E3 2011 Recap

by pastapadre
Posted June 16th, 2011 at 12:15 pm

This turned out to be a somewhat curious year for sports games at E3 as a whole. While there were a bunch that had a presence they were held in more restricted fashion than in the past. Madden was of course very prominent but outside of that the majority were held for behind-closed-doors showings only. That has resulted in Madden NFL 12 picking up some big momentum and the rest of the games seeing much more limited success out of the event.

The EA press conference was a pretty big dud. The only piece of news to come out of that was the announcement of EA Sports Football Club for FIFA 12. That might best be described as a more compelling “Season Showdown” and could work out well for the worldwide phenomenon that is the FIFA series. Prior to the EA conference it was announced by president Peter Moore at the Microsoft press conference that upcoming titles including Madden, FIFA, and Tiger Woods will be implementing Kinect for Xbox 360 features.

The big surprise at E3 was in pulling NCAA Football 12 off the floor. All that did was create a perception that EA Sports had lost some confidence in it given that the NCAA series has traditionally always been available to the crowd. I did get a chance to play a full game (the final build) of NCAA 12 and was satisfied with what had been done but its improvements do come across in more of a subtle manner than Madden’s and overall it will feel familiar to those who played a decent amount of NCAA 11. The demo for NCAA 12 (due out on the 28th) now holds added significance in regaining buzz as it approaches release.

2K Sports can’t really be faulted in their handling of NBA 2K12 as typically they have not used the event as a springboard for the upcoming game. Response to the PlayStation Move demonstration was largely negative but the feature won’t even be utilized by most consumers so that can be overlooked. Some enhancements to the game were made public but nothing really significant as of yet. Just being there showed how prestigious the franchise has become.

An extended video displaying new features and gameplay from UFC Undisputed 3 was a welcome addition to the show and overall there is reason to be encouraged by the direction the title is being taken. Much of the discussion coming out though related to the poorly received new submission system that has been implemented. Given that UFC 3 doesn’t release until January there is plenty of time for THQ to tweak that system.

By all accounts Forza 4 had a strong showing and WWE 12 got a mildly positive response. Kinect Sports 2 was announced and includes six new sports and online play. Those titles deserve credit for at least being fully exposed on the show floor. SSX has gotten positive coverage for its showing behind-closed-doors, and the usual suspects there with NHL 12 and FIFA 12 also provided compelling showings though in a controlled environment.

Browsing through the awards for E3 it is SSX and FIFA 12 getting the most love. Surprisingly Madden 12 wasn’t even nominated by some outlets which I have trouble comprehending. Games not on the floor should really get less consideration for awards. Think about how ridiculous it was that 1UP and GameSpot nominated NBA Elite 11 for Best Sports Game at E3 last year!

News and Content
EA Sports Titles Adding Kinect Support
EA Sports Announces FIFA Football Club Feature
Majesco Announces New NBA Game and Purchase of QUICKHIT NFL Football
E3 Day One Recap and Brief Impressions
Light News on NBA 2K12
NCAA Football 12 Team and Prestige Ratings
NCAA Football 12 Demo Dated
UFC Undisputed 3 Impressions
Madden NFL 12 Impressions
Madden NFL 12 Player Traits Image Collection

Trailers and Gameplay Videos
Madden NFL 12 E3 Trailer
Forza Motorsport 4 E3 Trailer
NBA 2K12 PlayStation Move Demonstration Video
Madden 12: Jamal Charles TD Run
Madden 12: Tim Tebow Run
Madden 12: Bucs @ Vikings (Part One)
Madden 12: Chargers @ Chiefs
Madden 12: 49ers @ Seahawks
Madden 12: Bucs @ Vikings (Part Two)
Madden 12: Panthers @ Broncos

Tags: e3, latest news

MLD Woody

Fifa 12 looks great and I hope NCAA 12 can live up to my expectations. Also, I have to buy Madden as a Browns fan, no choice.
http://twitter.com/BigSho31 Shomari

As far as NCAA goes…this was the worst E3 it ever had.
- Skihawks
  
  Based on what I read by a staffer with Operation Sports I will disagree with your comment. He played the game and had nothing but praise. It was good reads. I think some are blowing the fact NCAA wasnt as accessible as Madden out of proprtion. In my opinion Madden needed a strong showing at E3 much more than NCAA did.
  
