Pr-E3-view
E3: The Return
Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, every year the smog-smuthered city of Los Angeles is inundated with slightly overweight, slightly pale, and slightly bearded men as the collective gaming world congregates in the LA convention center for the largest video game conference ever to become bloated, be suddenly killed, and as quickly be resurrected: the (in?)famous Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3. Booth babes, beer and body odor are the MOs of this trade-show turned Game-appalooza, though despite such spectacle and flare, the conference has long been closed to the public. Nevertheless, thanks to the hard work of well armed and well trained games-pressers, we the public can sit in the comforts of our air-conditioned cubicles and breath in un-tainted air while we glean tidbits from the bountiful harvest of announcement, news, and previews for our favorite games.
So what should you be looking forward to and what wonders might lie in store for this year's E3? Hit the jump to learn about what to expect and laugh at some of my pie-in-the-sky predictions for the coming week of game-news-nirvana.
The Big Three
Nintendo
Press Conference: 9:00 AM PDT, Tuesday, June 2nd
With a raging case of “too much money” thanks to the crack-cocaine-like success of the wand-waggling Wii and the dual-screen DS, the skies the limit when it comes to Nintendo’s big press conference this year. Expect more about the Wii Motion Plus Controller and some titles to show off the new peripheral with improved accelerometers for more accurate waggling-mayhem. Also expect the Wii Balance Board and a new iteration of Wii-Fit to make the top of the news list, likely with some new third party titles to take advantage of the weight-shifting input device, including EA’s new fitness game for the Wii, Active. Oh, and there will probably be a mention of ALL THE FRIKIN MONEY Nintendo is making selling consoles. (Sorry 3rd party developers, Nintendo already found its golden goose)
Silly Wild-A$$ Predictions:
Nintendo luvs them some first party games, and while we’ve already had a Mario game for the Wii (Super Mario Galaxy) the rumor mill caught fire early Sunday morning when a credible Japanese source announced plans for a new Mario title to hit the shelves in Japan by the end of the year. While the statement wasn’t explicitly for a Wii title and doesn’t hint as to whether this could be one of the many Nintendo series bearing the Italian plumber’s visage, statements seemed to hint at this being a legit Mario platformer targeted at boosting lagging sales of the Wii in Japan. Star Fox & and Kirby are also contenders in the “first party game” bag, but with the latest rumor, unlikely at this point. Also <insert your favorite legacy Nintendo game here> will also be announced for Virtual Console.
Sony
Press Conference: 11:00 AM PDT, Tuesday, June 2nd
Poor old Sony, running a tough race with an expensive console and tepid new HD disk format has proven a difficult challenge for the producers of last generations powerhouse platform, the PS2. However, when you are in last place, there’s no where to go but up, and I have an inkling that the coolest new original IPs will be coming from Sony this year. Also expect news about anticipated titles like God of War III, Heavy Rain and Uncharted 2, as well as the secret Kojima project (possibly titled Mask) and the new Team Ico game (hurrah for dog-rat-bird). We will also likely see more info about PixelJunk’s new game Shooter, a finite date for PlayStation Home’s official release (or news of its final death), as well a probable upswing in PSP games available by download from the PlayStation Network via the PS3. Also, not to be outdone by Nintendo’s spoiler antics, a video was leaked Sunday morning confirming the existence of a smaller, sleeker, UMD-less PSP tentatively titled PSP Go.
Silly Wild-A$$ Predictions:
Thanks to some “illicit” photography and pretty damn suspicious behavior by Sony PR reps, it’s likely we will also see the official announcement of a slimmer, sleeker (cheaper?) PS3 which will no longer take up an entire shelf section in your entertainment center.
