Dialogue

How deep is your love?

When your big rival pulls out of a race before you even get to the start line, it’s hard to know how you can possibly measure victory, even if you finish first. That is exactly what Sony did to Microsoft this E3 – the Japanese giant’s decision to skip E3 for a year attempting to undermine the impact of the Xbox Briefing by stealth. What Sony seemingly didn’t realise, however, was how its no-show would essentially present Xbox One as the default home for all the big releases this year, whether they were multiplatform or not.

Watching PlayStation’s social media accounts on both sides of the Atlantic spend hours after Microsoft’s E3 bonanza frantically clarifying that title after title revealed on the Xbox stage would also be coming to Sony’s machine was a sight to behold. Whereas in past years Xbox detractors have belittled the fact that many of the big games showcased during Microsoft’s event have also been bound for PS4 last year, given spots during both the Xbox and PlayStation briefings), the lack of a counter-performance by Sony played out like a snub to all of its thirdparty publishers. The likes of from EA, from Techland and from Bandai Namco had no choice as to where to display their wares – it was Xbox, or nothing.