The Electronic Entertainment Expo starts this week and for us gamers it is where you find the biggest news, the biggest surprises and the highest quantity of previews all year. We’ll be covering all the biggest news, and streaming the press conferences live where we can, but in the meantime here is what I expect will happen at this years event:
Microsoft
Microsoft is likely to spend a good chunk of time talking about Halo 5: Guardians. I think we will get a CG trailer of that game (due out next year) that may tease more of the story, but we won’t get any gameplay. Instead, Microsoft will talk about their Halo TV project(s) and, if rumors are to be believed, a Halo 1-4 collection for Xbox One.
They will show off Forza Horizon 2, which will be one of their bigger titles for later in the year and its expected that they will mke a pretty big deal about Sunset Overdrive, a colorful open-world Xbox One exclusive from Insomniac Games, which is looking pretty good.
If the past several years are anything to go by, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will be a centerpiece of the press conference, with some exclusive map DLC or somesuch announced for Xbox platforms. They might even trot out Kevin Spacey, who plays the game’s villain, just to add some star power to the show. Seeing as how Sony is crushing them when it comes for support and excitement for independently developed games, Microsoft would be smart to trot at least one or two bigger ones out on stage.
Sony
Sony will talk about Project Morpheus, their VR headset that seems to be ticking a lot of the same boxes that the Oculus Rift is ticking for PC games. They will talk about Driveclub. They announced the game when they announced the PS4, but it missed the system’s launch. Evidence seems to strongly imply that the PS4 will be getting a new From Software game tentatively titled Project Beast, which is a spiritual successor to the cult hit Demon’s Souls (and, by extension, Dark Souls). A lot of screens and even footage has leaked, and the Sony press conference seems like the most likely candidate for its official unveiling.
Like Microsoft with Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed is a common guest at Sony press conferences. Though recently delayed to 2015, The Order: 1886 is potentially a big upcoming release for Sony, and while reports indicate that its gameplay is lacking, it’s apparently very pretty to look at. If nothing else, a bit of gameplay that show off some of the system’s graphical power.
There will be very little talk about Vita games, and instead it will be emphasized as a great PS4 accessory thanks to remote play. A new PS4 and Vita bundle will probably be announced. Quantic Dream is working on something. Maybe they’ll say something about it. Maybe not. For your “One last thing,” moment: Uncharted 4. It won’t be far enough along yet to show a gameplay demo, but maybe you’ll hear Nathan Drake’s voice or something.
Nintendo
With Nintendo reporting a major loss its last fiscal year, and the 3DS and Wii U not meeting its sales expectations, E3 could bring some big unveilings to shake things up. Like last year, Nintendo is doing an online presentation in lieu of an in-person press conference. While the 3DS library continues to impress and the Wii U selection fills out, Nintendo could use a title or two that move systems, a la Wii Sports or Super Mario Bros.
Nintendo’s big title going into E3 looks to be Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. We already know a lot about the two titles, but some unanswered questions remain, particularly specific release dates. The 3DS version was previously said to be coming this summer, with the Wii U one in the winter. It’s a good bet, too, that Nintendo will announce another character for Super Smash Bros. to keep the hype train going. Maybe they’ll also give some price details on an adapter for Gamecube controllers that was rumoured — and whether they’re still planning to bring titles from that system to Wii U. Safe to say we’ll see some kind of Mario title. I also can’t imagine Nintendo would go without a tease of a mainline Zelda for Wii U, though it’s not likely we’ll get our hands on it anytime soon.
EA
EA will show off sports games, because that makes them a boatload of money. This could be a good year for them, as they might be able to take good advantage of new console hardware with their upcoming releases. They already made a big deal about the first Madden 15 screenshot, so they’re probably itching to show more. They’ll definitely show off Dragon Age: Inquisition, and by now, so much info about Battlefield: Hardline has leaked that I wonder if the leaks aren’t happening on purpose, but they’ll still make a big deal about this cops and robbers take on the Battlefield series.
They’ll probably make a big deal about Star Wars, with lip service if nothing else. They have at least two major Star Wars titles in the works: Battlefront III and a game by Visceral that’s being written by former Uncharted series writer Amy Hennig. There’s a lot of potential there, but it may be too early to even properly tease at this point.
Ubisoft
Ubi will probably show off Far Cry 4. That game is due out this year and we hardly know anything about it, so I expect a full gameplay demo. Assassin’s Creed Unity will also be a big deal, and I’m sure there will be a lot of talk about how this is “the biggest Assassin’s Creed yet because it’s the first game built with next-gen hardware in mind.” Might be true. Recently delayed to 2015, Ubisoft will talk about The Division, which made a big impression with the E3 crowd last year. Hopefully we’ll get to see it more in-depth this time.
A new Just Dance will probably get a trailer if not a demo, because that series sells far better than it should. They will almost certainly talk about how Watch Dogs is selling like hotcakes, but they probably won’t announce a sequel just yet. For the past few years, Ubisoft has actually been good about having a surprise or two, so I’m interested to see what, if anything, they’ll tease this time.