Just what I was waiting for, thanks!

Mann.... Mafia 3

F2sPaB9k" target="_blank" >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF2sPaB9k

HOLY SHIT!!!

So much better than the e3 conference.

As amazing a year as 2015 is, 2016 is going to be even moreso. About the same number of 1st party, AAA exclusives, plus unlike 2015 where they are all bunched around the holidays, 2016 they are spread out quite a bit more. Just in H1 2016 alone, the likes of Quantum Break, ReCore, KI3, and Crackdown 3 will see release. And then in H2, Halo Wars 2, Scalebound, Gears of War 4, Sea of Thieves, and no doubt the now obligatory Forza Horizon 3 announcement. AAA exclusives all year 'round in 2016. This was a fantastic Gamescom presentation.

I do like the fact that Microsoft has smartly dedicated 80 of E3 to what is coming out THIS year, and 80% of Gamescom to what is coming out NEXT year. And 0% of either show to what is coming out in 2017, or the years beyond.

If there is one thing I absolutely hate about Sony conferences, is how much they talk about stuff that is coming out two, three, four, ten years from now. I do not want to know about all that stuff, until they are actually close enough to buy/work directly into my budget for purchase.

The ideal show, is one that is about 90 minutes in size (but no longer than 120 minutes), filled to the brim about games I am getting sooner than later. E3 should almost be completely about THIS year, and because Gamescom is later, should be almost completely about NEXT year.

Its a great formula for the two biggest trade shows in the year. And one that if more game companies adopted, most gamers would likely walk away feeling that a awesome show was put on. Hopefully this year won't be the last year that Microsoft goes into E3 and GC with this formula. And with luck, other publishers will catch on. And game companies can really start bringing back the wow factor to trade shows.

You realise MS announced crackdown, scalebound and phantom dust in 2014 right? Games that won't be here until 2016 if we're lucky, and in the case of phantom dust, who knows when? Even halo 5 did it. They're all guilty of showing games too early, but i agree about your underlying point, it's shit... Games should be announced and sold within a year.

Bethesda and Rockstar seem to understand this.

I do realize that. And you can be sure that I have complained about it (elsewhere) thusly.

But I am not speaking so much on the past E3s and past GCs, as to what they have done THIS year. This year, they got the formula just right. They kept the focus of both shows on the here and now, and the near future - as these shows should be. And one can only hope that was not an accident, but deliberate. Hearing about ReCore for the first time, and finding out it was coming out next spring, was a very pleasant surprise, for example. Same goes for Sea of Thieves. And even today, hearing about Halo Wars 2 for the first time, knowing that it is just on the horizon, with a fall 2016 release, is pushing the edges of the envelope a bit IMO - you would not want to go out further than that. But the point is, it is within grasp already - and it was just announced today. No more of the Don Mattrick days of showing off games that did not even have names yet . . . only to watch them get canceled.

The guys at Bethesda did it best however, with Fallout 4. We all knew the game was coming - it had to. But had no idea when. And the game was only announced AFTER it had completed core development. You can nail down a release date in stone, just a few months away when you do that. Which is exactly what they did. Between the time the game was announced, and I have it in my hands, is five months - which is probably a record, or something for a AAA title. Six to twelve months is the sweet spot that game publishers really should be pushing for. It certainly would make life a whole lot less worrisome for the consumer.