The next couple of weeks will definitely be a very interesting time for gamers as both Gamescom and PAX Prime will give gaming and hardware developers a chance to unveil their products to the masses as they get closer to the holiday season and anticipated launch date for many products. What makes this even more interesting, is that in the case of PAX Prime this will be the first time outside of Comic Con where the general public will have their opportunity to see much the products up close and personal. Previously, many of the hotly anticipated products and titles had only been available to members of the media and select others due to the nature of the shows where they were presented at being geared to industry professionals.
As anybody’s ever had the good fortune to attend any of the PAX shows will tell you, the focus is on the fans. While the show does an amazing job of accommodating the press, there are huge waves of fans who eagerly descend upon the showroom floors to take in the sights and sounds of the Expos which can be at times overwhelming. With Microsoft and Sony both set to unveil their new gaming systems, I have to wonder what the conventions will have in store.
PAX traditionally is not the venue that companies have used to make big reveals in the past. That changed in recent years when products such as Duke Nukem Forever, The Last of Us, and others were revealed to thousands of eager fans. There are several games that we were only allowed to view at E3 this past June which will now offer us the opportunity for some hands-on time with the game’s is that is what PAX is about, being able to get up close and hands on time with the new product for both fans and media members alike.
This will be our first year covering Gamescom as due to its proximity on the calendar to PAX Prime and its locale in Germany the time and distance made it unfeasible. Thankfully , we now have staff located in that market who will be able to provide this coverage and I for one am very anxious to see what news is going to come from both shows.
For my line of thinking, Sony has been way too quiet of late in regard to their pending Playstation 4. Outside of a few hands-on booths at the recent Comic Con International, we have not heard much in the way of new information about the highly anticipated console.
Recently Microsoft has made some moves in an effort to address consumer concerns such as no longer requiring the Kinect to be connected when using the system and increasing the speed of the GPU system.
So what if anything the Sony have in store? The most likely scenario would be a formal announcement of a ship date as if indeed these are going to be coming to market in the next few months, and on sale date would be a natural thing to disclose.
However, Sony has done very well with how they have marketed the system and how they have decided to release information. After the reveal in February, they decided to wait until June before showing the world the look of their system. We know of several titles that will be coming for the system but one has to wonder how long it will be until Sony decides to fire off their next salvo as I simply cannot see them standing pat and riding out there early wave of momentum to launch.
While they are very happy with the response and presales of the system they cannot miss the fact that Microsoft has been making grounds by addressing many of the concerns that Sony humorously addressed during their presentation at E3. The most likely scenario aside from release dates is that the company may have a couple of A-list titles that they’re getting prepared to unveil.
Naughty Dog, who created the phenomenal Uncharted and The Last of Us would be a company who could definitely create a buzz by announcing a new exclusive for the system. There could also be several new titles and perhaps even features/partnerships that the company could announce that would create increased buzz about the system.
This is what makes this time of year so exciting as with two big shows in the next two weeks, you know something is very likely to be coming, but it is the speculation and anticipation surrounding announcements that drives fans and journalists into frenzies of anticipation and speculation. Stay tuned, I have a feeling this is going to be one wild ride.
You can check out our June magazine and our coverage of the E3 Expo and a report on the Xbox one below.
