The winner: Titanfall
Runners-up: The Division, Watch Dogs

Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs nearly won GamesBeat’s Game of the Show for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) for a second year in a row, but it may have split votes with another shooter from the same publisher, The Division. That left the door open for EA’s Titanfall (another shooter — sorry, that seems to be the dominant genre yet again at E3). It’s GamesBeat’s official E3 2013 Game of the Show.

Traditional mech-based shooters — think MechWarrior — are slow, lumbering affairs. But developer Respawn Entertainment infused these giant killer robots with modern speed. On-foot soldiers are nimble, too, with jetpacks that provide a quick boost to reach higher ground. The result is a very fast-paced first-person shooter with the zippiness of Call of Duty and all the good parts of Halo, Tribes, Hawken … well, you name it.

Since the GamesBeat staff split up and saw different things at the industry trade show, we wanted each writer to list their individual top threes to recognize more games that we’re excited about. Keep in mind, these are not finished products. Here are our favorites from what we saw.

For more coverage, please see our E3 page or click on the tags below the article.

Dan “Shoe” Hsu, GamesBeat editor-in-chief

1. The Evil Within (multiplatform)
2. The Division (multiplatform)
3. Dead Rising 3 (Xbox One)

*Note: I won’t put in a vote for Splinter Cell: Blacklist (see my disclosure here), but I want to give it an honest honorable mention here for its Spies vs. Mercs multiplayer mode.

Dean Takahashi, GamesBeat lead news writer

1. Titanfall (multiplatform)
2. Watch Dogs (multiplatform)
3. Dying Light (multiplatform)

Jeff Grubb, GamesBeat news writer

1. Titanfall (multiplatform)
2. Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)
3. Pikmin 3 (Wii U)

Source: Nintendo

Pikmin 3 (Wii U)

Giancarlo Valdes, GamesBeat correspondent

1. Eve-VR (PC/Oculus Rift)
2. The Wonderful 101 (Wii U)
3. Fantasia (multiplatform)

Sebastian Haley, GamesBeat correspondent

1. The Division (multiplatform)
2. Warframe (multiplatform)
3. Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)

Stefanie Fogel, GamesBeat correspondent

1. The Witcher 3 (multiplatform)
2. Transistor (multiplatform)
3. Contrast (multiplatform)

Source: Sony

Contrast (multiplatform)

Eduardo Moutinho, GamesBeat correspondent

1. Titanfall (multiplatform)
2. Watch Dogs (multiplatform)
3. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z (multiplatform)

Jasmine Rea, GamesBeat correspondent

1. Beyond: Two Souls (PlayStation 3)
2. Contrast (multiplatform)
3. Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (multiplatform)

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Even if the barrage of E3 news hasn’t tired you out by now (especially Xbone vs. PS4), thinking about which of the 90+ mentioned or announced E3 games you should buy will seriously hurt your head.

Thankfully, there are always some suckers out there doing the legwork. (That’d be us – Team Sucker.) We’ve sifted through the games and picked out the titles with actual preorder deals (no MSRP here, thankyouverymuch). Be warned, console fans: Many of these are PC digital titles on Steam or Origin. No gloating please, PC Master race.

Some of the best PC preorder deals come from a new 25% off Green Man Gaming coupon that applies to many upcoming preorder titles. The coupon applies to several big titles, including Batman: Arkham Origins, Saints Row IV, and Total War: Rome II. Although North American gamers can’t apply the coupon to Battlefield 4 or FIFA 14, gamers in Europe will be able to reap the discount for those titles.

(Note: game deals are sorted by platform and release dates.)

Hot E3 deals

Today’s release: The Last of Us (PS3) — $44.99 at NewEgg. What more can you ask for? 25% off for a PS3 exclusive title on release day. Newegg has limited quantities of these and as of writing there’s 1,200 copies sold. Rave reviews everywhere, check out Gamesbeat’s review here.

Aug. 20: Saints Row IV (PC Download) — $40 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. The IP survives the THQ bankruptcy and the 4th installment comes later this year. The game’s humor is always a bit crude and it’ll be interesting if Volition dials it down a notch.

Oct. 25: Batman Arkham Origins (PC Download) — $37.50 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. Its the 3rd installment to the Arkham series Batman game. What’s more to say? If you enjoy the previous two titles, you can expect more from the prequel game that’s set 5 years before Arkham Aslyum.

Oct. 29: Battlefield 4 + Premium Expansion Pack + $10 Credit or $8 Cash Back (PC Download) — $59.99 at Green Man Gaming. Coupon doesn’t work for North America gamers but Europeans can take 25% off the current list price. Preordering nets you the premium expansion pack.

E3 PC download deals

June 20: Magrunner: Dark Pulse (PC Download) — $16 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. This action/puzzle/FPS game is pretty low-key in the buzz department but gameplay looks pretty darn interesting.
 

June 21: MotoGP 2013 (PC Download) — $30 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. Not exactly a big title but moto racing fans may want to take a look at this game. Demo video here.
 

June 25: Deadpool (PC Download) — $31.99 at GameFly after coupon. How can you not preorder a Deadpool game? What’s that? Superhero games are generally bad adaptions? Okay, fine. (Here’s a demo gameplay video).
 

June 25: Company of Heroes 2 (PC Download) — $45 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. There’s also a digital collector’s edition available at $75 (regular price is $100). That’s not exactly cheap, but you do get more in-game goodies and digital flares (up to 24 skins).
 

Aug. 13: Europa Universalis 4 (PC Download) — $31.99 at GameFly after coupon. Grand strategy game fans needs no introduction to Europa 4. If you enjoy a 100x more complex version of RISK, Europa 4 is worth a look.
 

Aug. 27: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PC Download) — $22.50 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. Remember, if you own the first FF 14 on the PC, don’t buy A Realm Reborn because you’ll be getting it free from Square.
 

Sep. 3: Total War: Rome II + Greek States Culture Pack DLC (PC Download) — $44.97 at Green Man Gaming after coupon. Price has been fixed thus far for the Steam activated version of Rome II. Bonus DLC nets you three more factions to play with.

Nov. 5: Call of Duty: Ghosts + $7 Digital Credit (PC Download) — $59.99 at GameFly. Like Battlefield 4, there’s no price cut on Ghosts but you can get a $7 digital credit to enjoy an FPS with a dog companion. Totally never done before *cough dogmeat cough*.

Nov. 19: Need for Speed Rivals (PC Download) — $39.99 at GameFly after coupon. One of those franchise that will never end – this time, in an open-world setting. Successor of sorts to 1999′s High Stake. No deals yet for the PS4 and Xbox One version.

E3 console game deals

June 23: Game & Wario (Wii U) — $31.99 at NewEgg after coupon. Did a double-take with this one given gameplay video surfaced during E3 2012. Jury’s out to see if this party game will help lift Wii U sales.
 

June 25: Muramasa: Rebirth (PS Vita) — $31.99 at NewEgg after coupon. PS Vita port of The Demon Blade which was released all the way back in 2009. Eons ago in gaming time.
 

July 16: Shin Megami Tensei IV (Nintendo 3DS) — $41.99 at NewEgg after coupon. Atlus is throwing in a bunch of other goodies with this, including artbook and music collection CD.
 

Aug. 27: Lost Planet 3 (Xbox 360, PS3) — $51.99 at NewEgg after coupon. Cheapest we’ve seen this preorder thus far, and of interest to those who played Lost Planet: Extreme Condition half a decade ago. List is $60.
 

Aug. 20: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Blacklist (Xbox 360, PS3) — $49.99 at NewEgg after coupon. Its not The Division but we don’t expect the Unbisoft MMO to be done anytime soon. Third person action stealth, sequel to 2010′s Conviction.
 

Oct. 8: Beyond: Two Souls (PS3) — $51.99 at NewEgg after coupon. Fans of Ellen Page or “meta” themes should check this one out. From French developers Quantic Dream (aka the guys that brought us Heavy Rain).

Oct. 12: Pokemon X & Y (Nintendo 3DS) — $33.99 at NewEgg after coupon. The latest installment to the Pokemon game franchise. There’s a quick 52 second trailer from the Pokemon channel showing off a bit of the gameplay.
 

8th Gen console preorder

Don’t forget the console preorders! There’s nothing too exciting just yet, but both Microsoft and Sony do offer their respective consoles on their storefronts with preorder shipping incentives. Microsoft offers a stronger “Day One” offering with special commemorative controller, packaging, and decal. Of course, stronger preorder offering != better 8th gen console. We’ll let the consumer decide come D-Day.

Xbox One Day One Edition — $499.99 at Microsoft. Nicknamed the ‘Xbone’ by many detractors of its Internet connectivity requirement, but hey, you get some potentially cool tangible preorder bonuses.

PS4 500GB Console Pre-order — $399.99 at Sony. Cheaper than the Xbox One by $100, and preferred by many for its more laid-back approach to DRM. Get free 2-day shipping plus 400 Sony Rewards Points if you preorder.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Stay on top of all our E3 2013 coverage here.

LOS ANGELES — Beyond: Two Souls is out to capture the moral dilemmas that you face when you have supernatural powers. Will you use them for good? Or evil?

That’s the heart of the preview scene that Quantic Dream is showing at the E3 video game conference this week. Beyond: Two Souls is a cinematic game with an engaging story, and it was one of the top titles previewed at E3 last year. Sony is promoting it heavily again at this year’s show in anticipation of its Oct. 8 launch on the PlayStation platforms.

The story tracks the life of Jodie Holmes, a girl who has an invisible, ghost-like soulmate named Aiden. She can summon Aiden when she needs him, and Aiden can use supernatural powers like going through walls, choking people, and possessing them. The voice and motion actors include Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page (Jodie). The title is heavily anticipated in part because Quantic Dream always pushes the limit on making artistic, movie-like video games. Its past games include Heavy Rain and Omikron: The Nomad Soul.

With Beyond: Two Souls, Jodie has been recruited into the CIA. But it’s not for her own prowess as a spy, as she is one of the weakest-looking heroines you’ll ever see in a video game. It is because she can tap Aiden’s supernatural powers to do things that no one else can do.

Quantic Dream chief operating officer Guillaume de Fondaumiere told GamesBeat in an interview that the scene shows the choices that Jodie has to make and how she has been repurposed into a weapon by those who want to use her and Aiden for their own purposes. She has been assigned to take out a warlord named Jamal in Mogadishu, Somalia. At the demo’s start, she had just made a harrowing escape with a small Somali boy. Breathless, she says that she must part ways with him. He becomes emotional about that, but they separate.

Then Jodie begins to move up on Jamal’s compound in stealth. She can move quietly behind someone and then take them out herself. Or she can tap Aiden, who can choke the guards to death. If they catch Jodie, it’s all over. Once she spots the compound, she finds it’s heavily guarded. She switches over to Aiden, who crosses the street unseen. He finds a side door and unlocks it for Jodie. She then sneaks into the compound and sends Aiden out once again.

