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I have a lot of conversations with friends that insist the games industry is just not as good as it used to be. They cite nothing but the microtransaction-laden titles of the three biggest third-party publishers: EA, Activision, and Ubisoft. I can only shrug the complaints off, referencing how much larger the industry truly is than these massive corporations seemingly run by people that actively hate the medium. Be it indie games, Japanese developers, or the mid-budget studios of the West, there’s an awful lot of enjoyment to be had.

When E3 rolls around, however, it’s easy to forget about everyone else. What ought to be Gamer Christmas is instead a constant barrage of corporate pep-talk to shareholders disguised as consumer-friendly mission statements, followed by sterile and focus-tested trailers that cause every game to have a similar tone or feel. Even games that should stand out, such as Bleeding Edge, fail to do so due to the obvious imitation of a trend started by Overwatch. When “colorful, distinct characters” feels about as rote as grey-and-brown shooters had begun to feel last generation… you kind of wonder what else this industry will monkey-paw on you.

Like John the Baptist, however, Square Enix managed to pave the way for our true gaming savior of Nintendo. We’ll be discussing those exciting titles next week.

Did anything announced by non-Nintendo this E3 excite you? Feel free to comment below, or send us an e-mail with your thoughts.

Opening theme music by my buddy Brandon, a.k.a. Fallen Prophecy.