  With all the negativity surrounding Madden 11 then the announcement of some of its developers bolting, EA knows consumer confidence, even with Madden’s hardcore fans, was starting to wane.
  - Keith.
    
    You’re relying on OS? LoL. They gave Madden a 9 LAST year. That’s about all that needs to be said about their staff’s impressions about anything.
Skihawks

I dont find EA’s decision to hold back NCAA as nothing more than trying to push its flagship franchise. I would feel more skeptical towards NCAA 12′s quality if it werent for the ton of information, including a plethora of improvements. The NCAA development team has done a hell of a job in flowing information on what they did to improve the game. This will not be NCAA 11.5.

Madden is using the same engine and is making the bigger leap.

In my opinion, NCAA fans should not sweat EA’s decision not to put NCAA on the floor.
- Anonymous
  
  I don’t know man. If EA is hiding it from the public, it can’t be good. They tend to over hype everything!
  - Skihawks
    
    I wouldnt call it hiding it from the public. They have tons of videos and information out there. They definitely arent treating this like 2K treats its MLB series.
    
    Not to mention that the behind the door information wasnt held in secrecy.
    
    My point is that people are making this a bigger issue than it really is. As I said before, if there was limited information, no gameplay videos, no info on improvements and if the demo was released after the game released I would be concerned.
    
    However, we have had more information than we could ask for.
    - Anonymous
      
      I’d be happy with NCAA 11.5, but I hope you are right….
  - http://pastapadre.com/ pastapadre
    
    My feeling was/still is that the game would’ve been exposed to an extent by being on the floor near Madden. NCAA is in great shape from what I played, and feature wise, but it just is not as flashy as Madden this year.
Skihawks

To me, this year’s E3 seemed a little soft. No really huge announcements. Even Nintendos new console didnt garner much excitement.
Lonnie

i am somewhat confused,is E3 a showcase for new games? if so than why do they keep games behind closed doors? i thought the entire point was to show off the new games,what am i misunderstanding?
- http://pastapadre.com/ pastapadre
  
  The behind closed doors stuff is generally intended just to get press to write about the games. With all the press in one area at the same time they have the opportunity to do that, but dont have to expose the game to everyone there. That way they can show what they want to show and get out the message they are trying to convey.
Bigpapiandchipper

Pasta,
Any word on whether or not Madden 12 will be available at launch for the Vita? I haven’t heard anything yet, so would you guess that they’ll try to push it out by then or just wait til next year?
- http://pastapadre.com/ pastapadre
  
  I believe the initial list for Vita had FIFA but not Madden. Could be due to timing, or simply nothing is official.
  
  The NFL contract requires EA to release Madden on all the major platforms, but I believe handhelds are excluded. They’ll still want to get one out probably at launch for it though, or hold it in order to include some cross-function with the PS3 version of Madden 13.
  - Bigpapiandchipper
    
    Cool, I’m probably going to grab one at launch and I’m hoping they can crank out Madden 12 by then. However, there is a history of Madden being very stripped down and apparently rushed when it first shows up on a new console, so I don’t have a ton of faith in how complete it would be
  - Bigpapiandchipper
    
    Cool, I’m probably going to grab one at launch and I’m hoping they can crank out Madden 12 by then. However, there is a history of Madden being very stripped down and apparently rushed when it first shows up on a new console, so I don’t have a ton of faith in how complete it would be
MCaviel

I understand the “stealth” move EA took with NCAA 12, because of N11, NCAA 12 didn’t need a lot of fanfare. For me personally, I was encouraged by what I read and saw of Madden 12, but…I won’t be convinced until after July 25th, that’s when EA will release the “online franchise” info, and after the demo comes out later!
Johnnymac

You said it ” the majority were held for behind-closed-doors showings only. That has resulted in Madden NFL 12 picking up some big momentum.” Madden is their baby and lst year Madden fell on it’s face big time. This year is all about building Madden back up. So while the other games are improved this year, the focus was clearly and purposely on Madden.
- http://pastapadre.com/ pastapadre
  
  Well they certainly aren’t going to actively sacrifice their other games to build Madden up if that’s what you’re implying. It may be a side effect of the situation however.
Eoin

when is the fifa 12 demo comin out on xbox ???
Eoin

when is the fifa 12 demo comin out on xbox ???