“As the player, you can switch between Jodie and Aiden at any time,” de Fondaumiere said. “You have to find a way to work together.”

Aiden is kind of a wispy smoke character who moves through walls and overhears conversations. He sneaks into a command center and identifies the warlord. You then have to decide how to attack. You can use Aiden to take possession of the body of one of the guards. The guard then walks over to the command center and sprays everyone with bullets. Jodie runs in to view the massacre and confirm the kill for the CIA. But then the little boy comes in and finds that the slain killer is his father. He points the finger at Jodie, who runs into the street.

A bunch of angry Somalis gather in the street and block Jodie’s path. She uses Aiden to clear a path. Some of the soldiers shoot at her, wounding her in the leg. She moves into a house and opens the door. Then she seeks help from others in the bar. No help is forthcoming. Jodie escapes into a building, but the Somalis surround it and pound on the door. She can escape through the roof. But if she is captured, she is taken out into the street. At that time, an extraction helicopter arrives and strafes the crowd. Soldiers drop down and rescue Jodie.

The scene is riveting, and the acting is top notch. But it is not very interactive. If you make a slightly wrong or late decision during the pursuit, you will be captured. The scene tells you what it’s like to become a supernatural agent for the government and what happens when you allow yourself to be manipulated in a bad way.

We caught up with de Fondaumiere at a recent Sony press event in advance of E3. Here’s our video interview.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Stay on top of all our E3 2013 coverage here.

LOS ANGELES — Beyond: Two Souls is one of the truly cinematic games coming out this year for Sony, with a deep story that is characteristic of game studio Quantic Dream.

In the scene that Quantic Dream is showing at the E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles, Jodie Holmes is 21 years old, and she is working for the Central Intelligence Agency. It isn’t the kind of job you’d expect for her, but the CIA is on to the fact that she is soulmates with Aiden, a ghost-like character with supernatural powers. Aiden can go through walls, choke people, and a find a way through obstacles that Jodie can’t penetrate.

So the CIA sends her into Somalia to perform an assassination. She has to take out a warlord in Mogadishu, and she gets help from a little Somali kid in doing that. You have to use Aiden’s special powers to infiltrate into the warlord’s compound. She has to sneak up on guys and take them out or rely on Aiden to set off diversions. This kind of work clearly doesn’t come naturally to Jodie, who still seems like a little girl. And when you perform the kill, it doesn’t go as planned.

“As the player, you can switch between Jodie and Aiden at any time,” de Fondaumiere said. “You have to find a way to work together.”

Sony is publishing Beyond: Two Souls for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 on Oct. 8.

We caught up with de Fondaumiere at a recent Sony press event in advance of E3. Here’s our video interview.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Stay on top of all our E3 2013 coverage here.

LOS ANGELES — Sony is riding a triumphant wave of happiness after unveiling specifics about the PlayStation 4 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2013. Officially, the PS4 puts no limit on used game sales and trading, and it retails for $399 — $100 less than the Xbox One. Beyond the crowd-pleasing news about cost and player freedom, Sony put together a content-rich show and even breathed a bit more life into the Vita and PlayStation 3.

In fact, the slowly maturing handheld opened the conference. Sony is renewing its support for the Vita by enabling streaming for several PS4 games. Remote play on the handheld isn’t widely supported for the PS3 right now, but the industry-wide infatuation with second-screen play is likely a motivating factor for increased functionality. Sony also teased Telltale Games’ upcoming second season of The Walking Dead: 400 days. The Vita version of Season One will come included with the first episode of the new game, with continued content to release in the future.

Much like Microsoft, Sony is promising to support its existing platforms well into the PS4′s lifespan. Grand Theft Auto V, one of the most anticipated games launching this fall, is getting its own special console bundle along with a GTA-branded Pulse headset. Early on, Grand Theft Auto was exclusive to Sony, and the initiative to launch a special console comes from a need to rekindle that relationship.

If Grand Theft Auto isn’t enough incentive to keep your PS3 around, Sony showed more footage from Gran Turismo 6, Rain, Puppeteer, and Quantic Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls. While not much new information came out about the other three, new footage from Beyond set a remarkably different tone from the grim and supernatural scene painted at last year’s E3. Jodie Holmes, the tormented heroine of Beyond, got her start through military training, it seems, and engaged in live combat. She lives a very haunted life now, and the military likely harnessed her gifts before she ever used psychokinesis to throw coffee across a room.

Continued PS3 support is heartwarming for many gamers, but the biggest thrill of the conference came from Sony finally revealing the PS4 system design. Andrew House, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment, unveiled the angular box. The PS4 follows the strange two-toned design seen in the restyling of the Xbox 360 and the slim PS2. Part of the console is matte black while the other half has a high-gloss finish. Size-wise, the PS4 looks like it is about the same size as the slim PS3.

Sony is very proud of the PS4′s design and tailored the rest of its E3 lineup to match the console’s sleekness. The onslaught of PS4 exclusives started with the retro-futuristic The Order: 1886 from Ready at Dawn and Sony Santa Monica. Melding Victorian trappings with elevated trains and automatic weapons, The Order is a compelling new direction for two studios that worked primarily on the God of War franchise before now.

Hits kept coming as Quantic Dream unveiled a humorous sneak peek at The Dark Sorcerer, and Sony reconfirmed its relationship with indie developers. Independent studios can now self-publish on the PS4, meaning they do not have to partner with third-party companies like Ubisoft or Electronic Arts. Sony is officially the first hardware developer that allows self-publishing, and it proceeded to list several studios taking advantage of the feature, including Bastion creator Supergiant Games and Oddworld Inhabitants.

Tension rose after the announcement of an HD remake of Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssey with confirmation that both Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy Versus XIII are real and “currently in development.” It’s been a while since Versus was last seen at E3 and apparently long enough that Square Enix decided to rebrand it as Final Fantasy XV. With Lightning Returns in the works as well, gamers have probably had more than their fill of XIII’s world, and it is exciting to see Square embark on a new offline Final Fantasy that borrows heavily from more action-oriented games like Devil May Cry. The traditional turn-based combat system that the Final Fantasy series is known for was surprisingly absent as this game’s protagonist jumped over bannisters and crouched behind cabinets. One thing will never change about Final Fantasy, though, and that’s oversized swords in the middle of a gunfight.

After a dazzling co-op demonstration of Bungie’s Destiny, Sony ramped up to its biggest announcement of the night: the response to Microsoft’s (basically) always-online Xbox One that gives players very little control over how they use their content. Sony’s answer was to give consumers what they want and allow used game sales. The PS4 also won’t require a persistent Internet connection to work. The number of things the PS4 will allow gamers to do reads like someone at Sony simply made a list of every complaint the Internet had about the Xbox One and came up with a satisfying solution. Sony is well aware that Microsoft is a major competitor, but the thinly veiled mockery in Sony’s recent ads and statements makes it clear that the company isn’t going to let Microsoft rest.

No, Sony is gunning for Microsoft and is actively targeting gamers who are distrustful of the Xbox One’s business plan. If that wasn’t clear from directly addressing “no 24-hour sign-in” requirements, Sony setting the PS4′s retail price at $399 is the company’s attempt at a killing blow. Cheaper, conceptually more accessible for gamers, and certainly more profitable for self-publishers, Sony kicked off this E3 by going directly for their competition’s throat.

Sony wants gamers to trust the next generation and is getting a lot right. But one problem might sour some die-hard PS3 users on upgrading immediately. Playing games online is now a premium service, meaning that multiplayer fanatics will have to pay a monthly or yearly fee to get their fix. Before now, such a move might have prompted players to focus on the 360 or Xbox One, but Sony has carefully positioned itself to appear customer-savvy in light of Microsoft’s aloof stance on used games.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Stay on top of all our E3 2013 coverage here.

LOS ANGELES — Sony revealed continued support for its current-generation PlayStation 3 console during its press conference at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The Japanese giant announced new titles and showed never-before-seen footage for some already-announced, highly anticipated games.

Starting off, the company debuted clips for Puppeteer and Rain, two new releases from its Japan Studio. Puppeteer is a whimsical platformer, featuring colorful graphics and intriguing character design. Rain has a more melancholy look, and its trailer centered on wispy, translucent characters walking through a rainy, equally gloomy city.

New footage followed for both the star-studded Beyond: Two Souls and real-driving-simulator-sequel Gran Turismo 6. Beyond’s trailer showcased protagonist Jodie Holmes, voiced by actress Ellen Page, going through some serious training, which included an army-style obstacle course and martial-arts sparring. The video then cut to a warzone scene where Holmes ran from gun-toting enemies. Beyond: Two Souls comes out on October 8.

The next trailer gave us all another glimpse at the upcoming Gran Turismo 6. GT6′s all-new rendering engine was the star here, along with some other new jargon-laden features. Cars were shiny, slick, and fast. Look out for the racing title later this year.

Keep up on all of GamesBeat’s E3 2013 coverage at our hub page.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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If you follow VentureBeat but don’t regularly check our GamesBeat site, here’s a list of the best video game stories we ran over the last seven days that you may have missed.

This week, Activision confirms Call of Duty: Ghosts is a real thing after British retailer Tesco leaked that information last week, Mojang sells 10 million copies of Minecraft on mobile devices, and Re-Mission 2 explores how games can help kids survive cancer.

You’ll also find interviews with Quantic Dream’s David Cage and Gree’s search for a billion-dollar game. Also, be sure to check out our feature on fighting game special attacks so long you could make a sandwich before they finish.

