The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2016 (E3 2016) was the 22nd E3, during which several hardware manufacturers and software developers and publishers from the video game industry presented new and upcoming products to the attendees, primarily retailers and members of the video game press. The event, organized by the Entertainment Software Association, took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 14–16, 2016. Approximately 50,300 people attended the event, slightly down from the previous year's.[1] With video game consoles currently a couple years into their 8th generation, the focus of E3 2016 was primarily on new software titles, with new hardware revisions and auxiliary equipment to support the growing market sectors of 4K resolution displays and virtual reality headsets.[2]
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2016
E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California on June 14, 2016
The Expo started two days after the mass shooting at an Orlando, Florida nightclub. It was also three days after the murder of Christina Grimmie, who was a big Zelda fan and was scheduled to make an appearance at the expo.[3] To show support for victims of the tragedy, the exhibitors at the Expo made changes to their presentations and plans. Flags outside the Convention Center were lowered to half-mast. Bethesda and Nintendo wore rainbow-colored ribbon pins during their press conferences in support of the victims, Microsoft and Nintendo opened their presentations with a moment of silence for Grimmie and the other victims. Sony's Chairman Shawn Layden started his presentation with a brief speech on the Orlando shooting and Nintendo president, Reggie Fils-Aimé, gave his condolences to Grimmie's family and fans before starting his keynote speech.[4] Other developers planned to alter their approach to social media announcements during the Expo to avoid statements that would be counter to the current national mood after the event.[5][6][7]
Square Enix hosted a Deus Ex Universe pre-E3 press conference on June 8 at 8:30 a.m.[8] During the conference, a 17-minute demo for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was shown along with a new game mode called Breach, as well as the 3rd game in the Square Enix Go franchise, Deus Ex Go.
Electronic Arts hosted its press conference on June 12 at 1:00 p.m. as part of their own EA Play event.[9][a] During the conference, EA showed two new trailers for Titanfall 2, gameplay of Battlefield 1, a behind-the-scenes look at Mass Effect: Andromeda and updates on upcoming Star Wars games from EA. The game company also revealed a teaser trailer for Madden NFL 17, a new game mode for FIFA 17, and a new project called EA Originals, which will help to publish titles created by indie developers, with the first such title being Fe.
Microsoft hosted a press conference on June 13 at 9:30 a.m.[11] During the conference, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One S—a new revision of the original Xbox One model with a smaller form factor and 4K video support (released August 2016),[12][13] and teased "Project Scorpio"—later named Xbox One X, a higher-end version of the console scheduled for 2017.[14] New trailers were shown for Gears of War 4, Halo Wars 2, Inside, Tekken 7, Killer Instinct, ReCore, Scalebound and Sea of Thieves, along with reveals of Dead Rising 4, State of Decay 2 and Forza Horizon 3. Additional announcements were made for new Xbox Live functionality, the Xbox Play Anywhere program that would allow users to play purchased supported Xbox One games on their Windows 10 computers without having to re-purchase the game and enable cross-platform play capabilities between the two platforms, and an Elite Wireless Controller themed to Gears of War 4, as well as the reveal of Xbox Design Lab and a demo for Final Fantasy XV.
Nintendo made the unorthodox decision to not present the then-unrevealed Nintendo Switch (at this point still known as by its codename, "NX") at E3 2016, despite the console being due for an early 2017 release. At a shareholders meeting following E3, Shigeru Miyamoto stated that this was due to concerns of competitors copying from it if they revealed it too soon.[24] Nintendo's presence on the show floor was devoted exclusively to Breath of the Wild.[25]
Several major exhibitors who had attended the previous E3 exhibitions were not present. Activision opted to forgo a booth at the show, instead featuring their upcoming games through other publishers that would be there, such as allowing Sony to showcase Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.[26]Electronic Arts opted to hold their EA Play event separate from E3, and forgo any floor space at the show. Both Disney Interactive Studios (which ceased to operate as an independent developer effective May 2016)[27] and Wargaming opted to not present in the event.[28]
The following is a partial list of vendors that had exhibitions during the convention:
Following the Expo, journalists from over 40 different publications assembled and subsequently voted on games across various categories as their Best of E3 awards. The nominees were announced on June 29, 2016, and the winners on July 5, 2016.[112][113]
In addition to the awards below, God of War received a "Special Commendation for Graphics".
