E3 2013: 5 Lessons We've Learned From That Hectic Week

1. EA... eh?

Up until near the end of EA's time on stage, the biggest surprise I walked away from regarding EA's conference was the resuscitation of the long-troubled NBA Live series, EA's basketball series before 2K all but made it obsolete with the dominance of it's own NBA 2K series.

And then... and then, I saw what was unmistakably the foot of an Imperial AT-AT walker, with a Snowspeeder flying wildly offscreen. And with that criminally short tease, it was revealed that Star Wars: Battlefront was getting a new addition to the series.

Oh, wait... I have to talk about the rest of it. *sigh*

Dragon Age: Inquisition was the last title teased before the newest Star Wars game (and due to an exclusivity deal with Disney, the only Star Wars games coming out anytime soon are going to be from EA), and before that, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, and the so-addictive-its-creepy Peggle 2 were what EA had to offer. Following the tease of Star Wars: Battlefront, EA then devoted a significant amount of time to its sports department, teasing NBA Live, Madden 25, FIFA 14, and a look at EA Sports' UFC, a game based on the popular MMA sport that will debut for the PlayStation 4 and XBOX 360 later this year. Following a very graphically impressive view of a digital Jon Jones handing out beatings, EA did something that surprised nobody, teasing a (I can't stress this enough) VERY visually appealing Battlefield 4, teasing elements of the multiplayer, in addition to an earlier tease of a single player mission aboard a sinking aircraft carrier.

And then, finally, EA actually surprised the audience... again, by teasing Mirror's Edge 4, revealing a next-gen rendered version of Faith, the original game's protagonist.

About. F$%#!$g. Time.

Unlike Ubisoft, to a certain extent, EA was largely predictable - not that it's necessarily a bad thing, as Battlefield 4, PvZ, Madden, UFC, and that LONG awaited Star Wars: Battlefront title will likely sell extremely well. The only question mark on the list is NBA Live - a title that has been absent from shelves since 2K began owning the genre. And indeed, 2K is the only obstacle in the way of NBA Live doing well - with players having 2K's critically acclaimed series and nothing else to play in the way of basketball games, time will tell whether or not EA's attempt at foraging into basketball will prove successful - 2K isn't exactly a pushover when it comes to gaming competition.