This year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles was intense, but we managed to cover all of the news and look at as many games as we could. As you can see from the massive list of stories below, we were very busy. This is your perfect chance to catch up on everything that happened at E3, from the unveiling of new characters in Super Smash Bros. to a detailed FAQ on how multiplayer in Halo: The Master Chief Collection will work.
Happy reading, and have a good weekend!
Pieces of flair and opinions
- The DeanBeat: My straight-shooting impressions from another E3
- E3 2014 in pictures (gallery)
- This white DualShock 4 is beautiful
- How Nintendo used the Luigi Death Stare without ruining fans’ fun
- These gorgeous pictures from Konami’s E3 booth show you the history of Metal Gear
- 5 ways to get hyped for the World Cup without FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer
- Warriors need love, too: The complex state of marriage in MMOs [update]
- Understanding Halo: The Master Chief Collection (FAQ) — playlists, Forge, control schemes, and more
- At last, Destiny is playable. And I’ve seen it. Is this what a billion-dollar game looks like?
- A tale of two trailers: Why Ubisoft’s game trailer for The Division works, but the one for The Crew doesn’t
- The future is now: 5 mods to take Civilization V beyond Earth today
- Comparing MMOs: World of Warcraft vs. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn vs. The Elder Scrolls Online vs. Wildstar
Above: Battlefield: Hardline’s two warring factions — cops and robbers.
News
- The 32 World Cup countries have 734M gamers & will spend $55B on games in 2014
- New Final Fantasy game coming to PS4 and Xbox One — but Sony backpedals on Vita version
- Wargaming sets a date for World of Tanks’ mobile invasion
- Oculus VR hires Crash Bandicoot co-creator Jason Rubin as game studio chief
- E3 2014 Day 1: All of the news and trailers
- Defy Media buys GameTrailers, Addicting Games, and Shockwave from Viacom
- Alienware refits its Steam Machine with Windows and will launch it as a living-room PC
- Ubisoft’s E3 event: All of the news and trailers
- Ubisoft’s Just Dance Now can pack as many as 20,000 smartphone dancers in one game
- Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six: Siege will focus on breach-and-clear operations
- First 5 minutes of Far Cry 4: Monkeys, guns, and bloody passports
- Battlefield: Hardline beta is live for PC and PlayStation 4 owners
- EA’s E3 event: All the news and trailers
- Even EA is making a freakin’ League of Legends-like game now — and the beta’s already live (updated)
- Burnout developer swaps out cars for wingsuits, helicopters, and ATVs
- Want a new Mass Effect or a new franchise? BioWare’s giving you both
- The Sims 4 will offer much better 3D graphics and emotional storytelling
- Star Wars: Battlefront is coming … but not this year
- SteelSeries’ Sentry eye tracker lets you control a PC game with your eyes
- Grammy nominated composer Austin Wintory facing a possible $50,000 fine for his work on The Banner Saga
Above: Splatoon was one of Nintendo’s most interesting games at E3.
Nintendo news
- Nintendo’s E3 event: All the news and trailers including Zelda Wii U and Amiibo
- Mario Maker lets you create your own Mario remix
- Splatoon is Nintendo’s version of an ink-splatter, team-shooter game
- Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire coming Nov. 21
- Nintendo teases new Zelda game for Wii U
- With Amiibo, your princess is in another pocket with Nintendo’s new toy-to-life figures
- Your Mii can now fight Mario in Super Smash Bros. (update)
- New Star Fox game reportedly has Mario maestro Miyamoto at its helm
- Nintendo reveals Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. for 3DS from Advance Wars studio
- Pac-Man and Mr. Game & Watch coming to Super Smash Bros.
- Exclusive: That might not have been Link in the Wii U Zelda trailer, producer teases
Above: The end of Drake?
