E3 2014: Team USG's Thoughts on the Press Conferences

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With Nintendo's livestream presentation today, the big E3 press conferences are finally all over. So what did Team USG think of it all?

Well, you're in the right place; here's a handy roundup of what everyone thought of what we saw across the offerings from Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Sony and Nintendo.

Microsoft

Scalebound Proves that Platinum Stays in Business by Being Exclusive -- Bob ponders the reveal of Platinum's new game for Xbox One, and how the company seems to relish the prospect of creating different, exclusive titles for different platforms.

Microsoft Falls Back on its Greatest Hits... and Conker -- Kat mulls over Microsoft's distinctly "safe" games-centric presentation, during which we saw a lot of things we already knew about and only a few surprises.

Microsoft Wants You to Play Together -- Mike notes that Microsoft's press event was, more than anything, about playing together with friends and enemies alike.

Kinect! Where Are You? -- Jaz laments (or is it celebrates?) the total absence of Kinect from Microsoft's press event this year.

Will Microsoft's Halo Gambit Pay Off? -- Jeremy considers Microsoft's heavy focus on Halo, with an upcoming new game plus remastered collection of the first four games for Xbox One. Does the series really have that much appeal?

EA

A Glimpse of What to Expect from Star Wars Battlefront -- DICE didn't show much of its upcoming Star Wars title, but Kat has a few thoughts to share.

EA, Home of the Conceptual Prototype -- Mike notes that EA's presentation largely consisted of games we won't be seeing until 2015 at the earliest.

Ubisoft

How Much Assassin's Creed is Too Much Assassin's Creed? -- A question those of us who fell off the wagon early in the series have been asking for the past few years. Mike mulls it over.

Sony

Sony Might as Well Give Vita a Viking Funeral -- Although Sony's portable is slowly finding its stride, it was hardly mentioned in Sony's press event. It doesn't have to be that way, argues Jeremy.

Disney Hasn't Forgotten About LucasArts' Legacy, and That's Good News for All of Us -- Long thought forsaken by gamers and their original developers alike, Sony's surprise announcement that a Grim Fandango remaster was on its way to PlayStation platforms shows that current rights holder Disney has some awareness of the LucasArts back catalog's value.

Nintendo

Splatoon: Wii U's Squid Shooter Makes a Great Squad Shooter -- Jaz enthuses about one of the most unusual titles seen in Nintendo's press event: the inktastic multiplayer title Splatoon.

I'm Unreasonably Excited About Mario Maker -- Jeremy is... well, unreasonably excited about Mario Maker.

Nintendo Needs to Avoid Crossing the Line with Amiibo -- Nintendo's announcement of Skylanders-style NFC figurines for Wii U wasn't entirely unexpected, but it comes with its own risks. Kat hopes Nintendo doesn't get too greedy with its upcoming new source of revenue.