My Cart - E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is upon us. The world’s largest gaming fair opens its doors in LA today, with an expected 30,000 visitors to pass through the doors of the Los Angeles Convention Centre over the course of the week.
This year’s iteration marks one of the biggest in its illustrious 18 year history, with more details expected about Sony and Microsoft’s respective launches, the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One. The pressure is arguably on Sony more so than Microsoft, as the PS4 has still not actually been seen, but with both getting off to admittedly ‘bumpy’ announcements, E3 provides the perfect platform to assuage any fears about either console.
For the television industry there are a fair few factors to watch coming out of E3. First, and as expected, all consoles will now be running in true 1080p HD, instead of the upscaled 720 that was the mainstay of the current generation. Simply put, this means you’ll now be getting the most out of your LCD HDTVs. The good news for 1080p 3D TVs is that it appears as if the new consoles will also look to support 3D functionality in full HD, if not immediately then in the near future.
Second, and perhaps of greater note, is Microsoft’s ‘rounding out’ of the Xbox into more than ‘just a games console.’ Though criticised at announcement for focusing too heavily on TV over gaming, now the dust has settled it’s time to see what the Xbox One can really do. The integration of TV into gaming, both on a first-hand interaction level for the gamer, and for the consequential effects of projects like Steven Spielberg’s forthcoming Xbox-exclusive Halo TV series, look set to revolutionise the way we experience home media.
For E3 itself there is speculation that its status in the gaming industry is waning. The rise of mobile and indie gaming has boosted the gaming industry overall, but has seen an 18% loss made by the console industry since 2012. It is hoped, neigh expected, that the launch of the newest generation of consoles from Sony and Microsoft will revitalise a suffering market.