News

• The DeanBeat: Neurogaming is a nascent market fueled by brain games and sensors
• Playstudios launches new social casino game with the Mirage brand
• Zynga reveals League of Legends-like Solstice Arena for mobile
• Activision quiet as Wii U version of Call of Duty: Ghosts fails to materialize
• Activision confirms Call of Duty: Ghosts for next-gen Xbox with new trailer
• Gearbox artist: Dragon’s Crown’s art is like that of ‘some juvenile delinquent’
• Ace of Spades, Brick-Force, and Guncraft fire away in a block-shooter faceoff
• Jazz Boatman wants you to know that sexy boat game Leviathan is finally out
• Zynga to publish Disruptor Beam’s Game of Thrones: Ascent social game
• Candy Crush Saga rules mobile game downloads, but Puzzle & Dragons has the revenue
• Respawn’s shooter rumored to be a next-generation Xbox exclusive

Mobile News

• Google Play comes to Nook at long last, as B&N throws in the Lone Ranger towel
• Apple announces countdown to 50 billion apps served, reveals top 50 apps of all time
• Mojang sells 10 million copies of Minecraft on mobile devices alone
• Mobile developer Dragonplay expands into publishing
• WemoLab launches SuperFugu undersea exploration adventure for iPad
• Asia’s Line mobile messaging network crosses 150M users and 100M game downloads
• Just one more turn: Sid Meier designing new mobile game
• Let’s put a dollar on it: Skillz brings real-money cash wagering to Android

Strange News

• No joke: Why CollegeHumor made a 3DS game
• Smell could be the last frontier in making games more immersive and realistic
• E-sports league admits employee installed malware to ‘mine’ Bitcoins
• Madden developer’s lawsuit against EA going to trial
• Game, movie, or both? Stunning footage shows why Beyond: Two Souls belonged at Tribeca
• CCP Games cuts deal for Eve Universe TV show based on real-life stories
• 2K Games won’t have a booth at this year’s E3

Fighting Words

• LaunchPad toys is making educational games, not Angry Birds-like ‘digital pacifiers’

Going Online

• 1M gamers register for accounts in sci-fi MMO Defiance
• China’s PC online game market to hit $11.9B in 2013
• Cryptic, Wizards of the Coast aren’t worried about ‘D&D Next’ hurting Neverwinter MMO
• UltimatePoker.com goes live as the first real-money online gambling site in Nevada
• The big debate about the blurring of social casino games and online gambling
• Game developers revive Sissyfight as an open-source online game about sexism

Tech

• Intel promises souped-up graphics with new fourth-generation Core processors
• Turbulenz HTML5 game engine is now open source
• Game console chips will lead the way for AMD’s semi-custom business
• How Google is melding our real and virtual worlds with games, apps … and Glass
• Nvidia hires new chief to replace outgoing Tegra leader
• Next-gen Xbox may turn your room into the game using special projector

Indies

• Indie developer invites everyone to learn bathroom etiquette in Men’s Room Mayhem for PS Vita

Interviews

• Grid 2 developer discusses online cheaters and what to do with them (interview)
• Quantic Dream’s David Cage describes growing as a storyteller, doesn’t rule out film directing (interview)
• Gree searches for the billion-dollar game from its swanky S.F. headquarters (interview)

Pieces of Flair

• GamesBeat’s Favorite Skyrim Mods #4: Tropical Skyrim
• ROUNDTABLE’D! Game characters objectify Dragon’s Crown’s female anatomy!
• Ghost of a Tale: A film animator turns to Indiegogo to fund his first video game
• The 99 cent smartphone game sending bikes to Africa
• Fighting the robot wars: Mechwarrior Online vs. Hawken vs. Heavy Gear Arena
• You can make a snack before these fighting game supermoves finish
• Re-Mission 2 games reimagine how to help kids survive cancer
• 3 retro Disney games that don’t deserve remakes

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Beyond: Two Souls made a big splash at the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend with the premiere of a new trailer and more than 30 minutes of footage. Shortly after the screening, I chatted with Beyond’s director and developer Quantic Dream’s founder, David Cage.

Since he’s already done dozens of interviews about Beyond: Two Souls already, I focused more on questions around his storytelling growth, the deeper meaning behind Beyond, and his controversial comments around the state of the gaming industry. I also couldn’t help but ask if he’d ever want to direct a film.

Check out the full interview below.

GamesBeat: What was it like showing off Beyond here at the Tribeca Film Festival? This is a first right?

David Cage: Oh, yah, it’s the first time a video game is a part of an official film selection at a film festival. [L.A. Noire also appeared at Tribeca in 2011. I forgot about this little tidbit, and I assume Cage did as well --Ed.]

It was a great pleasure and a great honor to be here. It was just fantastic. We work on creating bridges between films and games for 16 years. So being here just shows that it’s something that comes true. It’s very exciting.

GamesBeat: Did you ever think this would happen back in the Indigo Prophecy days?

Cage: Oh, no. No, no — not at all. It came really as a surprise, even for us, even today. … I was also really surprised to see the enthusiasm that there is here in the festival and with the audience. This audience was really curious about what we were doing. There were some gamers in the theater, but there were also some movie buffs. People were just curious to see this new form of interactivity and storytelling.

GamesBeat: How have you grown as a storyteller, as a director since your last few games? I see a direct progression in skill.

Cage: I try to get better at what I’m doing, game after game. But I’m learning, I’m still learning. When I started I wanted probably to make games that were inspired by films that I liked. So if you think of Indigo Prophecy, or even Heavy Rain somewhat … .

But Heavy Rain was for me a big turning point, because it was the first moment where I realized I could write about things that were more personal. I didn’t have to write about superheroes saving the world. I could just write about a father wanting to save his son and things that were closer to my personal life.

I think the difference between Heavy Rain and Beyond is that Heavy Rain still had a lot of references to films. Especially in the mood and it was a dark thriller … where in Beyond we tried to create something truly original and doesn’t refer to anything.

GamesBeat: Do you feel more confident now as a storyteller? You’re doing it more as a game lifting what you need from movies, instead of trying to be like movies.

Cage: It’s about confidence, it’s about also what I realized on Heavy Rain — when you talk about something personal it makes … it could make an interesting story, or at least a story that would be appealing to others. And I saw how players responded emotionally to Heavy Rain was absolutely amazing… You see the emotional response that you can get when you’re sincere in your writing, and when you write about something that matters to you.

GamesBeat: How do you write around the danger of the “Choose your own adventure book” gimmick?

Cage: Well, for me each moment is unique in the story, so I don’t work on mechanics really. I don’t have a set of rules that I define at the beginning and I just use them in the course of my story. It’s really like every second of the game I try to reinvent the rules and say, OK, this is the story I want to tell, this is the moment I want to create, what is the best possible way to interact in this scene and to play it and make something meaningful?

So it’s very challenging to write, because in each scene you need to reinvent yourself. But at the same time, it creates, I hope, an experience that’s really different and unique, that really comes out like a journey where you never know what to expect next.

GamesBeat: Would you ever consider directing a film?

Cage: Honestly, I don’t know where I want to go with my career right now. I never thought about it like … I don’t have a plan for where I want to be in five years or 10 years from now. And I know that making films has never been a goal for me, so I’m not making games in the hope that one day I’ll make a film. But it’s something I may explore at some point, because working with people like Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe has been an amazing experience.

GamesBeat: It would actually be less work for you to make a film.

Cage: It would be a different work. I’m really cautious about this because I have a lot of respect for cinema. And I know where we are, and I know where the best filmmakers are, and there’s a huge gap. I still feel I have a lot to learn before having something meaningful to say in a film. But, yah, this is something I’ll start thinking about.

GamesBeat: Your game is called Beyond: Two Souls. There seems to be something very metaphysical about it. How do you define the soul?

Cage: Working on Beyond I try to give an explanation to death that’s different from the explanation religions have to give. So I made up my own story around all this, and how life and death and souls work. So I don’t want to reveal too much of this now. But I think my story makes sense, in that aspect of telling how life and death work together.

GamesBeat: I know you’ve talked about how a lot of games right now are really focused on shooting. It seems almost as if gamers are defensive when you bring this up.

Cage: Well, I said what I had to say at DICE, and I don’t know if I should elaborate on that.

But, yeah, the game industry can be very conservative in some ways. So people want more of what they already know, but I believe games can also explore different directions.

And I’m not against shooters, I’m not against all these things. There’s a market for this, and people enjoy it. That’s fine. I’m just saying, why not explore in different directions. So we’ll see. I mean this is something happening right now, whether some people like it or hate it, whether they scream on forums or not, it’s happening.

So there are different people trying different things, and there are people playing these games. And if you look at the success of different games and how the market evolves right now, you see this. Some gamers become older; they want different types of games.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Note: This article contains spoilers from more than 30 minutes of Beyond: Two Souls gameplay. 

Beyond: Two Souls is the first game I’ve seen that lets you play through both a suicide attempt and the birth of a child.

It’s a game that asks big questions about life and death, all the while straddling the line between “game” and “cinema.” None of that is surprising since it comes from the mind of Quantic Dream’s David Cage, who’s known for pushing gaming narrative boundaries with titles like Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy.

Judging from the 35 minutes of footage I saw last night at New York City’s Tribeca Film Festival (available in its entirety below), Beyond’s gameplay can easily be enjoyed as a dramatic film, as well as a thrilling game experience. [A new trailer for the game also premiered last night.]

The PlayStation 3 title stars Ellen Page (Inception, Juno) as Jodie, a young girl with a mysterious connection to an entity she calls Aiden. She also has a close relationship to a scientist played by Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man, Antichrist). Jodie’s life is in shambles, and you’re joining her on a journey of self-discovery.

Sure, you’ve got occasional flashing buttons for quick time events (in gaming parlance, these are buttons you hit to complete specific actions during cut scenes) and a disembodied entity that lets you manipulate the game’s world. But, for the most part, Beyond: Two Souls presents a strong story that’s well written, well acted, and well directed.

It seems Cage’s ambitions of delivering a story cinematically through games have come true.

It’s a snowy night. We find Jodie sleeping outside on the city street. It seems she’s been homeless for a while now. She struggles to get up, and slowly makes her way to a phone. She calls a friend, possibly her only friend, Nathan Dawkins (Dafoe).

“They’re all around me,” she says. Despite Nathan’s pleas, she doesn’t give up many details about her situation. It’s just a check-in call. She hangs up — and with little energy left, collapses on the street.

Jodie’s eventually saved by Stan (played by Eric Winter), a kind-hearted homeless man who nurses her back to health. But after finally recovering, it’s not too long before Jodie tries to kill herself by stepping off a highway overpass (You also have the option of not trying to jump). Aiden, her mysterious spiritual friend, saves Jodie, but she’s none too pleased.

“I’ve been running for weeks, and for what?” she cries. “I have no home, no money, no food. My life is a fucking disaster. I’m tired of life, I give up.”

Suicide is rarely a topic in games, but in this scene you can feel Jodie’s desperation. For her, life is a curse.

The suicide attempt is made even more poignant with a later scene, where Jodie helps a homeless women deliver her child. Amidst the filth of an abandoned building and Jodie’s own desperation, life is born. (It’s reminiscent of a similar scene from the film Children of Men).

The footage is full of beautiful moments, as well as shocking ones. In an effort to earn some money on the street, Jodie picks up a guitar and sings a mournful rendition of Beck’s Lost Cause. Later, after Stan is jumped by a group of punks, Jodie delivers an ass-whupping of Jason Bourne proportions. (I love the fact that she’s strong on her own, without always needing Aiden’s help.)

When the gameplay footage ended on a cliffhanger, you could feel the audience’s anticipation to learn what happens next. That’d be a decent accomplishment for a  film — but for a game that’s meant to be played, it was astounding how much Beyond was able to rope us in simply based on watching it.

