Summer Game Fest hype did not thaw our cold gaming winter

Despite all the buzz and fanfare, the event dog-whistled that we are in a down year for gaming.

It’s cold and wet outside, and now we know there’s not much to play. Source: DALL-E.

The mercury may be dropping across Australia, but don't expect to cosy up to your console or gaming PC this winter. By virtue of the seasons, Australia's colder months are usually a great time to game. Last year, it was difficult to decide what to play first over the June-July period.

That's because over in the Northern Hemisphere, titles are released in droves to coincide with US, European, and Japanese summer holidays. This buzz of activity is often kicked off with Summer Game Fest — a series events and presentations which have more or less replaced the gaming mega event E3. The first week of June usually comes bundled with announcements on both imminent and upcoming games.

But despite the hype of this event and genuine excitement for future games, the whole event more or less confirmed what many would have suspected. There just isn't much coming out this year. Even some of the games announced for 20…