E3 2016: Preview & Predictions

It's June, so it's time for my annual post: the E3 2016 Preview and Predictions! I will do the 1st party developers first, then the third party developers, and I will go in the order of when they are presenting at E3 this year.

1ST PARTY DEVELOPERS

Microsoft

Microsoft will appeal to its fanboys. First, it will appeal to them with the 1st party franchises that have made the Xbox famous. Front running the 1st party games will be Halo Wars 2. I can imagine they will announce linking between the Xbox One version and the Windows 10 version of the game. Another 1st party game to attract the Xbox fanboys will be new Forza Motorsport game. Microsoft has pushed the Xbox One to its limits to improve the Forza Motorsports series. I can't wait to see what new innovations they bring to the newest game. Microsoft will also appeal to its fanboys by demonstrating its good relations with 3rd part developers. The best to demonstrate this with is Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Microsoft has demonstrated Call of Duty games on Xbox in previous conferences, and for good reason. The Call of Duty games have always been popular on the Xbox, so it would make sense for Microsoft to display what Xbox can bring to Call of Duty. Finally, Xbox will demonstrate its loyalty to the fanboys by giving the fanboys what they appreciate the most: new games. One of which will be Sea of Thieves. It doesn't matter what genre game it is; the game will show that the Xbox is full of new capabilities and ideas, making it the perfect console for hardcore gamers.

Sony

Sony will appeal to hardcore gamers everywhere. Sony will show PlayStation has everything for everyone. Sony will present many games, from several different game genres. It will appeal to both the console gamer and the handheld gamer. We'll hear just as much about the PS Vita as we will hear about the PS4. Speaking of PS4, we will hear a lot about what new aspects the PS4 Neo will bring to the console. In addition to PS4 Neo, I expect to hear a lot more about the PSVR. Not only will Sony demonstrate its virtual reality capabilities, it will have a huge library of games to go with it. Not only will Sony appeal to the gamers, but Sony will appeal to the developers as well. Sony will display a wide array of PlayStation games made by indie developers, which will attract indie developers to make their games with PlayStation, and it will attract gamers who want to play on a system that has a huge game library. With all this, I can't see why Sony wouldn't win E3 again this year.

Nintendo

As demonstrated with the very recent release of the Star Fox game for the Wii U, Nintendo will continue its internal conflict to satisfy both casual gamers and Nintendo fanboys. For the Nintendo fanboys, Nintendo will remind its viewers of Pokémon's 20th birthday. Prepare yourself to hear a lot about Pokémon Sun and Moon and Pokémon Go. But Pokémon is not the only franchise that will get the fanboys riled up. The North American Nintendo fanboys will get excited when they finally get to see the Zelda game they've longed waited for the WiiU to have. HD editions of old games have been nice, but they really want a Zelda game tailored to the WiiU. I imagine it will be a wide open game to discover the world of Hyrule. It will also fully incorporate the screen of the WiiU game pad for easy access to the item inventory. Personally, I hope it will allow users to use the Wiimote as the sword, for I had so much fun with the Wiimote sword play that Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword provided. For the Japanese Nintendo fanboy, they will look forward to Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, for it will remind them of their beloved Fire Emblem series. For the casual gamers, I expect a lot of party games and a lot of multiplayer games. Most of their presentation, however, I expect to hear about Nintendo NX. Despite rumors, with the WiiU being almost 4 years old and losing the current console race, I believe Nintendo NX is the next console. I believe this next console, in order to attempt to maintain the balance between the casual gamers and the Nintendo fanboys, they will keep both the motion controls and the gamepad with the built-in screen. Since Nintendo has always been good with backward capability, the new system will play WiiU games, although maybe not Wii games. If the new console wants to keep up with the PS4 and Xbox One, it must continue to improve its graphics and online capabilities in order to attract third party developers to partner with Nintendo and stay with Nintendo. Otherwise, it will fail. Nintendo, there is no shame in copying the PS4 and Xbox One. If you don't, you might find yourself making games for them, just like Sega.

