyrim
It won’t be surprising if Bethesda is announcingSkyrimremakes well into the turn of the 22nd century at this rate. While sales forSkyrim’s various remasters and re-releases have indicated that there is still a vibrant market for Bethesda’s most popular take onThe Elder Scrollsseries, there comes a time when the ability to play as the Dragonborn on every existing modern-day console becomes less impressive. That time could be now, as what would have been a previously riot-inducing announcement in the release date forSkyrimon Switchwas met with general fatigue from many RPG fans.Skyrimon the go will no doubt be fun, and the addition of the Master Sword into the game is a nice touch, but it’s beginning to feel as though Bethesda simply refuses to move on from the world of Skyrim at the cost of a newElder Scrollstitle being developed.
That’s just going to make it all the more frustrating, of course, when Bethesda makes millions off ofSkyrim’s presence on the Switch later this year.
2No Surprise Microsoft VR Reveal
This one comes with the caveat that nobody really expectedMicrosoft to have a VR presentationanyways, as the company had attempted to make it very clear that it had no intentions of focusing on Microsoft VR technology when it had a lot of games to show and a new console to finally unveil.
But didn’t it seem like Microsoft was protesting a littletoomuch about just having too much other stuff to showcase to make time for VR? E3 2017 really brings out the gaming community’s optimism, after all, and more than a few people thought Microsoft’s strict no VR policy was a red herring for a big announcement to come during E3 week. Sadly, Microsoft was simply telling the truth about its intentions for E3 2017, and there was nary a rumor regarding Microsoft VR by the time the show floor had emptied.
1Sea of ThievesDoesn’t Showcase Major New Developments
This isn’t commentary on the fact thatSkull & Boneshas all the potential in the world to muscle in onSea of Thieves' territory, either. We went hands on with Rare’s upcoming multiplayer pirate experience and came away wanting more, both in terms of gameplay (because it was good) and features (because it seemed largely the same).Sea of Thievesis still a good game, and there’s some enjoyment to be had within its colorful pirate world, but it feels like it hasn’t evolved since the last time we saw it, and that’s cause for some disappointment.
WhenSea of Thievesdebuted a year ago, its gameplay trailer really showcased the kind of potential the title had, especially with the talented team working on it. There’s so much space for multiplayer fun in a pirate setting, and hopefullySea of Thievesmanages to harness more of that before it finally launches – by all accounts, it still has the potential to be one of the premier reasons to own a current-gen Xbox console, even withSkull & Boneslooming large as a potential contender.
That’s our list of the biggest disappointments that emerged out of this year’s E3. Did we miss anything major? Anything you need to get off your chest about this year’s showcase? Let us know in the comments below!
