Third party software development is critical to a console's popularity and many of them, including Activision, EA, Ubisoft and Konami, made tons of noise at this year's E3 in Los Angeles Convention Center. These publishers found a way to dominate in multiple genres in a way Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft could only dream about.
Activision
Activision was quite intelligent in how it handled E3 and some of its upcoming releases. Releasing Diablo 3 for Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One was a clever way of getting the isometric hardcore action role playing to consoles. It sort of became proof that the Call of Duty series may be on its last legs, which is why Activision sort of phased Call of Duty Ghost to the middle ground for Bungie's Destiny. While Halo has been on the road to being milked to death for the last couple of years, Destiny has Bungie re-inventing where the first-person shooting genre can go.
EA
Out of the four listed, EA had the most well rounded showing. On the sports front, EA's Ignite Engine seems serviceable for Madden and Fifa but UFC and NBA Live looks to really harness its possibilities. Need for Speed Rivals was the best looking and playing racer at E3 period. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare may be gaming first and only children's suitable multiplayer shooter available along with looking like a blast to play. Then there was EA's first-person shooters Titan Fall and Battlefield 4. Titan Fall is a faster paced and epic multiplayer based fps that feels like a cool blend of Brink with Mechwarrior. "Commander Mode"s tablet usage for Battlefield 4 has to be the most ingenious feature ever introduced in a fps and has the potentially to take Call of Duty from the multiplayer throne.
Ubisoft
It looks like Ubisoft may be the undisputed king of the open world from the looks of its E3 showing. Watchdogs, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and The Crew are all different take on sandbox style gameplay. Outside of Battlefield 4, Watchdogs and The Crew have the most inventive use of tablet functionality that complements these two current and next-gen titles perfectly. Ubisoft has even held on to its dancing crown with Just Dance 2014.
Konami
Japanese developers seemed to be lacking at E3 outside of Sony and Nintendo, though Konami delivered an above average showing. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 looks to be just as amazing as the reboot that birthed it and Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 uses the Fox Engine effectively enough for it to look miles better than EA's next-gen FIFA 14. Speaking of Fox Engine, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain may be the best looking game on E3's floor. It's just so unfortunate that it wasn't playable.
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