Bethesda's showcase turned out much as Ichin had expected. Although The Elder Scrolls VI released a PV that looked fairly decent, there was very little actual gameplay footage, and no approximate release window was given — only a vague "next year."
As for Starfield, there was at least some good news. This time, they announced a specific release date: December 16th of this year.
Whether it would actually make that date was another question. Even after announcing it, Bethesda didn't explicitly promise a 100% release — they simply stated the date without any additional assurance.
Hopefully it would launch on time. Ichin himself was quite looking forward to Starfield.
After the two major showcases, there were no more big presentations that day — only a few interview-style livestreams and several Treehouse gameplay demonstrations.
Berseria wasn't scheduled for a Treehouse live demo. Instead, it was available for hands-on play at the exhibition venue itself, and the demo had gone live simultaneously across all online platforms.
After turning off the stream, Utaha went to take a shower. Ichin reopened his laptop and continued monitoring the demo download numbers.
Yukino hadn't gone back yet. She gently leaned against his shoulder, glanced at the screen, and said,
"Steam's download numbers are incredible. It's already over sixty thousand — and it's only been half an hour."
"Normal," Ichin nodded. "It's a global simultaneous release. Plus, a lot of players are already following E3, so plenty of people know about it. And it's a free demo — there's no loss in downloading and trying it out, right? What matters now is how players evaluate the experience."
This time, Ichin had prepared thoroughly. The demo was available worldwide, and besides Chinese, English, and Japanese, it also supported French and German.
When the full version launched, it would include even more language options.
After reviewing the data across platforms, the Switch downloads had also steadily surpassed thirty thousand.
Once he finished checking the numbers, Ichin opened Bilibili. Sure enough, several console-category streamers were already livestreaming the Berseria demo, and the viewership numbers were strong.
After watching for a few minutes, Ichin closed the laptop, wrapped an arm around Yukino's shoulders, and pulled her into his embrace.
"In about ten days — by the end of the month — we can move into the new house. Are you excited?"
Finding a comfortable angle in his arms, Yukino narrowed her eyes and nodded.
"Mm. I'm really looking forward to it. By the way, what about this house after we move? If we're not living here anymore, will we rent it out?"
Ichin thought for a moment.
"Probably. When we move, we'll take our personal belongings and leave appliances like the refrigerator behind. With the property value here and the quality of the renovation, we should be able to get a pretty decent rent."
"Then the house next door should be rented out too," Yukino added. "There's no need for my sister to keep it."
After that, the two began discussing what they needed to purchase after moving into the new place.
As a devoted cat lover, Yukino's first thoughts naturally revolved around the cats.
"Mm. The villa has much more space, so we can place more litter boxes. And cat trees — we can put several in the living room. Maybe some near windows with good sunlight, so the cats can lie down and sunbathe."
Ichin nodded.
"Yeah, we'll just go buy them when the time comes. With your four cats and my two, the villa's space is more than enough for six cats to run around happily."
Imagining six cats dashing around the villa with joy, Yukino's face filled with eager anticipation.
Over the next few days, the biggest news in the gaming world was naturally E3 itself. Among the many titles with confirmed release dates, Tales of Berseria secured its own spotlight.
As an action RPG, Berseria's art style wasn't just distinctly anime-inspired — its 3D models also carried a unique ink-wash aesthetic. The overall style alone was striking.
Once the hands-on demos began at the venue, and players around the world downloaded and tried the demo, positive reviews started appearing online in waves.
This art style is fantastic! I thought the models were interesting when the PV came out last year — the ink-wash adjustments work surprisingly well.
The skill names are so chuunibyou — and combat feels amazing!
I haven't fully figured out the combo system yet, but it's really fun!
The demo doesn't reveal much about the main story. Looks like they intentionally didn't include the early chapters. I'm really curious why the heroine looks like a villain.
Discussions about the art style, combat system, and other aspects were everywhere — clear proof of the demo's success.
Moreover, despite the impressive visuals and effects, there was very little negative feedback regarding optimization or frame rate. Many media outlets on-site even praised the game's performance.
It was important to remember that the hands-on demo at the venue was running on the Switch version — not a high-end PC.
For Switch optimization, Ichin and Umiko had put in tremendous effort. While minimizing reductions in effects and visual quality, they managed to stabilize the frame rate at 60 FPS. In some intense combat scenes there were occasional dips of three to five frames, but still within acceptable limits — and further optimization was possible.
Additionally, development kits for the Switch's next-generation model would arrive in August. After that, they could loosen restrictions a bit when developing Switch versions.
Across the five-day E3 event, major publishers showcased games slated for release within the next six months to a year — though plenty of "future promises" were thrown around as well.
For example, Sony teased the third installment of the new God of War. But judging by the lack of significant gameplay evolution in the previous two entries, Ichin doubted the third would bring anything groundbreaking. It would likely remain one of the strongest games of the generation — but he hoped for something genuinely new, rather than just story changes and slight skill variations.
As for which company stole the spotlight at E3, aside from Tales of Berseria, Microsoft probably shone the brightest.
Ichin hadn't expected Microsoft to use the same strategy he did — releasing the Forza Horizon 5 DLC immediately at the exact moment their presentation ended.
That move caused Berseria's demo player count to drop sharply that very day.
Of course, Ichin himself was among those players.
Driving was just too fun.
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