Showcases With Little to Showcase
Surely we were past the worst when Square Enix’s showcase was over. Surely things couldn’t sink any lower. As it turns out, they could, not in the sense of bad reveals but in hyping showcases where very little was actually shown. The Gearbox Showcase was more about Randy Pitchford wandering the sets of the Borderlands movie than anything else. Copious reminders informed the viewer that Homeworld 3 was indeed in production (a little less than two years after being announced). Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands will have goblins and Godfall is getting online matchmaking, a PS4 version and a paid expansion. Yes, that was really it.
Bandai Namco was even worse by comparison. After Elden Ring’s gameplay was revealed and the title dated for January 2022, one would expect some more details at their showcase. And it’s not the only game Bandai Namco is publishing – Tales of Arise and Scarlet Nexus could have been showcased as well. However, it instead featured old footage of The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes and a sit-down interview with Supermassive Games. Suffice to say, it didn’t work. And the less said about Koch Media’s Primetime showcase for its new Prime Matter label, the better because again, there was very little to actually see and much talking to be had.
