Thoughts From The Battlefield : gamescom 2013
Keith Ramsdale
2013-08-30
There is only one word to sum up the 340,000 gamers who turned-up in their droves to witness gamescom 2013; fanatical. Their passion for the games industry is incredible and to see so many people queuing, sometimes for several hours, to play the latest games was a sight to behold.
I spent some of Thursday walking the show floor and, once again, it highlighted just how exciting it is to be in the games industry particularly at a time with new machines coming and PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games really pushing the capability of those consoles.
From a games perspective we definitely built on the success of E3 with even more awards for FIFA 14, Battlefield 4 and Titanfall, a game that can't come soon enough for a lot of people.
It was also nice to see our very devoted community get their hands on The Sims 4 for the first time. It's hard to believe that the original came out in 2000 and it's still growing in popularity. I remember well the launch of the game (yes I was working for EA back then) and the excitement that surrounded it. It's great to see the franchise continue to innovate and still be as relevant today as it was for its first iteration.
With all the excitement of Xbox One and PlayStation 4 it's so easy to look beyond current gen when the reality is there is still so much life left in these consoles - something the entire industry showed last week. Now the football season is up and running we shift attention to FIFA 14 which is out in a little less than a month. I am always amazed at what the FIFA team is able to deliver every year and you'll be able to trial the fruits of their labour in a couple of weeks when the demo is released. We'll also know where FIFA 14 cover star, Gareth Bale, will be plying his trade!
Hard to believe we're about to enter the silly season where all the big releases for 2013 hit - where has this year gone? When you hear from me again, it will have kicked-off. Literally.
Keith