In a Q&A session after the footage screening, Page admitted she hadn’t played a game since Crash Bandicoot, but she found herself astounded by the world Cage had created. It also took some time for her to get used to acting with 90 motion capture dots on her face (though she noted that getting prepped with mo-cap equipment wasn’t much different than makeup for a normal film).

Beyond: Two Souls hits stores on October 8.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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A new trailer for Quantic Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls, the developer’s PlayStation 3 follow-up to the cinematic Heavy Rain, premiered tonight at New York City’s Tribeca Film Festival. It’s the second time a video game has participated in the festival, following L.A. Noire two years ago.

The trailer lays out the basic premise of Beyond, but it also gives us plenty more footage to whet our appetites for the title’s October release.

Ellen Page (who starred in films like Juno and Inception) stars as Jodie Holmes, a young girl mysteriously linked to an entity she calls Aiden, who she can talk to telepathically and rely on for help throughout the game. Beyond covers 15 years of Jodie’s life — from her early years to her troubled adulthood — as she tries to figure out her place in the world (being able to talk to a spirit isn’t really a recipe for normalcy, after all).

The trailer begins with Jodie calling a friend, Nathan Dawkins (played by Willem Dafoe), who serves as her surrogate father after her parents apparently abandon her. We see glimpses of Jodie’s childhood, including a vicious scene with her father calling her a monster, as well as her training with the CIA.

David Cage, founder of Quantic Dream and the game’s director, joined Page and other members of the cast to show off more than 30 minutes of the game’s footage tonight. Look out for more coverage around that soon. Beyond: Two Souls debuts on the PS3 on Oct. 8.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Read all of our PlayStation 4 coverage here.

As the curtain closed on Sony’s revelation of the PlayStation 4, I was pretty excited. After all, Sony hasn’t revealed this much about the future of games since 2005 and 2006. But some of that reality distortion field is wearing off, and I’ve decided to take a step back and rate the overall goods that Sony delivered against expectations.

I was annoyed that Sony didn’t say more. The Japanese company revealed a fall launch, but not a launch date. It didn’t show the box, talk about the price, or say if it had functioning hardware. Given the history of console-first revelations, that’s typical. After all, it doesn’t want to give too many answers to its rivals Microsoft and Nintendo, which will maneuver based on what they learn about Sony’s strategy. And it doesn’t want to overpromise and underdeliver.

Still, I come away unsure about whether Sony “gets it” and really understands how to make itself relevant in game world that is full of business and technology disruptions. Sony answered this in part, but not in full.

But some questions are being answered as I write. Sony didn’t say, for instance, if the PS4 would play used games — considered a sacred right of fair use by many gamers. But Sony’s game studio chief Shuhei Yoshida told Eurogamer that players would indeed be able to. By the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Sony should address all of our lingering doubts.

I was intrigued to notice that Sony is continuing a tradition of learning from Westerners. It didn’t learn all that much from former chief executive officer Howard Stringer, the first Brit to run Sony. But Andrew House, the head of the company, came out on stage instead of current CEO Kaz Hirai.

The lead system architect was Mark Cerny, who has tremendous respect among game developers (and is fluent in Japanese). I hear from a good source that Cerny was able to get good feedback from the West and translate that to the Japanese system engineers, and most of the user interface for the new machine was created in the West as well.

Dave Perry, the CEO of Gaikai (the cloud-gaming startup which Sony bought for $380 million), talked about Sony’s broader network strategy.

This fresh crew of leaders shows that Sony is listening to the markets that matter, as the U.S. and Europe are critical to the success of any console. In the past, Sony’s thinking seemed to be too insular and too focused on Japanese styles of doing business. Fair or not, I associate that with being unable to learn from startups — not open enough — and failing to listen closely to the desires of game developers.

Perry’s technology has brought some much-needed flexibility to Sony’s console business. Cloud gaming is potentially disruptive as it allows a publisher to run a game in an Internet-connected cloud and stream it from the data center to any client. Sony can use it for backward compatibility, allowing you to play older PlayStation, PS2, and PS3 games on the PS4.

It remains to be seen how much full game streaming will be enabled by the Gaikai technology. You can certainly use the game streaming to play demos, and it’s good that Sony fully embraced game downloading by enabling you to do it in the background, while you’re doing other things like playing games, said analyst Atul Bagga.

And the streaming technology from Gaikai also allows you to play PS4 games on a handheld PlayStation Vita and perhaps other devices as well. I really like this aspect of the technology, which House said puts the gamer at the center of the ecosystem, rather than the living room console. It embraces the reality of mobile devices being used in concert with a console.

The cloud gaming technology can get rid of the need to put backward-compatibility hardware in the console, lowering its costs. Ultimately, no one cares about backward compatibility except at the very beginning of a console sales cycle. So enabling it with as little cost as possible is an absolutely necessary ingredient of a modern game console that Microsoft has to match.

The cloud solution also allows Sony to break with the mistakes of its past. The Cell processor from IBM, Toshiba, and Sony was never popular with developers, who hated its complexity. Intel’s own chips were too expensive, but the accelerated processing units (APUs) from Advanced Micro Devices fit the bill. The eight x86 64-bit cores are both powerful and inexpensive. They can be put on the same chip as a graphics processing unit, reducing the cost and complexity of the console. And they bring the economic efficiency of the PC and its volume cost reductions to Sony while offloading considerable engineering tasks.

PC gamemakers will embrace this solution as they already know how to program PC games using the same technology. This is a big step toward simplification of the game development process, and that could help lower costs, rather than constantly increase them. The move toward the PC will get more developers on Sony’s side. After coming in third place with the PlayStation 3, Sony needs to convince developers that they will profit by sticking with Sony. And it needs to reveal games that are better on the console than they will be on the PC.

Sony showed off a bunch of cool-looking games from a number of third-party developers. But many of them are not that exciting when you consider whether they will be exclusives. Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs, Bungie’s Destiny, Quantic Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls, Capcom’s Deep Down, and Square Enix’s Final Fantasy game will likely also appear on the next Microsoft console. Those games certainly show off the kind of outstanding entertainment that will define the next generation. Quantic Dream’s rendering of a human face looked extremely realistic.

But Sony didn’t show off the “only on PlayStation 4″ titles. Bungie’s game, for instance, will also debut on the PlayStation 3 at the same time as it appears on the PS4.

But I can’t fault Sony too much here. It did show off some cool Sony-owned content. Sony’s Killzone: Shadow Fall looked stellar, but it is one more installment in an aging franchise. The Killzone demo certainly looked like it was running live, in real-time, on prototype hardware. That’s a good sign, and it is welcome, considering that it’s easy to play tricks by faking game play by using animated movies in place of real-time live gaming. I may have been fooled, but it certainly looked nice. I hear that the prototype hardware is plentiful and developers are using the machines to create their games.

The Drive Club from Evolution Studios is a unique take on social racing. Knack could have a place in the comic-combat genre. And Media Molecule seems to have a weird gesture-based sculpture game in the works. I was impressed that some of these developers said they had been working for years on PS 4 titles, or at least were working on their concepts for a long time.

But many fans were flabbergasted that there was still no mention of Sony’s The Last Guardian, a title that has been missing in action for years. Square Enix made a major fumble, too, when it showed an old trailer and still didn’t describe the game that the video revealed. The company obnoxiously told the crowd to wait until E3.

I wondered why Electronic Arts wasn’t there in a big way as the company is still a major player in the industry. But EA probably didn’t have a brand new intellectual property that was ready to unveil yet. Still, the absence of the big player will set some conspiracy theories in motion. I have no doubt that Sony has enough backers, but it should show more of them.

I was also disturbed that Sony said little about its own response to two major disruptions in the games business. Sony didn’t say what operating system the PS4 runs, but I hear it isn’t Android. It’s another custom-made Sony operating system, designed to run games fast.

Is it a mistake? Sony might have embraced the open nature of operating systems like Android and the innovation that comes from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. An open OS is upgradeable and flexible to change with the times.

Embracing Android would also invite large numbers of indie game developers to make games for the PS 4. Sony did not do a very good job of communicating this goal of getting more indies in its press conference and in a follow-up interview with Gamasutra. It is being too vague. But from what I hear, the console isn’t going to be as magically easy for indies to self-publish games on — at least not as easy as it is on Android. Until we know where Sony stands on this, we won’t know what it really means by being “more open.”

Sony did embrace sharing on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. It embraced video spectating via services such as Twitch. And it also will host a variety of non-game video services, from Netflix to Vudu. That will help it fulfill the PS4′s role as an entertainment device, beyond a game console. But I saw no evidence that Sony will catch up with Microsoft’s superior Xbox Live service.

Sony also didn’t speak much about free-to-play games. Indeed, other players like Nvidia, PlayJam (GameStick), Ouya, and others are trying to bring those disruptive forces to the TV. If Sony doesn’t do it, then these other players have a chance, and so does Microsoft.

I do think that Sony showed off enough to do a great deal of PR damage to Nintendo, whose Wii U game console isn’t selling as well as it hoped. If Sony comes out with the right games, the right price, and the right launch date, the PlayStation 4 could be a huge threat to Nintendo’s console.

To sum it up, Sony’s revelation raised more questions than it answered. That’s par for the course in the games business, as most major revelations don’t take place until E3 in June. But I wish there were more “wow moments” than questions or disappointments. In that respect, Sony left some major openings for Microsoft to exploit.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Cage, the chief exec of movie-like game developer Quantic Dream (the makers of alternative titles such as Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain), is making an ambitious game dubbed Beyond: Two Souls, which received accolades last year at the E3 game trade show. He gave a talk at the DICE Summit about the “Peter Pan syndrome,” or how the game industry’s refusal to grow up as other industries have.

“The ‘Peter Pan syndrome’ describes a person who is socially immature and anxious at the idea of becoming an adult,” he said. “They refuse to grow up.”

As evidence for this, Cage pointed to the list of the 30 best-selling games of all time. Nintendo had 21 of these, such as Super Mario Bros., mostly directed at kids. The Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto series accounted for a number of the game on the list. And the lone casual title was Kinect Adventures.

This means that the winning genres are kids, casual, and violent action games.

If you compare the 1992 game Wolfenstein 3D to Call of Duty: Black Ops II in 2012, you see the tremendous evolution of realistic graphics. But the games, he said, are pretty much the same.

“You kill people before they kill you,” Cage said. “We use the same paradigms. You master this system to beat the computer or your friends. Same worlds. Same games. No surprise, we have the same audience.”

Cage said the game industry should change because the landscape is changing quickly, with big changes in digital distribution that brings more competition. On top of that, the competition for entertainment time in a world of many platforms is getting even more fierce.

Cage’s prescription for the game industry follows.

1. He said we have to make games for a wider audience.

2. Change our paradigms. “We cannot keep doing same games all the time,” he said. “Violence and platforms are not the only way. We have to decide that as an industry.” He added, “If the main character can’t hold a gun, designers don’t know what to do. How do I play?

