E3 2012 Report Card: Score Card of the Giants

EA

Pros:

• FIFA 13 – One of EA's most consistent commercially successful series, FIFA, was inevitably present at the company's E3 press conference. The gameplay trailer debut was present and we saw our first glimpse of what to expect from the umpteenth football title. The aforementioned trailer went on to become one of the most viewed trailers of E3 with well over one million views.
• SimCity – Maxis' reboot was undoubtedly one of the strong points of EA's presser. The PC exclusive has fans rightly hyped with the city-building simulation title looking like the best installment yet. Roll on February, 2013.
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted – I know, another Need for Speed game; another franchise for EA to milk. However, this racer's return was a positive due to the developer being Criterion Games. They created 2010's critically acclaimed Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, as well as the 2008 smash hit Burnout Paradise.
• Dead Space 3 – As expected, Dead Space 3 was shown via its debut gameplay footage. In it, we saw how the co-op component worked and it sure did look to be a worthy addition to Visceral's franchise.
• UFC license purchase – EA took a smart decision in purchasing the UFC video game license from financially troubled THQ. UFC Undisputed 3 shipped several million units for the latter, and, with EA's MMA flop, it was a smart decision to gain the license for UFC.

Cons:

• Battlefield 3 Premium – If I had, say, coffee in my mouth while they were making this announcement, I would have spit it out in disgust. $49.99? I really would have hoped DICE were in better hands with a better publisher.
• No new IPs – EA failed to make any AAA IP announcements, and instead focused all their effort on existing franchises.