The big three have all done their bits at E3 now, so here is our brief overview of everything they had to offer.
SONY
Sony's conference felt as though it was crammed full of announcements, with no really big speakers or discussions taking place. But that's not a bad thing by any stretch, especially when you see what they had to offer. The big announcement was the return of Crash Bandicoot in the form of a remake, from the ground up, of the first three games in the series. This was capped off with a walk-on from video games legend Hideo Kojima and his announcement of his new project Death Stranding, starring Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead, Boondock Saints.) A new God of War game was announced, seemingly set in a pagan Viking Universe as well as Quantic Dream's new narrative action-adventure Detroit Become Human which will have whet many appetites and scratched that itch you've got for a good story. In other AAA news, we were treated to a teaser for the new Watch Dogs game as well as bit of gameplay from the upcoming post-apocalyptic dreadlocks simulator Horizon Zero Dawn as well as the similarly post-apocalyptic but significantly less hairy Days Gone. Finally, a new (and utterly mental) trailer for Final Fantasy XV teased at what is to come from Square Enix. The PS4, often seen as a bastion for indie titles, was somewhat light on them this year. However, a few highlights included the VR-enabled and utterly gorgeous Eagle Flight and Pyre, the new title from the guys who made the critically acclaimed Bastion and Transistor.
MICROSOFT
We've learned to expect a strong showing of popular sequels from Microsoft at previous E3s and they didn't disappoint. We saw Forza Horizon 3, Gears of War 4, Tekken 7, and a campaign trailer for the upcoming World War 1 shooter Battlefield 1. On top of that, Microsoft also got their Zombie on with a teaser for State of Decay 2 and a frankly hilarious look at the apprently Christmas themed Dead Rising 4. Continuing on the sequel front, we got a look at a couple of new entries into long-standing favourite franchises in the form of an announcment trailer for Halo Wars 2 and some gameplay footage from Final Fantasy XV. That's not to say Bill Gates' boys didn't have a few fantastic new IPs up their sleeves, which is evidenced by the fantastically disturbing trailer for We Happy Few and some dragon-slaying action in the form of Scalebound. We were also treated to a very quick mention of an upcoming standalone version of Gwent, the popular card-battling minigame from the Witcher 3. British studio 'Rare' also made an appearance, showing off their open World pirate simulator Sea of Thieves with a delightful little video in which the fans got to play and comment. Last, but not least, we got a preview of updates and VR compatibility in the new patch for Minecraft.
NINTENDO
This year's offering from the Japanese giants was dedicated entirely to two games. Pokemon Sun & Moon appeared in the middle of the conference, taking many by surprise who expected the entire conference to be dedicated to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The new entry in the series began with a teaser and went on to show an extended play through of the first 30 minutes of the game.