Introduction
Like every year, I will be watching E3 from the comfort of my couch. I was never a huge fan of E3. The reason being is that most games announced never see the light of day or get released many years later. What is the point?
Also, this year many of the big hitters will not be at the event, most notably EA (Electronic Arts) and Playstation. I am sure this will impact the viewership for the event. EA is known to be boring. The bigger impact is Sony. The fact that they are one of the big 3 game console makers, I would consider it a negative hit on the event. However, I can understand why they are doing this. I just hope that they do not become too cocky and think they are better that this event.
Below I will outline the press conferences with what I think they will talk about.
EA (June 8-9)
I just wanted to mention that although EA is technically not having a traditional press conference, they are still there and will probably announce stuff that we already have seen before.
Microsoft (June 9th, 4 pm EST)
I expect big things this year for Microsoft. I think they can be one of the biggest conferences , especially with Sony not being there. Last year, I have to admit that Microsoft did a very good job at E3 and I hope that the trend continues.
Starting last year, a lot of the things that XBOX did was to lay down the groundwork for the next generation. They had already announced that their next generation console was in the works.
I expect them to provide more details on the next console. I expect that it will be powerful enough to have VR. For this I would assume they would partner up with someone. That would be very cool to see.
I also think that they will continue to have backwards compatibility on their systems. This is what really has set Microsoft apart from other consoles. Playstation and Nintendo have struggled to provide the same service on their respective systems.
Last year, they announced that they purchased a bunch of gaming studios so that they can have more first party games. This was one of their biggest challenges this generation and they took this point very seriously. I expect for them to announce some first party games on the XBOX. I heard on Electronic Playground with Victor Lucas that they were going to announce 14 first party titles, which seems low to me. There have been many rumours but I do hope that there will be some development on that front. Let us be honest, Sea of Thieves was a major disappointment.
I think that they will also announce plans for XBOX Game Pass. This has been a huge hit and they are doing it right. Unlike Google Stadia which the model seems wonky, I think this is one aspect that XBOX has nailed.
The rest I think will be fluff and the above is what I am expecting and most excited about.
Bathesda (June 9th, 8:30 pm EST)
What can I say about Bathesda. They had a rough year. I do not remember a game release being as bitched as for Fallout 76. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong with Bathesda. So, I assume that the crowd will be more hostile than in previous years.
I honestly do expect that Bathesda will do aMea Culpa at this years E3. They will acknowledge their mistakes and demonstrate what they have done to make sure that this will not happen again. If it goes over well and if the fans believe them is another thing entirely.
I honestly do not know what to expect this year for them. Last year we were expecting another Elder Scrolls or Fallout announcement which happened. But this year, they will may be show progress on their new IP called Starfield. It will not be ready anytime soon. The fans have spoken, they need a better QA team for their games. The bugs that were cute before are not anymore. I even expect may be Fallout 76 will be free or have an offline version only. We shall see.
Since they are distributing Wolfenstein:Youngblood and Doom: Eternal, I expect new gameplay footage from them on this. After that everything else is in the air.
We shall see how it goes.
PC Gaming Show (June 10th, 1pm EST)
I always wondered why the PC Gaming Show always has little excitement. Yes it is true that very rarely do they announce any new games. However, this is the platform that pushes the limits of gaming. People should pay more attention to it.
Thus far, participants confirmed for the PC Gaming Show include Epic Games Store –which will be sponsoring the show — as well as Frontier Developments, Paradox Interactive, Chucklefish, Digital Extremes, and Funcom. Sean “Day9″ Plott will return to host, and participants will be announced as we near E3 2019.
Not sure how the Epic Gamestore will be received. However, I rarely expect much from here. I am not a huge PC gamer right now and anything that they announce will probably not effect me. However, it is always a treat to see where PC gaming is going.
Square Enix (June 10th, 9 pm EST)
I believe that last year most people thought that Square Enix had an awful E3. So, I do not think that it can get worse. Then again, I have been proven wrong before.
There are a few rumours circulating about a new Nier: Automata game and some kind of progress report on the Avengers Project. After that I am not sure what to expect.
I know on a personal level, I would love another Deux Ex announcement. I am a big fan of franchise and it would be cool if there could be a new entry to this great franchise.
Nintendo
Nintendo has been pumping games on the Switch for a good 2 years now and they have teased quite a few games. However, there are 2 things that I am really looking forward to at E3.
The first is Metroid Prime 4. I think that it is time that we get some gameplay footage at least. All that we have ever seen is the logo and nothing since. A progress report on this would be appreciated by fans of the series.
I am looking forward to one of the most anticipated remakes on a Nintendo platform, Zelda: Link's Awakening. We have seen some gameplay and I expect a release date of before Christmas. I think this game is ready and they will be ready to show its full potential.
Nintendo did advise that there will be no new hardware announcements. This means that anyone looking for a Switch Pro will have to wait until their next Nintendo Direct presentation which is usually in January.
Nintendo always as a few tricks up their sleeves and I expect a few surprises from left field.
Conclusion
That is it. There are a few other smaller press conferences that I did not go over and frankly it is I do not really care for them. The big announcements will come from the above presentations and I expect big things for XBOX. I think tis E3 is Microsft's to lose. They have the stage and if last year was any indication, they will rock the stage once again this year.
How about you? What are you looking the most forward to?
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