E3 2019: 7 Ups & 6 Downs From Microsoft's Conference
A surprisingly mixed bag from Microsoft.
Though it's fair to say that E3 2019 feels like a bit of a fallow year for the annual video games showcase - largely due to Sony's controversial absence - the hype was nevertheless substantial for Microsoft's presser.
With the company spending this entire generation on the back foot, they were widely expected to drop massive bombshells, primarily related to the next generation of Xbox hardware.
And yet, Microsoft's surprisingly short 95-minute show - previously said to be a whole two hours - had an oddly underwhelming quality to it.
After an extremely strong start which successfully sang the praises of Xbox Game Pass and delivered a few neat surprises, the conference settled into an oddly complacent rhythm.
Given that Sony effectively left Microsoft an open goal to score in, it's relatively disappointing that they opted to give so little away in terms of megaton reveals.
Granted, the company still has plenty of time to get their ducks in a row for the release of Project Scarlett, but come E3 2020, they'll have a fierce battle to fight against Sony and the PS5.
Neither the flaming trainwreck the online hyperbole thinks it is nor the sterling showcase it should've been, Microsoft's E3 2019 was intriguing and frustrating in almost equal measure...