The day before the E3 show floor opens is always a big deal for the game industry. That is the day that most of the big publishers hold massive, multi-million dollar press events to show off their offerings for the next several years. It is such an important day that is has even been given a name: “Day Zero.”
Well. Day Zero for E3 2015 has come and gone and it was, by all accounts, one of the most amazing days of announcements in recent history. It was the video game equivalent of the best Christmas morning you could ever remember. Sony made three surprise announcements that brought many gamers, myself included, to tears.
The three surprise announcements all revolved around legendary games and game franchises that represented high water marks in game development and the lives of many of their players.
In short: This was a big deal.
First, Sony opened their press conference by re-unveiling The Last Guardian. This is a game that has been in development for a very long time. So long, in fact, that it was first announced back in 2007. This is important because it is being developed by JapanStudio. This is the team responsible for ICO and Shadow of the Colossus; two of the most critically acclaimed games of all time. Players have been hungry for this game for YEARS and grew more concerned with each passing year with no new information.
Second, Sony stunned the crowd by announcing an HD remake of the classic Final Fantasy VII. Fans have been clamoring for an HD remake of Final Fantasy VII for years as the game was groundbreaking at release, but has not aged well. Square Enix has long stated that the cost of recreating such a massive game using HD rendered graphics would not be something that they could afford to do. I’m not sure what caused them to get over that particular problem, but here we are!
Shenmue 3
Lastly, they helped launch a Kickstarter for Shenmue 3. This title is relevant because Shenmue and (its sequel) Shenmue 2 were two of the first open world games. They included an deep and personal narrative that players really got invested in. I was never a huge fan personally, but the game’s fans are devoted enough to have kept the demand alive for a very long time. (In fact, the Kickstarter launched during Sony’s press conference and raised $2 million dollars within five hours. THAT is a devoted fan base.)
What do you think? Sound off in the comments!
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