Award
Winner
Other Nominees
Best of Show
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
Dishonored 2 (Arkane/Bethesda)
Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerilla/Sony Interactive Ent.)
Sea of Thieves (Rare/Microsoft Studios)
Titanfall 2 (Respawn/EA)
Best Original Game
Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Ent.)
Abzu (Giant Squid/505 Games)
Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream/Sony Interactive Ent.)
Sea of Thieves (Rare/Microsoft Studios)
We Happy Few (Compulsion Games)
Best Console Game
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
Dishonored 2 (Arkane/Bethesda)
Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerilla/Sony Interactive Ent.)
The Last Guardian (genDESIGN/Sony Interactive Ent.)
Best PC Game
Civilization VI (Firaxis/2K)
Battlefield 1 (id Software/Bethesda)
Dishonored 2 (Arkane/Bethesda)
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game (CD Projekt Red)
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III (Relic/Sega)
Best VR Game
Batman: Arkham VR (Rocksteady/WBIE)
Resident Evil 7 (Capcom)
Star Trek: Bridge Crew (Red Storm/Ubisoft)
The Unspoken (Insomniac/Oculus Studio)
Wilson's Heart (Twisted Pixel/Oculus Studio)
Best Hardware/Peripheral
PlayStation VR (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Oculus Touch (Oculus VR)
Xbox One S (Microsoft)
Best Action Game
Battlefield 1 (DICE/EA)
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (Infinity Ward/Activision)
Gears of War 4 (The Coalition/Microsoft Studios)
Lawbreakers (Boss Key/Nexon)
Titanfall 2 (Respawn/EA)
Best Action/Adventure Game
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo)
Dishonored 2 (Arkane/Bethesda)
Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla/Sony Interactive Ent)
Mafia III (Hanger 13/2K)
The Last Guardian (GenDesign/Sony Interactive Ent.)
Best RPG
Final Fantasy XV (Square Enix)
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Eidos Montreal/Square Enix)
South Park: The Fractured But Whole (Ubisoft San Francisco/Ubisoft)
Tyranny (Obsidian/Paradox)
Persona 5 (Atlus)
Best Fighting Game
Injustice 2 (NetherRealm/WBIE)
Absolver (Sloclap/Devolver)
Tekken 7 (Bandai Namco)
The King of Fighters XIV (SNK/Atlus)
Best Racing Game
Forza Horizon 3 (Playground Games/Microsoft Studios)
F1 2016 (Codemasters)
Gran Turismo Sport (Polyphony Digital/Sony Interactive Ent.)
The Into the Pixel exhibition, a collaboration between the Entertainment Software Association and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences on display during E3, featured selected art that "push the interactive entertainment art form forward".[114] The exhibit included selected concept art, in-game assets, and screenshots, from existing and upcoming games chosen from artist-submitted entries by a small jury. The fourteen games selected in 2016 include:[115]
In prior years, there has been pressure on the ESA, the organizers of E3, to admit members of the public to the event. E3 is normally closed only to members of the video game industry and the media.[116] As the video game industry is strongly driven by consumers and avid gamers, E3 has been criticized for denying them access to the event. In 2015, the ESA allocated 5000 tickets among the various floor exhibitors that they could give to fans to attend the expo.[117]
For E3 2016, the ESA planned a separate three-day E3 Live event held from June 14–16, 2016 alongside the main E3 event for members of the public at L.A. Live, which neighbors the Convention Center. The event was free but required ticket reservations. E3 Live was promoted with the opportunity for its attendees to try the games and meet with members of the industry and selected company representatives, along with musical performances. This is the first time that E3 offered any opportunity for the public at large to attend the E3 event.[118] According to ESA's Mike Gallagher, the intent of E3 Live was to provide to gamers that were not part of the industry "the chance to test-drive exciting new games, interact with some of their favorite developers, and be among the first in the world to enjoy groundbreaking game experiences".[116]
The EA Live event drew about 20,000 people.[119] According to James Brightman for GamesIndustry.biz, the event was underwhelming compared to what had been described, with only a few display areas among a small area. He spoke to those that attended who shared the same sentiment, that the promotion of the E3 Live event suggested there would be much more present.[116]
^Electronic Arts' conference was part of their own EA Play event. The event was set to be held from June 12 to 13, with the last day being completely dedicated to E3's attendees.
^While Activision did not participate in this year's E3, their game was revealed by their partner.