E3 2014 Awards, As Decided By Our Writers
Best Conference
Winner: Nintendo
Where others padded their conference with blasts of as many titles possible, Nintendo focused solely on first-party exclusives. Where other conferences talked about OR showed their games, Nintendo talked about AND showed their games several times. New Zelda, Star Fox, Yoshi and Captain Toad titles? Check. The introduction of Amiibos? Great way to bring the figurine business back to Nintendo after squandering a business proposition with Activision. Best yet, the conference was succinct, filled with new and exciting games, titles that were coming out this year and included the Luigi Death Stare. Nintendo may not push the Wii U past the Xbox One or PS4 by the end of the 8th generation with their conference, but they definitely made the Wii U relevant once more. The dark days of being a Nintendo fan are numbered.
Worst Conference
“Winner”: EA
A lot of what EA brought to the table during their E3 2014 conference was a waste of time. Developer diaries are not as interesting as EA thinks they are, especially if you’re going to just talk about a new Mass Effect title and say you’re working on a new IP at BioWare Edmonton and go only into the barest of details. This happened several times, including Visceral Games’ new extreme sports game that we have no real idea about. Battlefield Hardline would have been an awesome reveal (especially with beta gameplay post-conference on PS4), but it was one of the worst-kept secrets that dates back to 2013. Nothing really excited us, and this pick for worst conference was GameSided’s most agreed-upon nomination out of any awards on this list.
Best New Game
Winner: Splatoon
Who knew that one of the more creative third-person shooters to come out of E3 2014 would come from Nintendo? It looks like the up-and-comers within Nintendo have something special on their hands, as they revealed Splatoon to much buzz on social media and gaming sites. With the goal being to paint your overworld map with as much of your team’s colored ink as possible, it doesn’t seem to make sense at all. However, with the creative ways to engage in combat, traverse the map like a squid floating through ink and with co-op and online play being the focus, Splatoon looks to be the game that Nintendo brings to the world that combines their creative thought process while meeting the needs of those for online play.
With that, we go on to the category you have been waiting for…
Best Game
Winner: Super Smash Bros
Super Smash Bros was so big this year, it received its own invitational tournament that showcased 16 players and 16 characters duke it out for supremacy. With hundreds of thousands watching throughout the stream, Twitch shoutcasters were in attendance to produce one of the most exciting moments to come out of E3 2014. The crowd was attentive, packed and ultra excited to see this new game in action for the very first time. Plus, people got to play near their homes with Best Buy locations nationwide letting the fans get to experience the fun for themselves. Game director Masahiro Sakurai made the trip over to wish good luck to all combatants, and Reggie Fils-Aime was on hand to give out the winner their trophy. All in all, Nintendo went full-in on Super Smash Bros, and for their efforts they receive GameSided’s Best Game of E3 2014.
So, GameSiders, what are your award winners for E3 2014? Let us know in the comments below.