A reader makes his predictions for next month’s video games expo, including what to expect from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo.
E3 is always an exciting time in the gaming calender. When I reflect upon past events, it’s those surprising moments which resonate. A smug Jack Tretton taking to the stage and announcing Sony wouldn’t stop us from selling our games, a gleeful Peter Moore sporting a ropey looking Grand Theft Auto tattoo, or a nonchalant Satoru Iwata revealing a new console from his jacket pocket, there’s plenty of highlights to savour. The burden of expectation is always great – impossibly so – but it’s fun to speculate.
Microsoft are easier to predict, it’s in their DNA to leak information, but I’d like to think they’ll keep a few surprises in reserve for the big event. On the hardware side, an alternative to Sony’s Morpheus VR headset seems most probable. Whether it’s a tentative ‘me too’ approach or an attempt to upstage Sony’s technology remains to be seen.
I anticipate at least a handful of new IP, and rumours about a Halo 2 re-imagining will be substantiated. A sneak peek at Halo 5 is most likely the curtain closer reveal. Crackdown 3 could be a crowd-pleaser, but I reckon the big revelation will be Rare have been working on a ‘proper’ game, possibly Banjo-Kazooie. A teaser for the next Gears Of War is also probably on the cards. Microsoft have been particularly buoyant when discussing their preparations for E3, boasting how they’re struggling to fit everything into the allotted time schedule, so the level of expectation has been taken up a notch.
The only TV-related content will be Spielberg’s Halo TV series, which will likely be a trailer, followed by details on distribution. Details about the digital feature from Ridley Scott will likely remains ambiguous, with a teaser the best we can hope for.
Sony’s centrepiece will undoubtedly be Uncharted 4 – prepare to be amazed! I expect their other focus to be on Morpheus, but more so the software which will accompany its release. A tentative release date and pricing is also within reason. I expect The Deep demo to be part of a software package that will come bundled with the headset. Other announcements will include games being given the VR treatment, and I suspect Alien: Isolation already has a VR version in the works.
Sony are still searching for that elusive first person shooter to rival Halo. Exclusives Resistance and Killzone failed to make a lasting impression, but I’d expect a new IP in the genre. Guerrilla Games are purportedly working on a new IP, most likely a shooter, so I’d expect the backing of Sony once again. Where it figures on the billing depends on how far into development the game is. But given how Guerrilla are often utilised to showcase the processing power of Sony’s systems, a curtain raiser isn’t beyond the realms of possibility. I’ve a strong suspicion The Last Of Us 2 will be teased at the finale of Sony’s conference.
Now the hard part: Nintendo. Metroid is a safe bet, and you’d have to imagine Zelda is nearing competition, so I’d expect plenty of hands-on time for the gaming press. Naturally Nintendo’s prime focus will be on Zelda, which will most likely be their marquee title in their line-up. Expectations are impossibly high, but then Zelda has always courted that kind of attention.
Already announced titles such as Bayonetta 2 will also feature heavily of course. A common criticism of Nintendo is the lack of new IP, and you know what, I think Nintendo have been listening and will answer that call. I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest Nintendo will announce a new IP. I can’t even contemplate what that may be, but there will be something new. Remember where you heard it first.
Hardware is the other big discussion concerning Nintendo. Will they or won’t they? They won’t and pulling the plug on Wii U so early was incomprehensible, despite the poor performance at retail. But this hybrid console concept that’s currently doing the rounds, will that be revealed? If it’s promoted as a supplementary item, and in no way a replacement for any of Nintendo’s existing platforms, then it would make some sense to reveal it at E3.
That being said, I don’t think Nintendo will take the opportunity to announce a new platform – although it’s becoming increasingly likely it exists in some form. Nintendo will be assessing the impact of Mario Kart 8, which will ultimately influence when or where they reveal what they’ve been working on.
Those are my best guesses, I encourage people to sound off in the comments section and determine whether Shenmue III will finally see the light of day?
From Metro (This has no relation with the views of Aditya Kumar Saroj.)
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