Microsoft
Press Conference: 10:30 AM PDT, Monday, June 1st
Ah, good ole pays-the-rent Microsoft, sitting happily as the “king of the hardcore” and doing well with third parties and online gaming, Microsoft has the additional advantage of speaking for the entire PC market with their “Games for Windows” sticker they place on every new PC game that enters the market. Expect news about anticpated titles such as Alan Wake, Halo: ODST, Realtime Realm’s MMO follow-up to Crackdown titled APB, as well a probable announcement by Peter Molyneux that he and his Lion Head Studios are working on a new game that will “change the way you think about interactive entertainment.” Also expect this conference to be a place for new info on big third party projects, like the Bioware’s Mass Effect 2 and the upcoming Eidos game Batman: Arkham Asylum.
Silly Wild-A$$ Predictions:
We know that Microsoft has something crazy up their sleeve, and the rumors have been all over the place, including a motion sensing controller and a motion-sensing camera minority-report-esque input device. Alls I know is that there has a been a Beta going around Microsoft to try out some “new Xbox experience” thing and I have been assured by my friends on the Xbox team that it will be “awesome.” I’m also going to stake a claim that legendary Washington-based developer Valve may use this time to talk about Half Life 2: Episode 3 or Portal 2, but that’s totally out there.
The Not-quite-as-big Three
Ubisoft
Press Conference: 5:00 PM PDT, Monday, June 1st
This French video game developer has done well enough for itself with its cadre of popular IPs, and with sequels in the work for the most of them, it’s unlikely Ubisoft will be pulling any punches this year. Big titles that we can almost guarantee to see at their press conference and on the show room floor include the DaVinci themed Assassin’s Creed 2, the hobo hero version of the long awaited Splinter Cell Conviction, as well as some possible iterations on the Raving Rabbids franchise for the Wii and, thanks to a leaked video, a sequel to the action adventure game Beyond Good and Evil.
Silly Wild-A$$ Predictions:
There is very little rumor rolling around for this mammoth game producer, so I’m going to take “Silly Wild-A$$” at its face value. Hmmm, let’s go with… Myst VI: Point-and-Click’s Revenge. Seriously, I would go nuts if they announced another beautiful freeze frame Myst game ala Myst I-IV.
Electronic Arts
Press Conference: 2:00 PM PDT, Monday, June 1st
Once known as the crusher of developers’ personal lives and the hoarder of overtime pay, the mighty EA has softened somewhat in the past few years, offering better work environments for their minions, but at the cost of drooping a little as the end-all be-all of game publishers. However, EA has still managed to hang on to several of the gaming world’s top licenses (including its unholy alliance as the sole provided of NFL branded content). Expect former Microsofty Peter Moore to speak British nothings about EA Sports’s latest Madden, NCAA, NBA, NHL, and FIFA offerings as well as popular licenses such as The Sims, Army of Two, Battlefield, and The Need for Speed. We will also likely hear a bit more about some of EA’s exciting new IPs, like Tim Schafer’s highly anticipated heavy-metal themed Brütal Legend, and Bioware’s new Star Wars MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Silly Wild-A$$ Predictions:
Steven Spielberg (apparently the new “voice of video gamers”) as been working for some time with EA on such title’s as Boom Blox for the Wii, but has also been rumored to be working a more serious, plot driven game ala Peter Jackson’s long overdue “Halo filmic game experience.” Seeing as Mr. Spiel has already seen fit to declare consoles officially obsolete and sees gamers donning 3D glasses in the near future, it’s likely we will see a bit more of the aging director in the gaming world as he jumps ship from his waning skills as a successful movie director (you know which film I’m talking about, the one with fridge).
Activision (aka Acti-lizzard, aka Blizza-vision)
Some time ago, the Activision galaxy collided spectacularly with the Blizzard galaxy, before they were both were consumed by the Vivendi black hole. The result is one of the massiest gaming conglomerates known to man. However, despite now owning the cash cow Blizzard (makers of such fine life-consumers as World of Warcraft), it is unlikely we will hear a peep from the mostly free-range developer, as they have their own convention where they can not release an official date for Starcraft II. However, and more excitingly, we will definitely hear news about the latest Infinity Ward creation Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, as well as Activision’s recently stolen brilliantly unique creation DJ Hero with a brand new plastic peripheral to add your collection. Guitar Hero 5 will also pick up some press with its new “party” mode which will let people hop in and hop out of play-lists as the choose, as well as known quantites Prototype, Singularity, Tony Hawk, and the new Wolfenstein game.
