This year’s Gamescom has come and gone. It was the best showing of the event in history, making it clear that it’s just as big if not more important than North America’s E3. There were so many announcements it was hard to keep track of them. So what really stood out?
Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Blizzard, Activision, Ubisoft, and other big publishers had new information to share regarding games and hardware, some more eye-catching than others. We’ve trimmed down the list of dozens of reveals to a mere five that you should know about.
Related: Gamescom 2014 Announcements Compilation
Check out the list of biggest announcements at Gamescom 2014 below.
5 Biggest Announcements of Gamescom
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5. Two amazing new Xbox One bundles are coming soon
It's been rumored for several months that Microsoft plans to release the gorgeous white Xbox One in a holiday bundle later this year. It turns out the rumors were true.
The Xbox One Special Edition Sunset Overdrive Bundle will include a white Xbox One, white Xbox One Controller, and a copy of Sunset Overdrive for only $399. It's a great deal and one that is sure to make Microsoft competitive in the following months.
The bundle announcements didn't end there, though. A Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Bundle including a stylized 1TB console, controller, and copy of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will debut in December.
And if for some reason you don't like either of these, Madden NFL 15 and FIFA 15 bundles will be arriving shortly. That's a lot of bundles to choose from.
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4. The PS4 has SOLD over 10 million units already
Although I'd argue that the PS4's game library is lackluster, that doesn't seem to matter. It has remained in extremely high demand since it was released nine months ago.
Sony confirmed on-stage that the PS4 has not only shipped, but sold 10 million units worldwide. That includes 1 million sold during July, which is arguably the weakest month of the year.
The PS4 is extremely healthy, and that means Sony is investing heavily in it to ensure that the momentum doesn't stop anytime soon. Meanwhile, Microsoft is pressured to perform. If it can't make its Xbox One more attractive, it will continue to lose valuable market share in the United States and worldwide.
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3. World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor gets a trailer and release date
World of Warcraft might be a nearly 10 year old game, but it's still one that dominates the MMO genre. Blizzard showed why it's the king of the jungle during Gamescom with its new Warlords of Draenor media.
Only a day into the event, Blizzard unveiled its official trailer for World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor. It was mighty good, arguably the best of the World of Warcraft trailers—which is saying a lot. It showed the legendary Grommash Hellscream battling Mannoroth, with an appearance by Gul'dan and Gorrosh Hellscream. The trailer alone made me want to re-subscribe to World of Warcraft before the expansion's release.
Made better, the release date for the expansion was announced. It's November 13th, the same as Wrath of the Lich King back in 2008. I have a good feeling this expansion is going to rock.
You can watch the trailer here.
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2. Silent Hills is announced in the most amazing way possible
Hideo Kojima and the others involved in the planning for Silent Hills' announcement are pure geniuses. All we saw was a short trailer showing a couple women screaming whille playing a game, followed by Sony stating that an interactive teaser is available on the PlayStation Store. It didn't like much, but would lead to one of the craziest weeks for the horror genre in history.
P.T., as it is known, was one of the scariest pieces of gaming media ever released. I know I had a hard time getting through it, and as a horror fan that's the kind of thing that dreams are made of. After it was completed for its first time, which wasn't easy given its abstract design, the world learned that it was a teaser for an upcoming Silent Hill game for next-gen consoles.
Little is known about Silent Hills, but if it's anything like P.T. its going to absolutely rock the gaming world. If not, P.T. will still remain one of the scariest games to play ever, and it's free.
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1. Rise of the Tomb Raider is Xbox exclusive... for now
Oh man. To say that Rise of the Tomb Raider's exclusivity reveal was a big announcement would be an understatement. Seldom do we see video game announcements as big as this. It prompted thousands of pages of online discussion, editorials, and video commentary. It was undoubtedly the most controversial topic of Gamescom 2014.
Tomb Raider's 2012 release was exceptional. We hadn't seen a proper Tomb Raider in years, and what emerged was not only arguably the best release in the series, but one of the best action-adventure games of last-gen.
We knew a sequel was coming, and just about everyone was excited for it. Little did we know that despite its PlayStation exclusive roots, it would land on Xbox first. Yup, during Holiday 2015 Rise of the Tomb Raider will debut on Xbox One and Xbox 360. If there are other versions, and there probably are, they won't come until at least six months later.
Understandably, many fans of Tomb Raider cried, and PlayStation fans voiced their hatred for Square Enix and Microsoft for making such a deal. As loud as they have been, Rise of the Tomb Raider looks great, and chances are it'll be good enough to give Uncharted 4: A Thief's End a run for its money next year.
