E3 2011: Loot Ninja Grades The Publisher Conferences

With Loot Ninja (okay, me) rating the big press conferences the other day, it was time to tackle the publisher conferences. I’m talking EA and Ubisoft. Two companies with differing views on the games industry. On one hand you have utter realism in Battlefield 3 and mature sports games in EA, and on the other you have the classic side-scrolling gameplay with Rayman: Origins and all of the widely varying stable franchises in Tom Clancy and Assassin’s Creed in Ubisoft. How did they compare to each other? Let’s go over the details.

EA - C

What do you remember from the EA conference besides the incredibly long fucking Battlfield 3 tank ride? Anything? Okay, maybe some quicktime events as you get out of the car in Need for Speed: The Run. Press triangle. Press triangle. Press triangle again! Mass Effect 3 with Kinect? No thanks.

EA just got up on stage and showed a shit-ton of games. No fluff, no mindless chatter, and definitely no Mr. Caffeine. They had a good lineup too, with SSX, Star Wars: Shadows of the Old Republic, and new IP in Overstrike and Reckoning. What they did do though is say one thing way to goddamn often, “Origin.com”. Jesus Christ do they want this shit to take off or what? Last time I checked you offer it to the gamers, say what features it has, and then if THE GAMERS want to embrace it they will, only because it offers great tools to enhance their game, not because some developer got on stage at E3 and said it 40 times.

But besides all of the Origin.com talk, EA had an average conference. There wasn’t anything mind-blowing, and the one thing we thought was going to be mind-blowing (the Battlefield 3 demo) was lackluster. “Man! This tank and dust and shit looks awesome!” I really wish they would have shown off more, and at least given a release date for Star Wars: Shadows of the Old Republic.

Ubisoft - A

Even with the inclusion of one of the most hated/remembered moments of years past (I’m looking at you laser tag game crew from last year), Ubisoft thought it would be a great idea to follow that up by having someone named “Mr. Caffeine” host their press conference. My God Ubisoft, you love to see us gamers squirm in our seats and duck our heads under our hands. Then again, Ubisoft is just known for awkwardness, they’re French.

If I had to choose the most jam packed full lineups at E3 this year, Ubisoft would be it: Rayman: Origins, Driver: San Francisco, Far Cry 3, Brothers In Arms: Vicious 4, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. Throw in Raving Rabbids Alive and a few Kinect titles and that’s a pretty damn strong lineup.

Ubisoft apparently realized their problem last year and had no such awkwardness (besides a few dick jokes and unnecessary ”shit”s). What they did do though was showcase how well rounded the company is, both showing off great classic gameplay in Rayman: Origins, showing where they are going with the Assassin’s franchise, as well as introducing new IP to grow the company. I honestly can’t say that about any of the other conferences (the big 3 included).

Even with the inclusion of Mr. Caffeine this year, Ubisoft still in my mind had the best of the conferences, showcasing everywhere they’ve been, where they are now, and where they are going forward with Kinect integration and future titles in their flagship franchises. Good job Ubisoft.

So that’s about it. What did you guys think about the publisher conferences? Anything I missed that would have sent one over the top? Let me know in the comments.