3. Remember the importance of meaning. He asked, “What do we have to say?” He said games should address real-world themes like politics or homosexuality, should let authors in. All real-world themes should come into use.

“It will leave an imprint and keep you thinking about it after you have finished,” he said.

4. Become accessible. “Let’s focus on minds, not on thumbs,” he said. “Who cares how fast you can move your fingers?” He said the journey is important, not the challenge.

5. Bring other talent on board. Like filmmakers.

6. Establish new relationships with Hollywood. Games shouldn’t just be licensed products. “This is not the right way to build a relationship,” he said. “Games can be a respected medium now. Time has come for a constructive, balanced new partnership.”

7. Changing our relationship with censorship. “Sometimes I use violence, sometimes I use sex,” he said. “Now I have someone looking over my shoulder saying what you can’t do. If it is OK in a film, why is it not OK in a game?” The answer is games are “interactive” or geared toward kids. “As long as violence and sex are put in context, they should be fine,” he said. At the same time, he is shocked by games that try to one-up each other with increasing levels of violence. “We should stop doing this, because this is a matter of being responsible to ourselves and society,” he said. “If we don’t want to be accused of being responsible every time something terrible happens, we should be responsible.”

8. The role of the press should evolve from reviewers to critics. “Press are very clever people who analyze the industry,” he said. “On the other side of the spectrum, people give just scores. You have a camera bug and so you get a 5-out-of-10 [review score]. This is not press. Where is the analysis or thinking? Being a critic is a very serious job.”

9. The importance of gamers. When you buy games, he said, “You place a vote on where the future of games should go.”

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Games don’t have to be based on movies or sports teams to feature real humans. As 3D rendering technology advances, more and more developers turn to flesh-and-bone actors, and models to give life to their protagonists and antagonists.

In the case of Far Cry 3′s Vaas Montenegro (top image), Ubisoft hired Canadian actor Michael Mando to portray, voice, and provide motion capture for the sadistic madman as well as star in promotional material. Vaas’s appearance (combined with Mando’s performance) give the title an extra layer of realism.

I made a list of 20 celebrity sightings in modern video games with side-to-side images of their in-game models next to their real faces. Hover the cursor over the image below to launch the gallery.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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The sensory smorgasbord of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) heaved itself upon the video game industry for three straight days, and GamesBeat’s intrepid crew enthusiastically hit showfloors, conference halls, and meeting rooms to offer our readers piles of previews, interviews, and news.

What follows below is our collected coverage during the show. You’ll find everything here sorted into categories for easy navigability.

Awards

Who needs stickers? We analyzed, judged, and sorted our top picks for the show’s offerings directly for you. Take a look — the results might surprise you.

GamesBeat’s E3 2012 Game of the Show…plus staff picks – by Dan “Shoe” Hsu

The GamesBeat E3 non-award awards: The least prestigious awards in the industry – by GamesBeat staff

The coolest technologies we saw at E3 2012 – by Dean Takahashi

The best family games of E3 – by GamesBeat staff

The top 8 trends of E3, from bows to brutality – by Mike Minotti

The top 15 swag shirts of E3 2012 – by Rus McLaughlin

Previews

You’ve found the beating heart of E3′s overwhelming magic. Whether from observatory impressions or direct, hands-on experiences, GamesBeat discussed and dissected a sizable stable of upcoming games and hardware.

Hands-on

Hitman Absolution lets you perform hits in giant crowds – by Dean Takahashi

Metro Last Light fights shooter fatigue with deeper single player – by Dean Takahashi

Crysis 3 brings the jungle, gun hacking, and silent stealth kills to Manhattan – by Dean Takahashi

EA reveals Dead Space 3, coming with drop-in cooperative play – by Dean Takahashi

Sleeping Dogs turns Hong Kong crime movies into a video game – by Dean Takahashi

From the creator of Portal, Quantum Conundrum caters to physics-based puzzle gamers – by Dean Takahashi

Capcom remakes hack-slash-shoot-grapple formula with upcoming DmC: Devil May Cry – by Dean Takahashi

Capcom shows three playable characters for Resident Evil 6 – by Dean Takahashi

Finding similarities between Arma III and Carrier Command: Gaea Mission – by Omri Petitte

Neverwinter’s user-generated content could elevate it above the competition – by Stefanie Fogel

DmC: Devil May Cry is full of swagger…and F-bombs – by Eduardo Moutinho

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed leaves Mario Kart in its dust…and wake…and vapor trail – by Mike Minotti

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is an anime you can actually play – by Eduardo Moutinho

Sony Online Entertainment’s PlanetSide 2 – by Rob LeFebvre

Slice, dice, and julienne enemies in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – by Eduardo Moutinho

Medal of Honor: Warfighter deploys fire teams to the front lines – by Eduardo Moutinho

Hell Yeah! is like Metroid with a chainsaw jetpack-riding demon bunny – by Mike Minotti

Dead or Alive 5 wants to deliver a power blow to the competition – by Eduardo Moutinho

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s simplicity is just what consoles need – by Omri Petitte

Hands-off

Just what kind of game is Star Wars 1313? – by Dean Takahashi

Warner Bros. confirms LEGO: Lord of the Rings video game – by Dean Takahashi

EA’s cute The Act romance game exploits iPad’s touchscreen for unique gameplay – by Dean Takahashi

Turn the snow crimson with redcoat blood in Assassin’s Creed III – by Dean Takahashi

Far Cry 3 demo leads you deeper into drug-induced insanity – by Dean Takahashi

Quantic Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls is one of the best games of E3 – by Dean Takahashi

The 5 different games you’ll be playing in Dishonored – by Sebastian Haley

Final Fantasy XIV brings new gameplay and western sensibilities to venerable franchise – by Rob LeFebvre

Windows 8 works hard to meet the needs of all gamers – by Rob LeFebvre

A trio of Mario games strengthen Nintendo’s 3DS lineup – by Mike Minotti

OnLive’s MultiView spectating entices multiplayer and co-op gamers – by Omri Petitte

Player choice matters in The Walking Dead: Episode 2 – by Stefanie Fogel

The Last of Us is even smarter than you think – by Rus McLaughlin

Star Wars 1313 is a game of firsts for the sci-fi franchise – by Eduardo Moutinho

The adventure-game renaissance continues with The Cave – by Eduardo Moutinho

Heroes and villains join forces in Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion – by Mike Minotti

007 Legends proves personality makes or breaks a game – by Omri Petitte

Breaking down what’s exactly new in God of War: Ascension – by Dan “Shoe” Hsu

Turning technology against your friends in Watch Dogs – by Omri Petitte

Interviews

Chasing after the wayward developer or evasive executive amid a sea of journalists and industry luminaries didn’t slake our interview appetite, and we nabbed a slew of thoughtful talks with members across various gaming companies. Take a look.

Why Ubisoft is pouring a lot of resources into Wii U games – by Dean Takahashi

Harvest Moon creator wants to spread happiness with his new game – by Jacob Lopez

How Shenmue’s lead programmer rescued a bad game – by Jacob Lopez

The Last Story developer talks Operation Rainfall, reason for cover system, and Wii U – by Jacob Lopez

With 1.3B tanks obliterated and 30M players, Wargaming.net plans to conquer the online gaming world – by Dean Takahashi

Even Scribblenauts’ creator is surprised by the things people make in his new game – by Jacob Lopez

The Witcher developer CD Projekt RED wants to set new standards with Cyberpunk – by Stefanie Fogel

Japan’s Gree moves mobile gaming into the spotlight at E3 – by Dean Takahashi

THQ’s Brian Farrell talks about looking for a bottom and staging a comeback – by Dean Takahashi

Crytek says CryEngine 3 already does awesome graphics as good as Unreal Engine 4 – by Dean Takahashi

Our opinions

During the craze-filled days of E3, our minds typically busied themselves with ensuring our legs avoided snapping off our torsos and running away with yelping noises. But sometimes, a cohesive thought miraculously coalesced within our overloaded brainpans. Our hands shakily reached for the keyboard, keys started tapping, and well…these are the results.

The DeanBeat: What to expect at E3 – by Dean Takahashi

4 ways developers will use SmartGlass to enhance Xbox 360 experiences – by Dan “Shoe” Hsu

Nintendo’s Wii U: Safe on first, weak on third-party – by Rus McLaughlin

Why Nintendo will have a tough time adding a second GamePad tablet controller to the Wii U – by Dean Takahashi

Tomb Raider is not torture porn – by Rus McLaughlin

Would it be a mistake for E3 to move out of LA? – by Dean Takahashi

Bored, impressed, and giddy: Our final thoughts on E3 2012 – by Dan “Shoe” Hsu

Move over, consoles – mobile is the future – by Rob LeFebvre

Microsoft’s E3 2012: Analysis of 16,000+ comments shows Halo 4, South Park impressed, rest did not – by Andrew Hiscock

Sony’s E3 2012: Analysis shows “shotgun blast” won big, Wonderbook lost – by Andrew Hiscock

Nintendo’s E3 2012: Reactions show hardcore gamers lost faith in Wii U – by Andrew Hiscock

Memes

All it takes is one memorable quote, one Freudian slip, or some facepalm-worthy banter to prompt the Internet community’s creative and unrestrained hand at animated gifs, a worshipful use of Impact font, and hastily jangled Photoshop edits. Here’s what we’ve found.

The best memes of E3 – by Jeff Grubb

Remember these crazy memes from past E3s? – by Jeff Grubb

The wildest memes from the Microsoft E3 press conference – by Jeff Grubb

Silly memes inspired by Sony’s E3 press event – by Jeff Grubb

Aisha Tyler: Ubisoft’s meme machine – by Rus McLaughlin

The oddest Nintendo E3 gifs and Photoshops from the Internet – by Jeff Grubb

Galleries

We snapped plenty of pictures while attending parties, pressers, and meandering the showfloor. Direct your eyeballs upon these galleries, and enjoy the view!

The big gallery of E3′s huge banners – by Mike Minotti

E3 2012 will get your hands up – by Evan Killham

Our editor-in-chief’s E3 adventure – by Evan Killham

The many costumes of E3 2012 – by Jacob Lopez

Retro games have a place at E3, too – by Jasmine Rea

Videos

Dubstep. A beleaguered Lara Croft. Ham-handed hosts. No, this isn’t the latest entry in Alex Trebek’s dream diary — it’s some of our E3 video and trailer content below. Enjoy!

