I’ve never been a fan of EA. Much like Konami, I’ve always been against their business practices and reactions to public and private opinion. However, I try to remain a level head and a sound mind when watching their press conferences. Every year, they don’t completely impress me but leave me a little smile on my face. This year was no difference but, MY GOD, it was a mess.
Andrea Rene hosted the press conference this year and her energy was radiated. Everybody enjoyed her presence…probably more than the conference itself. But, that’s not to say that press didn’t have good moments. It had a decent amount of content to look forward to.
As usual, they showcased their latest installment of FIFA ’19, NBA Live ’19 and Madden ’19 but with one added bonus to the news: They will be available for PC for the first time in a very long time (like 10+ years or so). In a more humorous twist, they announced that they’ve, for a lack of a better word, poached the Champions League License from Konami and PES so their sports game is looking up.
Sadly, every game they revealed was very short, weird and, to be frank, an attempt to salvage their reputation. Battlefield V and Anthem continued to emphasize that loot boxes were not going to be featured in the game.
Worst yet, the audience’s reaction towards the “good news” regarding Star Wars, Origin Access and Command & Conquer were pretty lukewarm. It was interesting, really. EA announced that Star Wars will be implementing a squad system and Clone Wars DLC and not everybody was overjoyed about it. Even worse, their new Star War game, Jedi Fallen Order, was a bumbling mess, almost like it was added in at the last minute.
Furthermore, not everybody was receptible to the idea of Origin Access Premier as many believe it to a reply to Microsoft’s Game Pass. A rather poor reply given that they are going to be charging $100 year or $15/month. Finally, and worst of all, after a sloppy introduction and unwarranted commentary about a game no one could identify, it was no surprise that barely anybody applauds to the announcement of Command & Conquer Rival, a new EA mobile game, that’s currently in pre-alpha.
I was, especially, excited for Unravel Two, Sea of Solitude and Anthem and I will be buying them the first chance I get. Luckily, Unravel Two is already out so I can make some headway on that later on in the following months. However, I’m most excited about Anthem. I mean, I’m cautiously excited, but excited nonetheless. The game looks pretty good and caught my attention almost immediately. Each game has its appeal: Unravel is sweet, hopeful and innocent, Sea of Solitude is haunting and surreal and Anthem is just a breath of fresh air.
All and all, I give EA 2018 Press Conference a 59 out of 100. It was, like I said, a massive blunder.