Silly Wild-A$$ Predictions:
Seeing as Infinity Ward has made it quite clear that its new Modern Warfare game will not have the Call of Duty moniker applied, it’s possible that CoD III and CoD: World at War producers Treyarch will announce a new actually Call of Duty franchise game, likely taking place in (you guessed it) World War II. However, I’m hopeful that the Call of Duty franchise maybe be given a new role as a “historical war simulator” and we might see some fresh settings to the series under Treyarch’s care. Can anyone say Call of Duty: War of 1812?
...And all the rest
Surprising as it may seem, there are a host of non-major players that still manage to produce their own games outside the grips of the mighty game publishers. Here’s some choice games from that group.
Take-Two Interactive
Best known for being the punished parent of the oft delinquent upstarts Rock Star, developers of the Grand Theft Auto series of politician and parental pariahs. True to form, expect to here some more info about the next downloadable content (DLC) pack for GTA IV titled The Ballad of Gay Tony (yup, it’s Rock-Star alright). Also, pre-show press has been favorable to a follow up to a relatively unknown game Red Dead Revolver whose sequel will be titled Red Dead Redemption, which is set to bring full fledged Cowboy action to consoles with the help of the Euphoria physics engine (last seen in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed) and some motion-captured horses.
THQ
Often bemoaned for their grossly overselling and grossly under-developed movie tie-in games, THQ is set to possibly break in the to big time with the total-destructibility tech of Red Faction: Guerrila. THQ has also announced a game titled Homefront which is being penned by Apocalypse Now screenwriter John Milius and is to take place 10 years in the future, after the economic collapse of the America and an invasion by communist North Korea (probably using those damn super-suits, thanks a lot Crysis).
Lucasarts
The once great and mighty developer that Lucas built has long since slipped down a few notches from producing amazing adventure games and brilliant space shooter sims (anyone remember how unbelievably amazing Tie Fighter was?) to spitting out tired reduxes of the Star Wars license. And despite what I at least felt was a wonderful game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Lucasarts has been struggling to produce quality content of recent. However, with promises to reveal more about the long awaited and now "Wiimote Whip" Indiana Jones title (Xbox 360 & PS3 versions having been canned), now officially named Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, there is a small glimmer of hope that this company might once again bring pride to back to the name it bears. Seeing as the director who loaned it can’t quite seem to do so, let’s hope they’re up to the challenge.
Capcom
Capcom for a long time has been trying to make the hard transition of Japanese developer to a more western focused studio. I’d say they’ve made good strides with titles like Lost Planet and Dead Rising and maybe even with the recently released Bionic Commando. Fortunately (or unfortunately), they seem to have gotten the western knack down as this E3 promises news on, you guessed it, Dead Rising 2 and Lost Planet 2, both which seem to be edging ever closer to what makes a good western action game. Here’s to a company turning its back on its own people! I salute you.
MTV Games
Since television no longer seems to be the proper outlet for music with MTV, it has turned its attention to the acquired license with developers Harmonix and publisher EA to spit out the ubiquitously popular Rock Band series of games. Expect news on new “band-specific” versions of this popular rhythm game including Rock Band: The Beatles and the tentatively titled Rock Band: Pearl Jam.
Square Enix
Final Fantasy XIII. Gee that was easy…
Stay tuned for more
Well that should be enough to fill your head for time being and hopefully get you excited for the tidal wave of entertainment news headed your way from every media outlet, but most importantly, we here at Daily Monotony (self promotion++). Be sure to check back this week and the next as I frantically try to bring you news updates and commentary on all the big events going down June 1-4 in the city of angels, as well as a post E3 carnage report including what predictions I got right and what games were sadly MIA.
Gear up and get ready to call in sick, it’s E3 time.
Dustin Anglin
Reader Comments (1)
I remember last year that E3 was quite small and disappointing. They blamed it on the poor economy, which really hasn't changed much since last year. Are we in for another half empty convention center?