3RD PARTY DEVELOPERS

Electronic Arts (EA)

As usual, I suspect that the majority of the EA press conference will be what made EA famous: EA Sports. So prepare to hear about the games from its top 3 most famous franchises: Madden 17, FIFA 17 and NHL 17. They'll have celebrity sports players explaining the game's new features. The only problem with this is the technology of current generation of consoles allows developers to add new features that previously had to come as a new game by means of DLC. So EA is going to have convince gamers to go out a spend the full amount on a new for new features which some franchises (my beloved Rock Band, e.g.) would hand out as free DLC. That's an uphill battle. If 2K Sports were to offer that, EA Sports could easily lose the competition as the best sports game franchise. Therefore, EA has got to focus on the other dependable franchises they have.  The Battlefield series has always been a popular one, so why not lead with Battlefield 1? Not a lot of shooter games take it back to the World War I time period, so Battlefield 1 treads somewhat new ground. Still, how long will it stay popular, until everyone goes back to their Halo and Call of Duty games? Speaking of first person shooter games, I'm looking forward to hearing about Titanfall 2. The first Titanfall game ushered in the current console generation. It was great at displaying the potentials of this console generation, but it really lacked a single player campaign. Titanfall 2 promised to fix that with a traditional single player campaign. This might be the best game EA can present. For those who prefer their shooters to be from the third person point of view, Mass Effect Andromeda would be the game from them. It's been 4 years since the last Mass Effect game came out. The Mass Effect fanboys will be drooling to hear another game from their beloved series. But rumor has its just from the same universe, but not a direct sequel. This can sometimes be a difficult task, especially if fans have become attached to the previous characters. EA is going to have to show off the fact that Mass Effect Andromeda still looks and feels like a Mass Effect game. As long as EA can show they are faithful to their franchises, yet continually improving them, they will have a good E3.

Bethesda

Last year, Bethesda had their first press conference. They didn't do too shabby on their first try. Yeah, they spent too much time on the newest Doom game to get a flavor of what other games they were bringing, but Doom was the Bethesda game that left the audience the most awestruck, so maybe it was worth. This year, I want to see more variety. Unfortunately, I don't think I will get it. I think they will spend most of their time talking about Dishonored 2. They will display it with a trailer, a game demo and developer interviews, giving it the full treatment. Yet I need to see more than just this. I need to see that Bethesda can make more than action/adventure games, like Doom and Dishonored 2. Without more variety, I see Bethesda having a fleeting popularity. Yeah, sure, the build-up excitement prior to the game's release will get everyone riled up, but once the game comes out, Bethesda will have nothing left.

Ubisoft

You might remember that Ubisoft is my favorite third party developer right now. Don't think of it as bias. It has earned that spot. Year after year, Ubisoft has continued to develop a plethora of games from a wide array of game genres, suiting every gamer. This year, I expect the same from them. For the hack and slash gamer, they will present For Honor. They presented this game at last year's E3, and it immediately caught my attention. I can't wait to see what new developments they made on the game that will catch my attention again. For the RPG gamer, they will South Park: The Fractured But Whole. The first South Park game did a good job of spoofing the fantasy game, yet it was a good RPG within itself. I know this is another game they announced last year, but once again, I'm looking forward to hearing what kind of developments they made, and seeing a good game demo. For the shooter gamer, they will present Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands. Once again, yes, I know they announced this at last year's E3, but I'm excited to hear how they put a nature spin on a open world game. For the action/adventure gamer is the game I'm most excited to hear about: Watch Dogs 2. I've already heard a lot about it. I like they are introducing cooperative multiplayer. I like they are making everything electronic hackable, almost to the point you become that object. Most importantly, I like that they are giving their main character more of a personality. While I am sad there is no new game for my favorite Ubisoft action/adventure game, Assassin's Creed, I think that Watch Dogs 2 will be the most impressive game Ubisoft has to show off. My only concern for Ubisoft in this E3 is that a lot of their games will be games previously announced at last E3. They are going to have to show they have been working on these games. If they can, they will have a successful E3. If they cannot, then then will have to surprise us with new games, or else they will fail.

Let the presentations begin! :)