E3's winners and losers

So, it's that time again... when everybody looks back, and tries to decide who "won" E3 2018. I thought Microsoft had the best press conference, but that Sony would probably be declared the winner by most commentators, but how do those predictions stack up to reality?

ScreenRant named XBox, Sony, Bethesda, and Ubisoft as their winners, while declaring Nintendo, Square Enix, and EA to be the letdowns of E3 2018. [Oh, shit, Ubisoft! I forgot all about Ubisoft!]

USGamer declared Microsoft to be the winner, and Square Enix to be the loser, with a few other "witty" additions:

• Losers: The crowd during Bethesda's Rage 2 Andrew W.K. performance; Walmart Canada; People who aren't emotionally invested in Super Smash Bros.; [their] health.
• Winners: Todd Howard; The people who have been yelling for a Metal Wolf Chaos release in the west their entire lives; Masahiro Sakurai basically saying fuck it and making Smash Bros. game people can't complain about; being hella gay.

[Dammit, why does everyone have to be a fucking comedian all the fucking time?]

Tom's Guide ranked their list:

1. XBox (grade: A)
2. PlayStation (grade: A-)
3. Bethesda (grade: B+)
4. Nintendo (grade: B)
5. Ubisoft (grade: B)
6. EA (grade: C)
7. Square Enix (grade: C-)

[Looks like someone's grading on a curve, but whatevs.]

It's early days yet, but so far, it looks like my take on things was pretty darn good. I do feel a bit bad for overlooking Ubisoft, though, so let's address that injustice.

Here's how The Verge describes the event itself:

Following a day of jam-packed press conferences from Microsoft and Bethesda yesterday, Ubisoft’s E3 2018 keynote this afternoon focused heavily on Assassin’s Creed and The Division 2, as well as a slew of announcements about upcoming games like Beyond Good & Evil 2, The Crew 2, and Starlink. 

Okay, that's why I didn't remember Ubisoft: it wasn't that memorable.

Beyond Good & Evil 2, The Division 2, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, and Starlink: Battle for Atlas are, in order, a sequel, a sequel, a sequel, and a toy line with a video game tie-in. The first three all look to be well-done, and should appeal to folks who liked the first instalments of those series; the Starlink announcement included a touching moment with Shigeru Miyamoto, who received his very own Starfox ship model/toy, which also doubled as the announcement that Fox McClous/Arwing would be in the Nintendo Switch version of the collectables line/game. There was also Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle DLC, for people who owned that surprise Nintendo Switch hit from last year.

Overall, though, Ubisoft's presser was competent, but nothing special, and easy to overlook on a day that was packed with more impactful events. Pretty much average for E3 2018, in other words, so I'll put them right on my previous average point for E3 2018.

Final Grade: C+.