E3 is an event that has been used to announce features of upcoming consoles, exclusives, and technology. When Sony announced that it was not attending the event last year, it shocked many in the gaming community who had become used to the companies presence. One year later and Sony have announced that it will once again be absent. On the other hand, Xbox has doubled down on E3 and the presentation looks to be an exciting one.
The Xbox consoles have always been powerful machines and many are excited to see how the console leverages its technical aspects to give an exciting gaming experience. While Sony is committing to individual events, Xbox could generate an incredible amount of positive press at one of the biggest events in the gaming calendar.
The statement released by Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, claims that 2020 will be a “milestone” year for the company and it is hard at work preparing the presentation “for those who love to play”. While the Xbox One suffered from a marketing campaign that was focused on a media machine rather than a gaming console, it seems that the Xbox Series X will once again focus on games. Microsoft will undoubtedly put on an impressive show and in response, Sony will likely be creating an event of its own to publicize the PS5.
The specifications of the Xbox Series X have already been teased 8k resolution with a CPU engraving, and it would be a surprise for a powerful console not to be delivered. Although these aspects will be important to some players, other key deciders will be the games are on offer, and the price of the console. An integral part of making E3 a success for Xbox will be showcasing games that are exclusively coming to the upcoming console.
Head of Microsoft Studios, Matt Booty, has claimed that there will be no exclusives for at least a year after the release of the console. Therefore it will be interesting to see how the company addresses the wait for players. With that said, many players would hold on and wait if franchises like Fable, Halo and Gears were teased. The direction of Xbox will become apparent at E3 and it is sure to be interesting.
E3 will run from the 9th of June to the 11th of June, 2020.