Tomb Raider trailer shows how Lara Croft feels sorry for shooting you – by Dean Takahashi

Konami pre-E3 2012 event: More Castlevania and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance – by Jasmine Rea

Ubisoft shows strong commitment to the Wii U – by Mike Minotti

6 awkward moments from the E3 press briefings – by Evan Killham

Why we wub wub wub E3 2012: The dubstep of E3 – by Jacob Lopez

Press conferences

Surprises and snooze-fests alike emanated from E3′s five major press briefings held by Microsoft, Electronic Arts (EA), Ubisoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Check out all the announcements and debuts here.

Microsoft (video)

Halo 4 trailer video shows Forerunners, new tech – by Rob LeFebvre

New Splinter Cell: Blacklist borrows from Uncharted – by Jeff Grubb

Gears of War: Judgment sets Sera on fire (again) – by Rus McLaughlin

Microsoft previews Xbox Music at E3 press conference – by Rob LeFebvre

Forza Horizon brings street racing to the franchise – by Jasmine Rea

Microsoft introduces Xbox SmartGlass to integrate smartphones and tablets with Xbox 360 – by Dean Takahashi

Nike+ Kinect Training brings in-depth fitness measuring to Xbox 360 – by Jeff Grubb

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer coming to Xbox 360 this fall – by Jacob Lopez

Usher hits the stage to announce Dance Central 3 – by Rob LeFebvre

Xbox Live is getting Nickelodeon, Machinima, and tons of live sports – by Tom Cheredar

Kinect voice commands hit EA Sports flagship titles – by Eduardo Moutinho

South Park creators introduce their game and playfully mock Microsoft – by Jeff Grubb

New Xbox 360 games coming from Signal Studios, Twisted Pixel, and…Gore Verbinski? – by Stefanie Fogel

Microsoft E3 2012 press conference recap…in limerick form – by Andrew Hiscock

Electronic Arts (video)

SimCity Social: If this free-to-play game is too good, will you pay $60 for the full PC version? – by Dean Takahashi

EA reveals Battlefield 3 Premium and fields “15 million players worldwide” – by Omri Petitte

Star Wars: The Old Republic gets new planet, new species, and free trial – by Jacob Lopez

EA nabs UFC from THQ – by Jeff Grubb

Medal of Honor: Warfighter’s beautiful carnage – by Rus McLaughlin

EA shows off Need for Speed: Most Wanted at E3 – by Rob LeFebvre

Ubisoft (video)

Rayman Legends rhythmically runs to the Wii U – by Eduardo Moutinho

You are the network in Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs – by Rus McLaughlin

Here’s where that Watch Dogs cube-head QR code goes – by Jeff Grubb

Sony (video)

Experimental developer Quantic Dream reveals the haunted life of Jody Holmes in Beyond – by Jasmine Rea

Nathan Drake and the Big Daddy Bouncer join PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale – by Mike Minotti

J.K. Rowling is writing PlayStation’s Wonderbook – by Rus McLaughlin

Sony announces Assassin’s Creed III Vita and PS3 bundles with exclusive content – by Jeff Grubb

Sony brings down the house with The Last of Us demo – by Dean Takahashi

Sony E3 2012 press conference recap…in limerick form – by Andrew Hiscock

Nintendo (video)

Social networking comes to Wii U, Miiverse will interface with PCs and phones – by Jasmine Rea

First look at action-strategy game Pikmin 3 – by Jeff Grubb

Nintendo confirms 23 games at E3, video streaming, and more for Wii U – by Mike Minotti

Wii Fit U will make you sweatier, livelier, and happier – by Rob LeFebvre

Brag to the Miiverse and take on new modes in New Super Mario Bros. U – by Eduardo Moutinho

Zombify your face with ZombiU for the Wii U – by Mike Minotti

Nintendo bets big on “asymmetric” tablet-based gameplay – one player against several – by Dean Takahashi

Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition utilizes Wii U’s GamePad screen – by Omri Petitte

Nintendo details 3DS Mario titles, Luigi’s Mansion, and third-party games – by Jeff Grubb

Nintendo Land brings asymmetrical multiplayer to Wii U – by Jasmine Rea

Nintendo’s E3 2012 press conference recap…in limerick form – by Andrew Hiscock

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Over the course of four hours across three Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) press conferences, hardcore gamers submitted over 16,000 real-time impressions — a valuable set of data for anyone curious as to how fans felt about the most important announcements during the gaming industry’s biggest event of the year. Now that E3 is over, we can take the time to really dig into what they liked and didn’t like, learning some interesting lessons in the process.

For this study, we counted the positive and negative comments in the hugely popular NeoGAF gaming forums, charting the reactions minute-by-minute in the graph below. The basic rule of thumb: the more positive responses, the higher the reaction score and vice versa. In short, Sony received the most positive responses, well ahead of Microsoft and Nintendo…but the publisher didn’t exactly impress everyone.

Click for a full-size version. For a more detailed explanation of how we analyzed this data, please see the explanation at the end of this article.

What NeoGAF liked about the Sony press conference

NeoGAF reacted strongly to the following games: Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, Assassin’s Creed III, and The Last of Us (for more on these or any products mentioned here, click the tags below). While they responded positively at first to Beyond: Two Souls, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Far Cry 3, and God of War: Ascension, opinion soured soon after their first mentions.

The community also reacted positively to Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, and Kaz Hirai, president and CEO of Sony Corporation. Both have become heroes to the video game community. David Cage, founder of Quantic Dream (Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls), also received good feedback, if not as strong as the two Sony personalities.

The most positive reaction of the show came at the end of the The Last of Us demonstration. The presentation concluded with the game’s protagonist killing his enemy with a brutal shotgun blast to the face, at which point the community exploded with shock and amazement. In fact, this single moment would prove to be the most popular across all three press conferences. One could say that The Last of Us “won” E3 — an expression gamers are very fond of using.

What they didn’t like

As noted, NeoGAF responded poorly to long demonstrations, and goodwill for games quickly evaporated as they continued. The group gave mixed responses when Sony discussed PlayStation Plus and PlayStation 1 games coming to the handheld Vita.

The most negative reaction of Sony’s press conference occurred during the Book of Spells demonstration. The community complained throughout this Wonderbook presentation, and comments hit a low point during the eighth minute of the Book of Spells segment. They cited a variety of factors for their displeasure: that the game is for kids, it was motion controlled, it was augmented reality, it was boring, and the demo was too long. In fact, the segment was so unpopular that members posted 943 negative comments during the 11 minutes Sony featured Book of Spells, compared to 103 positive comments. It didn’t help that the live demo had technical hiccups, and the game didn’t work for a brief moment.

For more on how NeoGAF reacted to the E3 press conferences, check out the Microsoft and Nintendo studies.

How the scoring works

NeoGAF hosts a single message board thread for each press conference, where dozens of members comment throughout each show. I graded each comment as positive or negative, giving them scores of 1 or -1 respectively. Then I totaled the sum of these reactions for each discrete minute and plotted in the above chart. A high score means that the NeoGAF community liked what they saw; a score close to zero represents mixed reactions; and a low score means that they were not enjoying the show at that moment.

Some notes on how I scored each response:

• I made no distinction between really positive or somewhat positive comments — likewise for negative comments. Each was given either a score of 1 or -1.
• While I made every effort to understand the various memes and inside jokes that make up a large part of the responses, if I could not understand a response, I would not score it.
• In the event that a comment employed obvious sarcasm, I scored it to reflect the original intent of the commentator. If the sarcasm was not clear, I relied on the literal meaning of the comment. Fortunately, the very expressive NeoGAF community rarely employed subtle sarcasm.
• When comments included positive and negative observations, I accounted for the more immediate reaction to preserve a more real-time response. An example: “I liked the game that was shown at the beginning of the show, but this game now is bad” would have a negative score.
• Many comments weren’t scored as they offered no opinion. These included clarifications, questions, discussions between members unrelated to the press conference, and inquiries into whether one game or another would be shown at a later time.

GamesBeat 2012 is VentureBeat’s fourth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. This year we’re calling on speakers from the hottest mobile, social, PC, and console companies to debate new ways to stay on pace with changing consumer tastes and platforms. Join 500+ execs, investors, analysts, entrepreneurs, and press as we explore the gaming industry’s latest trends and newest monetization opportunities. The event takes place July 10-11 in San Francisco, and you can get your early-bird tickets here.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Right after the GamesBeat staff got back from the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) last week, we started wondering if we were all at the same event. Despite a combined 38 years of experience attending the annual game-industry trade show, lead writer Dean Takahashi, culture editor Sebastian Haley, and I (GamesBeat’s editor-in-chief) came away from the 2012 edition with drastically differing opinions on what we saw.

Here’s what we thought of this year’s E3:

Sebastian Haley, culture editor:

I might be alone on this, but E3 was a disheartening experience for me this year. Sure, I’ll buy and love Borderlands 2, Dishonored, and a ton of other games that were shown off, but everything was just so iterative — from the countless sea of sequels and spin-offs, to even the press conferences that seemed to focus less and less on what gamers like myself actually want.

After years of being the punchline of the Internet, why is it so hard to make a good E3 press conference? Microsoft gave carte blanche to Nike and ESPN to talk as long as they wanted, but when it came time to show off the only three original intellectual properties (IPs) in the entire lineup, if you blinked you would have missed it. And even if you didn’t blink, you’d still have no idea what the games were even about. Then Usher and Joe Montana come out for awkward performances, and that’s supposed to make things better?

The industry more or less seems to be on autopilot, and I can only hope it’s saving up all its energy for a massive 2013. But again, maybe that’s just me.

Dishonored

Dean Takahashi, lead news writer:

The game industry didn’t have such a bad showing at E3. The traditional game publishers showed off new original games such as Beyond: Two Souls, The Last of Us, The Unfinished Swan, Dishonored, Warface, Hawken, World of Warplanes, and Watch Dogs. New technologies such as Unreal Engine 4, facial animation, SmartGlass, the Wii U, and Sony’s Wonderbook were cool. The staple franchises such as Assassin’s Creed III, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Tomb Raider, SimCity, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, and Crysis 3 will keep gamers delighted and busy in the next year.

But like Sebastian, I also have high expectations of game makers in the core console market. And I’m not sure they have done enough to shield themselves from the disruption that is hitting their industry. This E3 was an in-between year. Next-generation consoles are in the works, but only Nintendo showed off its cards, and they weren’t very disruptive this time around.

From the outside, the game industry is under pressure. Apple is one of the driving forces of the real disruption, but it isn’t alone. Samsung announced at the show that it will create its own cloud gaming service in partnership with Gaikai and Nvidia. It will in effect become a fourth major platform for game makers, launching a cloud-based game service that could threaten the core console business. Apple and Samsung could bring cheap, high-quality games into the living room that could compete quite nicely against $60 games that come with the number “3″ or “4″ after their names.

This is a very real threat. At E3, I didn’t see a masterstroke to deal with it. There was innovation, but not enough of it to make a difference.

