PAX East 2013 has come and gone and while many will agree that the show was great overall, I personally couldn’t help but feel that a few games were M.I.A. during the expo. From highly anticipated titles to games literally weeks away from release, I feel that a lot of publishers may have missed out on a golden opportunity to get their games out and in front of consumers early. Looking into the matter further, I was able to come up with 5 games in particular that could have benefited from having some sort of presence at this year’s PAX East.
Star Trek
Traditionally, video game adaptations based off of movies have never really been well received by neither fans nor professional critics alike. The marketing approach has always been for a game studio to release a game alongside a big budget movie in hopes of enticing customers to invest their hard earned money into both products. In the case of Star Wars, Digital Extremes has promised a unique action-adventure game filled with elements of exploration and third-person shooter dynamics.
With the game’s release scheduled for April 23rd, I’m very puzzled as to why this title wasn’t playable or received any coverage during PAX East. There is of course still a possibility that a demo could surface on Xbox Live and PSN before the game launches next month. Ultimately, only time will tell if the publishers do decide to take this route or instead use the hype of the next film in the series to persuade people to check out this game.
Defiance
Trion Worlds intriguing MMO third-person shooter is a game that gained even more interest when Syfy decided to make a show spinoff tied to it. After making an appearance during last year’s PAX East, Defiance was no where to be found at this year’s show.
With the game slated to release on April 2nd, I’m curious as to why Defiance hasn’t been getting the attention it deserves. Trion Worlds probably figured that the safest bet was to sit out PAX and get the game ready for launch. Hopefully that decision pays off for them in the end.
Soul Sacrifice
Lets get one thing clear right from the start and admit that the PlayStation Vita lineup of games has been pretty disappointing thus far. While PlayStation plus had succeeded in adding value to the device, there is absolutely no denying that the handheld has lacked a quality killer app for quite some time now.
With Soul Sacrifice poised and primed to hit the Vita on April 30th, Sony has already done a horrible job letting people know that this game even exists. Granted that the game has already released in Japan, only a hardcore JRPG fan would know and acknowledge that the game is only a month away from release. A PAX East appearance could have gone a long way as far as letting others learn more about the game and giving them a proper venue to decide if it’s worth their time and money.
Beyond: Two Souls
Just a few days prior to all the PAX East festivities, Sony and Quantic Dreams revealed further details regarding their upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive Beyond: Two Souls. Several high profile video game sites like IGN and Gamespot were invited to press only events to preview the latest gameplay build and gain a deeper understanding behind the game’s narrative.
While we all know that this game will receive a full reveal at E3, I’m curious as to why Sony didn’t at least have some video montages or gameplay footage on hand during PAX East. It’s no secret that a majority of Sony’s E3 press conference will be focused on the PlayStation 4 and I’m concerned that Beyond may ultimately get loss in all that coverage. Perhaps Sony is planning to make this game PS4 compatible and if so then I think a lot of fans will be looking forward to it even more.
GTA V
Ever since the first PAX East stormed into Boston during the spring of 2010, Rockstar Games has always made sure that they have had some soft of presence at each year’s show. After Max Payne 3 wowed fans during last year’s expo, I was almost certain that we would get either a new cinematic trailer or gameplay footage from GTA V this year.
Unfortunately for Rockstar and their loyal fanbase, there was no GTA V news or visuals during PAX East. Interestingly enough though, this played to the advantage of Saints Row IV and served as a just reminder that GTA V will have plenty of competition once it drops in September. Now I fully expect GTA V to get a full media blowout during E3 to make up for all the lack of news from Rockstar. Then and only then we can finally get the full scoop on all that GTA V has to offer.
This concludes my list on 5 games that should have been shown at PAX East 2013. Do you agree or disagree with my choices and the reasoning behind each one? Which games do you think should have been shown at PAX East? Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments section below.