Sony news
- Sony’s E3 event: All the news and trailers
- Nathan Drake could soon meet his doom in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Grand Theft Auto V heads to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC this fall (update)
- Sony beefs up PSN with YouTube, better game spectating, and 25 free-to-play games
- PlayStation Now, PlayStation TV: Classic gaming without a console
- Dead Island 2 jogging toward PlayStation 4 with 30-day beta
- Grim Fandango is finally getting the respect it deserves thanks to Sony and Disney
- Sony has a sweet deal for Far Cry 4 fans — they can play even if they don’t buy the game
- The Last of Us sends some friends to the PlayStation versions of Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition
- Bloodborne is Dark Souls developer’s PlayStation 4 debut
- LittleBigPlanet 3 gives Sackboy some friends (who all seem way more useful than him)
- Killzone: Shadow Fall — Intercept is all about co-op killing
- Somehow, a white PlayStation 4 is more exciting than an early Destiny beta
- Sony announces comic book adaptation of ‘Powers’ as first PlayStation original TV series
- Journey’s former art director is making Abzu, an underwater adventure game
Above: We’re getting a lot of Halo.
Microsoft news
- Microsoft’s E3 event: All of the news and trailers
- Microsoft gets Hideki Kamiya’s Scalebound as an Xbox exclusive
- Get ready, agents: Crackdown’s back for Xbox One
- Microsoft bets big that multibillion-dollar game series Halo will thrive on television
- Inside is Limbo 2 in everything but name
- Lara Croft returns next year in Rise of the Tomb Raider
- Live-action series Halo: Nightfall debuts this fall on Xbox One
- Microsoft unveils the Halo Master Chief Collection with a remastering all his Halo games
- Fable Legends lets you torment your friends
- Xbox event opens with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare live demo
Mobile and social
- AppsFlyer hits 1.8B a year mobile app install run rate, launches agency product
- Exclusive: Zynga affirms its support of LGBT people & their rights after launching Duck Dynasty slots game
Above: This vast expanse in Dragon Age: Inquisition is waiting for you to explore.
Previews and impressions
- Nintendo’s plan to save the Wii U? Double down on the cuteness of Yoshi, Kirby, and Toad
- Sonic Boom’s modest 3DS version is much better than its confused Wii U sibling
- Dragon Age: Inquisition feels like it’s BioWare’s Skyrim
- How to kill a dragon in BioWare’s Dragon Age: Inquisition
- Bad drivers have all the fun in The Crew’s multiplayer missions
- The real, horrifying reason that The Division takes place during Christmas
- Destiny’s alpha shows this polished shooter still needs an identity (hands-on preview)
- Like mother, like daughter: How the Ripley from Alien: Isolation compares to her famous mom
- Other predators roam in Alien: Isolation’s food chain (hands-on preview)
- Battlefield: Hardline feels like an expansion (impressions)
- In Dragon Age: Inquisition, you can build (or ruin) friendships, appoint leaders, and create an all-pink army
- Dance Central Spotlight promises Kinect dancing that’s more accurate on Xbox One (preview)
- Assassin’s Creed: Unity — stoke the fires of revolution with 3 of your friends
- Battlefield: Hardline’s cops and robbers turn downtown L.A. into a war zone
Above: Snake looks ominous in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Interviews
- Reggie Fils-Aime talks about E3, industry change, and what Nintendo is doing for a comeback (interview)
- How Oculus VR is starting to change the direction of gaming (interview)
- How EA is marshaling a new assault on mobile games (interview)
- Lord British keeps fans updated on the progress of his Shroud of the Avatar (interview)
- How Microsoft’s 343 Industries came up with its upcoming Halo: The Master Chief Collection (interview)
- Why EA moved from the military to police combat with Battlefield Hardline (interview)
- Hideo Kojima tries to balance open world and gripping story with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (interview)
- As gaming evolves, Activision zeroes in on its Destiny, Call of Duty, and Skylanders (interview)
- Sony’s Scott Rohde on game delays, beating Microsoft, and Project Morpheus
- Microsoft’s game chief dishes on press events, rumored price cut, and Kinect-less Xbox Ones
- Why Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot believes Watch Dogs will be his company’s next giant franchise
- Why EA won’t be the worst company in America anymore (interview)
- Harmonix shines the Dance Central Spotlight on the Xbox One (interview)