The Electronic Entertainment Expo is still underway in Los Angeles, and gamers are getting revved up.
We’ve already explored the big console hardware news including Microsoft’s (MSFT) announcement that the Xbox One will gain backwards compatibility with Xbox 360 games.
The ability to play those old classics — without having to pay a second time like Sony’s (SNE) Playstation Now scheme for the PS4 — is a great way to convince owners of Xbox 360s to upgrade to Xbox Ones.
But do you know what makes for an even more compelling reason for anyone to upgrade to the current generation of game consoles? New games. Not older versions played on a new console, but new games that take advantage of the superior capabilities of the new consoles.
At E3 2015, some of the most mind blowing graphics and gameplay ever offered on a video game console were on display. There were dozens of HD blockbuster titles getting the demo and trailer treatment, but we’ve picked out five that have gamers buzzing with anticipation.
These video games have all the makings of smash hits and if they don’t convince holdouts that now is the time to upgrade to a new game console, nothing will.
E3 2015: Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Final Fantasy 7 has a special place in the hearts of Playstation fans.
Released in 1997, it was the first time a Final Fantasy game was released for the new Playstation platform instead of Nintendo (NTDOY); it was the first in the series to use 3D exclusively for character models; it won multiple gaming awards and sold nearly 10 million copies — the console’s second-highest selling game of all time.
In short, it was a blockbuster.
Gamers have been clamoring for a Final Fantasy 7 remake and they thought they had one when the game’s opening scene was rendered for the Playstation 3 at E3 2005. But that turned out to be just a demo of the PS3’s graphical capabilities.
Nearly two decades after the original’s release, Square Enix (SQNXF) and Sony finally showed the long-awaited Final Fantasy 7 remake trailer at E3 2015.
No word on an official release date or whether it will be a PS4 exclusive, but the Final Fantasy 7 remake is real and will at least launch first on the Playstation 4.
E3 2015: Star Wars Battlefront
The countdown is on and we’re only seven months away from the release of Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.
With Star Wars mania building to a fevered pitch, E3 2015 was the perfect venue to showcase one of the most hotly anticipated video games of the year — one that leverages all that Star Wars excitement.
Electronic Arts (EA) has showed glimpses of Star Wars Battlefront before, but it was at E3 2015 that EA showed off the game’s first ever public gameplay demo.
EA has gone on record as saying it’s hoping to sell between nine million and 10 million copies of Star Wars Battlefront when it goes on sale in November.
Based on the demo we saw in Los Angeles and the marketing blitz for all things Star Wars expected to be engulfing the country by fall, that target shouldn’t be a problem.
E3 2015: Star Fox Zero
Nintendo is also capitalizing on consumer nostalgia, and one of its biggest releases for the Wii U this year is a throwback to a top-seller for the N64 console back in the late 1990s.
Based on early footage, fans are already doing barrel rolls for Star Fox Zero.
Star Fox 64 sold over three million copies — the tenth-highest selling game for the Nintendo 64. Nintendo, which has yet to see 10 Wii U titles that top 1 million in sales — would dearly love to see a repeat of that success.
The new Star Fox Zero isn’t a remake of Star Fox 64, but the in-game footage Nintendo showed at E3 2015 was clearly inspired by the classic.
Missing from Nintendo E3 Digital Event was the new open-world Legend of Zelda game, first scheduled for 2015 release then bumped to 2016. However, with Star Fox Zero and the other new games announced by Nintendo, this holiday season should have plenty of first-rate choices for Wii U owners.
E3 2015: Mass Effect: Andromeda
The Mass Effect series has a loyal following that has been waiting for another installment ever since 2012’s Mass Effect 3.
Together with BioWare, Electronic Arts is releasing a new chapter called Mass Effect: Andromeda and E3 2015 was the where the companies chose to debut a teaser trailer for the new game.
Making the most of the graphics firepower offered by the new generation of consoles, the game will be released for the Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC.
With new worlds in the Andromeda galaxy to explore, new characters and the ability to play as a male or female protagonist, the only thing that disappointed gamers was the release date. Mass Effect: Andromeda isn’t expected until holiday season 2016.
E3 2015: Fallout 4
Finally, this video game has been high on the wish list for many gamers since the introduction of the new generation of video game consoles. And, frankly, it’s the one that’s going to push me into finally upgrading to an Xbox One or PS4.
Easily one of the hottest announcements of E3 2015, Fallout 4 is expected to be a monster hit for publisher Bethesda Game Studios.
Previous versions of the post-apocalyptic RPG have been best-sellers, and the multiple award-winning Fallout 3 set new standards for realism on the PS3 and Xbox 360 with players wandering around a destroyed Washington D.C.
With Fallout 4, it’s a ruined Boston that players will be exploring, and with the graphical power of the PS4 and Xbox One, the realism is being ratcheted up to uncanny levels.
It’s not just the precisely rendered Boston landmarks that are so exciting — virtually everything in this game can be customized, manipulated or interacted with. The Xbox One will also gain the ability to incorporate third-party mods with this game, a feature previously limited to PC gaming.
Bethesda has already begun ramping up the Fallout 4 excitement with the release of an iOS sim game called Fallout Shelter. It has also announced a special edition version of Fallout 4 complete with a Pip-Boy (the wrist device worn computer used by Fallout characters) that will connect to your smartphone and run a companion app to recreate that part of the gaming experience in real life.
Fallout 4 arrives for PS4, Xbox One and PC on November 10.
As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