The Last of Us

Dan “Shoe” Hsu, editor-in-chief:

Last year’s E3 only gave me one stick-with-me moment: the BioShock Infinite demo. It left me near breathless, and even though I don’t smoke, I felt like I needed a cigarette after watching it.

Nothing this year quite matched that, but three games came awfully close, all from my personal top 3 games of E3: Watch Dogs, The Last of Us, and Dishonored. I saw The Last of Us on the last day of the show, and it just put the biggest smile on my face. Right when that amazing, frightening, tension-filled demo finished, it cemented this E3 as one of the best in recent years for me. So I’m quite surprised at Sebastian’s reaction — this show was amazing! When was the last time so many new IPs surprised and wowed us like this? We’re always complaining about the sequel parades (and rightfully so), but it’s up to us to look past the flashy hype of the Call of Duties of the world to champion original games like the ones I just mentioned.

Nintendo Land and ZombiU on the Wii U were both pleasant surprises as well (though the latter proved to me that first-pers0n-shooter controls will take a lot of hand-eye-coordination reconditioning due to the controller’s new layout — a reconditioning I’m not sure I want to commit to). Even the known quantities got me excited again: I honestly thought I was over Halo and Gears of War, but both Halo 4 and the overrun mode in Gears of War: Judgment were a lot of fun to play in multiplayer.

I went into my 16th E3 jaded and thinking I’ve seen and experienced it all. I left a surprised, giddy gamer.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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With publishers showing so many games in such close proximity, the Electronic Entertainment Expo is a great place to discover the directions that developers are taking the entire industry for the next year and beyond. Below are eight trends that GamesBeat’s writers noticed during the annual trade show.

1. The year of the bow.

I don’t know when bow and arrows became so cool. Maybe we should blame Hawkeye from The Avengers? Or maybe that girl from the Hunger Games? Whatever the reason, many of gaming’s protagonists have traded their rifles for wood. GamesBeat writer Jeff Grubb actually detailed this phenomenon quite a bit, listing Crysis 3, Tomb Raider, Far Cry 3, and Assassin’s Creed III as examples of string-tugging action.

Now, some of these characters use bows because of limited resources (Tomb Raider) or because of the technology of their day (Assassin’s Creed III), but why on earth is the guy from Crysis 3, who probably has access to the most advanced weapons technology on the planet, using such a primitive device?

2. Fourth installments of franchises, aka fourquels.

This industry has always loved its sequels, but when you reach the fourth installment of a series (in many cases within the same console generation), you begin to want for a bit more originality. Microsoft is the most guilty party here, showing off an upcoming library of software that includes Halo 4, Gears of War: Judgement, and Fable: The Journey.

Not that Sony is completely off the hook, thanks to God of War: Ascension, the fourth console release of the series. Sure, all of these titles are likely to be enjoyable on some level, but franchise fatigue is definitely setting in.

3. Shocking brutality.

Video games have been violent for a very, very long time. It seems like ages ago when we all gasped while Kano tore a guy’s heart out of his chest in the original Mortal Kombat. Still, the violence was usually treated with a sort of action movie level of seriousness…meaning it wasn’t taken very seriously at all.

Well, now all of the killing, cutting, ripping, bludgeoning, and bleeding seems much more real. The trend seems to start with the new Tomb Raider, which sees protagonist Lara Croft screaming in almost constant pain as she is impaled and beaten. Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is also a clear example of more visceral violence, especially thanks to a notable scene from Sony’s press briefing where the player shot a guy in the face with a shotgun while he begged for his life. Despite a lifetime spent watching polygons and pixels explode into bits of organs and limbs, for the first time ever gaming violence is making me wince.

4. Everything looks like Uncharted.

I’m guessing that we’re beginning to see a lot of the games that were put into production after 2009′s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves proved to be a big hit. There were multiple titles on the show floor that featured climbing and mouthy characters that could easily be describe as, “It’s like Uncharted, but….”

I mean, there was Star Wars: 1313, which was like Uncharted but with a sci-fi setting, and Tomb Raider is like Uncharted without any of the lighthearted comedy. Even Splinter Cell: Blacklist seems to take the series in a more climbing-focused direction. I guess imitation is flattery, right?

5. Stealthy franchises are less stealthy.

Remember when Metal Gear was a stealth-based franchise? Sort of hard to believe that series could inspire a hack-and-slashing affair where you cut a guy into a dozen pieces with a sword, but that’s exactly what we have with Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. What about Assassin’s Creed III? The new protagonist, Connor, seems to prefer to charge directly at his foes rather than stunning his adversaries with surprise like his ancestors, Altair and Ezio, did.

Even Agent 47 has gotten bold enough to kill his targets in the middle of giant crowds in Hitman: Absolution. Of course, these could all just be vertical slices that are focusing on more action-oriented aspects of these titles, but you still couldn’t escape the feeling that stealth was out of style at E3.

6. Second screens.

Dual screen gaming was made popular with Nintendo’s DS hand held device back in 2004, but now we’re seeing that concept taken to the consoles. We already knew about Nintendo’s Wii U, the new system that heavily features the use of a tablet controller, but Microsoft showed off SmartGlass technology, with allows preexisting smart phones and tablets to act as a second screen for Xbox 360 experiences.

We saw a lot of examples of this technology being used for unique gameplay possibilities, notably in Wii U platformers New Super Mario Bros. U and Rayman Legends, where the second screen can be used to assist the main player. Microsoft, meanwhile, showed off the ability to instantly transfer a movie from the television to a smart phone mid-scene. It’ll be interesting to see how consumers take to this innovative (and potentially expensive) technology.

7. Revenge!

A lot of characters seem to be motivated by revenge this year. Just look at the tagline for Dishonored, the new steampunk, action-adventure title from publisher Bethesda: “Revenge solves everything.” You can also look at the trailer for the four player co-op mode in Far Cry 3, where four random people unite in their quest for (what else?) revenge.

Don’t forget about Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. There’ so much revenge that they have to make up new words for it!

8. Amazing facial animation.

Last year’s L.A. Noire impressed many with its exceptional  facial animation, and it seems like the trend for more realistic looking characters will continue. The PlayStation 3′s Beyond: Two Souls, the new title from Heavy Rain’s David Cage, leads the pack with some absolutely stunning faces that are able to emote and act as well as any real person.

Even franchises which aren’t normally renowned for this kind of technology have stepped up their game, notably seen in trailers for Far Cry 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. Man, I remember when the character’s mouths didn’t even move.

GamesBeat 2012 is VentureBeat’s fourth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. This year we’re calling on speakers from the hottest mobile, social, PC, and console companies to debate new ways to stay on pace with changing consumer tastes and platforms. Join 500+ execs, investors, analysts, entrepreneurs, and press as we explore the gaming industry’s latest trends and newest monetization opportunities. The event takes place July 10-11 in San Francisco, and you can get your early-bird tickets here.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Each year, during the various press conferences surrounding the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) game-industry trade show, people applaud. Some of it’s polite (some guy we don’t care about is getting on stage). Some of it’s fanfare (yay, a new Zelda!). Some of it’s fake rah-rah (come on, we know you’re employees trying to pump up the crowd).

But once in a while, it’s pure, legitimate wow.

An extended, genuinely enthusiastic ovation awaited the conclusion of publisher/developer Ubisoft’s demo of Watch Dogs, a new modern-day drama/action/adventure game with a touch of cyberpunk. It’s stylish. It’s violent. And it’s oh-so-pretty. Of course, it’s way too early to judge whether this upcoming (date: TBD) Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC release will be any good or not, but read our quick-look preview and peep the gameplay video below to see why we picked Watch Dogs for GamesBeat’s E3 2012 Game of the Show.

Ubisoft’s thriller wasn’t the only star of E3. Here are the final top-threes by the rest of the GamesBeat staff who were in attendance at E3 2012. (To check out more coverage of any of the games, just click on the tags below the article or follow our E3 tag.)

Dan “Shoe” Hsu, GamesBeat editor-in-chief

1. The Last of Us (PlayStation 3)
2. Watch Dogs (multiplatform)
3. Dishonored (multiplatform)

Dean Takahashi, GamesBeat lead news writer

1. Beyond: Two Souls (PlayStation 3)
2. The Last of Us (PlayStation 3)
3. Watch Dogs (multiplatform)

Sebastian Haley, GamesBeat culture editor

1. Metro: Last Light (multiplatform)
2. Watch Dogs (multiplatform)
3. The Cave (multiplatform)

Omri Petitte, GamesBeat writer

1. Watch Dogs (multiplatform)
2. Assassin’s Creed III (multiplatform)
3. PlanetSide 2 (PC)

Mike Minotti, GamesBeat writer

1. Assassin’s Creed III (multiplatform)
2. Disney Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion (3DS)
3. Rayman Legends (Wii U)

Jacob Lopez, GamesBeat writer

1. Watch Dogs (multiplatform)
2. The Last of Us (PlayStation 3)
3. Scribblenauts Unlimited (Wii U)

Stefanie Fogel, GamesBeat writer

1. The Walking Dead — Episode 2: Starved for Help (multiplatform)
2. Borderlands 2 (multiplatform)
3. Quantum Conundrum (multiplatform)

Rob LeFebvre, GamesBeat writer

1. Watch Dogs (multiplatform)
2. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PlayStation 3)
3. Gravity Rush (PlayStation Vita)

Rus McLaughlin, GamesBeat writer

1. Watch Dogs (multiplatform)
2. The Last of Us (PlayStation 3)
3. Tomb Raider (multiplatform)

Eduardo Moutinho, GamesBeat writer

1. Star Wars 1313 (multiplatform)
2. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (multiplatform)
3. Injustice: Gods Among Us (multiplatform)

Please vote for your own favorite in our poll and explain your vote in the comments.

GamesBeat 2012 is VentureBeat’s fourth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. This year we’re calling on speakers from the hottest mobile, social, PC, and console companies to debate new ways to stay on pace with changing consumer tastes and platforms. Join 500+ execs, investors, analysts, entrepreneurs, and press as we explore the gaming industry’s latest trends and newest monetization opportunities. The event takes place July 10-11 in San Francisco, and you can get your early-bird tickets here.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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The video game industry’s biggest trade show was once again like a Disneyland for tech geeks. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles last week, we saw the latest technological marvels that will be coming into games in the not-so-distant future. The most exciting 10 technologies range from platforms such as Epic’s Unreal Engine 4, which could be the foundation for a whole generation of games, to the cool facial animation from Quantic Dream that will be used in a single PlayStation 3 exclusive, Beyond: Two Souls. We picked these technologies because they show the innovation that is alive in the industry and because of their ability to delight us.

For a fun comparison, here’s a link to our story from E3 2011.

