I will actually be trying to cover E3 in some capacity from my home here in London. Despite petty geographical matters I will be trying to post some kind amateurish commentary on events which, let's be honest, is the absolute worst kind.
But anyway, E3 hasn't actually happened yet, so I'm gonna do some pre-E3 stuff, namely: predictions. ARE YOU READY!?!?!?!?!(!?!?!)
Microsoft
I expect the big thing to come out from them will be Kinect games. It sold great despite having absolutely no notable software to show for itself, so I think Microsoft really need to get some out there to keep it's momentum going.
There's already been some leaked boxart for both Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and Mass Effect 3 that shows a 'better with Kinect' logo on the box, which is indisputable evidence of some hybrid Kinect/controller stuff incoming. I think there are a great deal more than just those two, and I promise to methodically smash each one of my fingers in with a hammer if Gears of War 3 doesn't have some kind of Kinect functionality. I also expect some Kinect-only games, but if Microsoft has quasi-Kinect 'core' games and full-Kinect 'casual' games in the wings, they're gonna use E3 to showcase the former at the expense of the latter.
There's no getting over the elephant in the room: The Big Thing going into E3 is the new Nintendo console. Do Microsoft try and go all out for their core fans to tackle them head on, or do they continue playing catch-up to the 'broad audience' like they did last year?
Either way, I don't expect a lot. There'll be a new Halo (probably 343's Combat Evolved remake), and maybe we'll see what Peter Molyneux's working on, but I don't think anything too surprising is coming here. Microsoft aren't really known for their exclusive software anyway.
EA
Okay so... Battlefield 3, Mass Effect 3 and The Old Republic are the big ones. I expect those to consume the most time at their presser, with stuff like SSX and their sports titles mopping up the rest of it.
EA went through this period of super-creativity a few years ago, but now I can't think of a single game they have coming out that isn't a known quantity. Even Mass Effect 3 and Battlefield 3 are pretty easy to understand. They're games that I don't really need to hear anything more about: Mass Effect 3 will be a shootery-RPG type thing. Battlefield 3 will be a shootery online type thing. There, done.
Looking at their line-up, I don't see anything big, which leads me to believe they have something up their sleeve. Dead Space 3? Dante's Inferno 2? No matter how many dicks I offer to suck, no one wants to make Mirror's Edge 2, so that's not happening. Are they finally gonna show what Respawn are working on? If they do, they have a good chance of walking away as the talking point of the entire show, especially since Bungie's Activision project is expected to be a no-show.
Edit: All signs point to them revealing their Insomniac exclusive. That'll be it then.
Ubisoft
Firstly, I think a large portion will be taken up with a playable demo of Assassin's Creed Revelations, just like with Brotherhood last year. Secondly, I think an even larger portion of the show will be taken up by Tom Clancy stuff. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier went silent a while ago, despite the fact it's supposed to be out by now, so I expect that to pop up again (in fact, the boxart pretty much confirms it will be). Aside from that Kotaku already blew the lid on a new Rainbow 6 set in New York, and Ubisoft Toronto are working hard on a new Splinter Cell, so maybe that will show up?
In fact, I think the conference is going to be more or less exactly the same as last year: 'gamer games' (shooters + Assassins Creed) to start, followed by casual shovel ware, followed by a short collection of some weird creative stuff like From Dust and the new Rayman.
Part of me wants to believe Beyond Good and Evil 2 is coming but part of me also really wants to throw things out of windows just to see what would happen. There was a rumour a short while ago that Ancel had postponed it until after he completed a game based on the new Tintin movie. Peter Jackson first began collaborating with Ancel because he loved Beyond Good and Evil, so if it turns out he is stopping that from happening just so he doesn't have a guilty conscience about his Tintin movie I will personally find him and be mushed into a pulp by his extensive security detail. It's something that needs to be done.
Sony
Ummm.... I don't own a playstation of any kind, so I don't really care. Sorry.
Nintendo
Like I said: the big news is that Nintendo is showing off a new console.
So what we know so far is 1) it's coming next year 2) it'll have a touch screen controller and 3) it'll be easily more powerful than Xbox 360 and PS3. IGN tried to assemble something comparable to the console using commercially available parts, but the exercise was somewhat misguided considering the final console won't run windows, and will be optimized for playing games. It's safe to assume it'll be far more powerful than what they mixed together, but how powerful that is exactly remains to be seen.
In regards to the controller: I have absolutely no Idea how the thing is supposed to function. It's gotta be able to play current-gen titles, so it's gotta have dual analogue and heaps of buttons AND a 6 inch touch screen. Not only is it hard to imagine as a physical object, it's hard to imagine how much this thing is supposed to cost, especially if the Nikkei report is to be believed, and this thing is actually a handheld in it's own right. Will there be a non-touch screen controller in the box with this thing sold seperatly? Will it support Wii controls? I wish I had faith in Nintendo to pull it off, but the Wii and the 3DS have damaged my faith in the company's ability to pull this off.
Very, very recently there was a list of games claiming to be from somebody who works at the ESRB. I cannot for the life of me find the original source, so, against my better judgement, I'm going to quote an article from Destuctoid:
One of the more popular Project Cafe rumors going around right now comes from someone who claims to work for the ESRB, an agency which is tasked to rate the appropriateness of everything vidoegame related, even the trailers. This ESRB employee claims to have seen the video that Nintendo will be showing at E3 to promote Project Cafe --or, as they call it, "Current" -- and the list of games they've named from the video is pretty astounding.I wouldn't give it much credence, but then I saw this on my twitter feed (click to enlarge):
This list includes: a new mini-game collection, Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. 4, Endless Ocean, Pikmin, Kirby, a new Zelda collection, Animal Crossing, Kid Icarus, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario., Dead Rising 2, Street Fighter 4, Resident Evil 5 "or something that looked like it," Silent Hill Downpour, a new Suda51 game that is "not No More Heroes" but is about "something hunting demons," "some mech game," Trauma Center: Current Crisis, Soul Calibur, Tekken, GTA V, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, "some Metal Gear Solid game where you play as a girl," "some cyber punk game" that looks like Snatcher, Gradius, Contra, Castlevania, and "Fallout 3 or 4."
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