1. Unreal Engine 4 (Epic Games)

Unreal Engine 4 could be the foundation for a whole generation of cool-looking video games. It is the newest version of Unreal’s graphics technology since Unreal Engine 3 debuted six years ago for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. This new technology will likely be used in video games that run on next-generation game consoles as well as other kinds of game platforms.

The image above from Epic’s 153-second Elemental demo shows that the engine can display scenes with high-dynamic range, or regions with sharp details in low-light in the same scene as a region with bright light. The engine can also display millions of particles such as smoke and ashes or snowflakes.

Not only is it a cool tech, it is also practical. Epic created its Kismet 2 technology to make artists working with Unreal Engine 4 more productive. They can, for instance, make changes to their 3D animations and see the effects in real-time — all without having to consulting a programming expert. Unreal Engine 4 will compete with a new CryEngine coming from Crytek. We’re betting it will lead to video games that are like Pixar movies or dazzling light shows.

2. Facial animation in Beyond: Two Souls. (Quantic Dream)

Sony and Quantic Dream showed a scene from this game that popped our eyeballs out of our heads. The character Jody Holmes (played by actress Ellen Page) looks so real that it may cross the Uncanny Valley, the notion popularized by robotics professor Masahiro Mori, who argued that the more the appearance of a computer-generated character looks human, the more the human eye detects something wrong with the image.

The faces in the game look so real, with cuts and bruises discoloring the skin and sweat running down a face in just the right way. Quantic Dream captured these images using a novel motion-capture technology, said David Cage, director of the game. It used a motion-capture system that simultaneously recorded an actor’s voice, facial and lip movements, and body movements. It was thus able to capture lips moving in synchronization with the voice and a body moving in a coordinated fashion.

This game will set the bar for realistic facial animation, and all of the other game developers may be forced to follow.

3. Wii U gamepad controller (Nintendo)

This tablet-style game controller doubles as a television remote control and a replacement for a traditional game controller. You can use it in a multiplayer living room game against other players in “asymmetric games.” In these games, four players could use a traditional Wii remote controller to control characters moving on a screen, while one player with the tablet could use touchscreen commands or the thumb sticks on the tablet to place obstacles in the way of the characters. Ubisoft’s Rayman Legends game and Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. U game showed how players could work cooperatively in a game, where one placed objects that the other player could jump on.

For sure, Nintendo needs to make sure the system can use multiple gamepads, but we found the tablet surprisingly fun.

4. Xbox SmartGlass (Microsoft)

Microsoft found a way to integrate tablets and smartphones so they can function seamlessly with the Xbox 360 via a technology it called SmartGlass. This software application extends Xbox 360 experiences onto new devices that can enhance the user’s overall entertainment experience. For instance, while watching Game of Thrones on HBO, you can activate the Game of Thrones app on the SmartGlass tablet, which will then call up a map of Westeros, the fictional land in the TV series, and show you where that scene is taking place.

For games, the tablet could function as a separate game controller, allowing another person to join in the fun. The tablet could also offer tips and tricks that might be useful at the precise moment in the game that you are playing. The good thing is that Microsoft is embracing the existing base of tablets and smartphones in an open fashion. It isn’t creating an app that will work only with Windows Phone 7 or Windows 8 devices.

5. SOEmote face emoticon technology (Sony Online Entertainment)

A collaboration of Sony, Image Metrics, and Vivox, the SOEmote captures your voice and facial expressions via a webcam and pastes them into your in-game character in an online game. It also modulates your words into the pitch appropriate for your race, such as the deep baritone of an ogre or the gnome’s tinny squeak. The new technology could make communication with fellow players much easier and more intuitive, saving you from typing in all the words that tell another player how you feel at a given moment.

6. Watch Dogs city exploration iPad app (Ubisoft)

Ubisoft got a sustained round of applause after it showed a demo of its Watch Dogs original game. The title casts you as Aiden Pearce, a fugitive who has hacked into a city’s operating system and gained access to all kinds of digital secrets. He can control security cameras, change traffic signals, and eavesdrop on live phone conversations. The game is coming out next year and will likely be a big hit.

Ubisoft extended the fiction into an iPad app, which shows the city that Pearce controls. The iPad app indicates where your friends who are playing the game are and all sorts of details about the city, depicted in a cool 3D interface.

7. OnLive’s MultiView (OnLive)

OnLive found a new way to use its innovative cloud gaming service by creating a way for a player to watch the screens of three other players in a multiplayer session — without exiting the player’s own game session. Called MultiView, the technology builds on OnLive’s existing spectator mode, which allows a player to watch a streamed real-time video of another player’s live game session.

The cloud technology works by running a game in a web-connected high-end server in a data center. The server computes the graphics and other game code and then sends only a video via a stream to the player’s machine, which merely displays the video on the screen. In this case, the server simply takes four different videos and puts them into a single video stream. Then it streams the images to the player, who can effectively see the exact views that other players have in a multiplayer session. This could be extremely useful in a pro-gaming environment.

8. Activision’s gigantic booth display (Activision Blizzard)

We want this screen. Activision’s booth featured a gigantic 140-feet-long screen that played trailers from Call of Duty: Black Ops II and other titles from the company. The resolution was an astounding 6,336 pixels by 720 pixels. It was a little wide for most of the images, but the effect was tremendous when the videos occupied the entire screen. A lot of people stood by with their jaws hanging open.

9. Samsung’s SmartTV with Gaikai and Nvidia’s GeForce Grid.

Samsung just found a cheap and easy way to become the fourth major first-party company in the video game business. It is doing so using cloud gaming technology from Gaikai and cloud graphics technology, dubbed the GeForce Grid, from graphics chip maker Nvidia.

Samsung will use the cloud gaming technology to stream games to new models of TVs that are being sold this year. This will allow it to move quickly into the market, since Gaikai is prepared to start a beta test in the coming weeks. With a game controller and a TV, there is no need for a game console at all.

As noted with OnLive, the game isn’t processed on a user’s computer or TV. It is only displayed there. The processing takes place in a web-connected data center, or cloud. The game graphics and logic are computed on high-powered servers with good graphics technology. Then the visual result is streamed to a user’s PC over a broadband connection. The game can be played in 720p resolution (or for a higher cost at 1080p), which is similar to the experience that many users have with game consoles.

For Samsung, this means it doesn’t have to sell a game console to consumers. Those consumers simply need a universal game controller (USB compatible) and then they play the game on a broadband-connected TV. They can also play it on low-budget computers if they want, as long as they have the broadband connection. Samsung will create its own game network in deals with 37 game publishers.

10. Sony’s Book of Spells Wonderbook (Sony and J.K. Rowling).

With the Sony PlayStation 3, a Move controller, and a digital-friendly paper book, Sony will be able to delight kids using its new Wonderbook technology. The PlayStation Eye camera recognizes the patterns in the book and displays the appropriate imagery to go with them on the screen. As an “augmented reality” application, the Wonderbook blends your own image with images from the book, so you can look at your TV screen and see goblins dancing next to your head. It’s a magical application that happens in real-time, and its first app will be The Book of Spells from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. With the Book of Spells, you can wave your Move controller like a wand and make a dragon appear on your TV. It is a wonderful blending of the physical and digital worlds.

Please vote for your favorite in our poll.

[Photo credits: Dean Takahashi, Sony Online Entertainment, Rich Prugh]

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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Sony unveiled the game at its E3 press conference on Monday, but it also showed an extended demonstration behind closed doors. We got a preview, narrated by game writer and director David Cage (pictured right), and here are our impressions.

The French developer’s previous game was Heavy Rain, a cinematic title that forced players to make instant life-or-death decisions by pressing one of the four main buttons on a PlayStation 3 controller. The gameplay of Beyond: Two Souls is pretty similar, which will no doubt lead to criticism that the title, like its predecessor, is too movie-like and not very game-like. But the experience of this title seems a lot smoother and Quantic Dream has learned better when to make a scene flow like a movie and when to make it a game.

“What genre is this game?” Cage asked, rhetorically, during the demo. “It’s hard to answer. Heavy Rain was a dark game, like the movie Seven. Beyond is quite different. It has a better sense of interactivity, with more direct control for the user. You control the characters all of the time.”

In the new PlayStation 3 game, the main character is a girl named Jody Holmes, who is gifted with an ability to link to an invisible entity that she has named Aiden. Aiden is a ghost, spirit, or soul who takes the form of a shimmering light that only Jody can see. The game covers 15 years of her life, from child to teen to adult.

“She feels this presence,” Cage said. “Even when she was a kid, it was a strange thing for her to live with this spirit. She doesn’t know if it is a ghost. It doesn’t obey. It can be nice and protective. It can be violent and jealous.”

The spirit can make things happen in the real world. When the authorities discover Jody’s special power,, they want to capture and study her. She tries to get away, and Aiden helps her. Cage said he wrote the story this way because he lost someone special in his life and wondered what it would be like on the other side of life and death.

The scene that Quantic Dream showed started with a 24-year-old Jody on the run, sleeping on a train. She is played by actress Ellen Page, who turns out a wonderful emotion-ladened performance. Cage said he wrote the script with Page in mind as the lead. Aiden appears over Jody and wants to wake her up, but she is exhausted. Aiden can fly around and disturb other passengers, and even go outside the train into the rain. But he is limited to traveling only a certain distance from Jody, maybe a hundred yards.

Aiden snatches a newspaper from someone on the train and goofs off until some police officers board the train and start searching for Jody. Aiden wakes her up and warns her, and she begins to run.

The train is shaky and she has to time her movement properly to escape the clutches of the police. She climbs on the roof and then starts a hairy run through the rain as five cops try to catch her. She brawls with the cops and, miraculously, no one falls off. But she jumps from the train, Aiden shields her, and she lands safely on the ground.

But the pursuit doesn’t end there. The police send dogs into the woods, which are beautifully rendered, to chase Jody. She pulls a stick off a tree and hits the dogs. She also throws rocks, making them squeal until they run away. She has to scramble up a cliff face to escape detection. She comes upon some more cops. Aiden takes possession of one of them and creates a distraction, crashing a police car. Jody makes a run for it and steals a motorcycle. A helicopter pursues her, and she is eventually surrounded by a SWAT team.

The human faces and bodies look incredibly realistic. That is because Quantic Dream used a motion-capture technology that captures, faces, voice performances, and body movements all at the same time.

She orders Aiden to stop the SWAT team, and he goes on the attack. “Fucking help me!” she screams. Aiden takes all of the SWAT team members down. The helicopter crashes in flames. And Jody goes up to one of the wounded team  members and says, “Tell them to leave me the fuck alone because next time I’ll kill everyone.”

It’s an incredible scene, one of the finest in video games, and one of the best at E3. Cage said the choices the player makes will have consequences and, as in Heavy Rain, result in different endings. So far, Cage says no information is available on whether the game will use Sony’s Move motion controller.