I honestly have no idea why I still do this. Sony announced earlier this year they will not participle in E3 this year. No live press conference, no digital event, nothing. They claim that the 3rd party publishers will showcase their console for them, so they have no reason to do anything. That means no announcement, or even a hint, of a PlayStation 5 in the making; only software. On a similar note, despite having NOA having a new COO and president, Doug Bowser has continued the recent tradition presenting with a short digital event, followed by a long Treehouse demonstrating the games. In terms of 1st party publishes, it looks like Xbox will win just because it participated! I hate to admit it, but E3 is on its way out the door. Honestly, it makes sense. With so many streaming video sites, it makes more sense to reveal games that way that make a big showcase in an auditorium. So while it lasts, and since this is the only thing I post on this blog (besides my end-of-year game log), let's make the best of it. Here is my E3 2019 Preview & Predictions.
1st Party Publishers
XBox
Last year, the game that really wowed everyone was the latest entry in the Forza series. Since the biggest game from last year was a 1st party game, I would recommend to Xbox that they should focus on 1st party games again. Last year, you surprised everyone with Gears 5. I expect to hear more about Gears 5 this year, with both a cinematic trailer and a gameplay trailer. Speaking of 1st party sequel games, Xbox could surprise and amaze everyone if they revealed Halo 6 this year. Even if they don't, Xbox has plenty of Halo news, from Halo Reach added on the Masterchief Collection to Halo Infinite. I'm just saying another Halo game could make this a Halo-themed E3 for Xbox. While it would be wise for Xbox to lead with its 1st party exclusives, it would be just as wise for Xbox to demonstrate some 3rd party games on it, just to prove the Xbox One X is the superior console for gaming even 3rd party games. Some good candidates to demo would be Borderlands 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and/or Monster Hunter: World.
Nintendo
Ever since getting my Switch this past Christmas, I feel like I'm back in the current gen console. I have that excitement again. Nintendo has not disappointed with the Switch. The Switch just surpassed the Nintendo 64 in terms of sales, and it deserves that honor. Nintendo has gotten me excited about the current gen of console gaming, something the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One failed to do for me. Although not live and in person, I'm probably the most excited about Nintendo's digital event. So here's my prediction of how Nintendo's E3 Digital Event will happen, even if it is loaded with more with wishful hopes that realistic predictions.
Nintendo will start of its Digital Event with a bang by announcing for the Switch Mario Kart 9 or Mario Kart Ultimate. This latest edition of Mario Kart will have available all the original Super Smash Bros. characters as drivers, with DLC character from Melee down the road. This new edition of Mario Kart will have a new item similar to the Smash Ball in Super Smash Bros. It unleashes a weapon unique to each character that devastates the race course. And we found out the game's lead designer was Sakuri himself. Speaking of Sakuri, the event will transition into Sakuri to announce the next DLC character for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Dante from the original Devil May Cry (yes, I know Dante was technically in PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale, but that was the re-imagined Dante, not the original Dante). This DLC will be available by the end of the month. Next, Nintendo will announce Super Mario Party will receive DLC with more game boards. Continuing the Mario theme, a short segment will reveal more details for Super Mario Maker 2, which includes new themes and new items. On a similar note, we'll see a cinematic trailer for Luigi's Mansion 3, which will include gameplay and a release date of October 2019. From here we'll hear more about Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for the Switch, which I predict will receive the suffix HD to distinguish it. This short segment will tell us of gameplay unique to the Switch. Then I expect a short cinematic trailer of Metroid Prime 4. I know Nintendo recently trashed the old Metroid Prime 4 and handed over duties to Retro to make a new Metroid Prime 4, but I think they can at least show us what Samus will look like on the Switch or one of the worlds in 1080p, as well as a brief description of the story. (If Nintendo does want to add something about Pokémon Sword and Shield, they would do it here, but I highly doubt it because Game Freak and The Pokémon Company has already revealed so much.) Next we'll hear about the latest installment in the Animal Crossing series. Finally, to close on a bang as big as the opening one, Nintendo will announce Super Nintendo games are coming to Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, just like NES games. While they will not be releasing Super Nintendo controllers, they will release new joycons with the SNES color scheme. They will also announce the first 6 games. In July, the games will be Super Mario World, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Kirby: Super Star. In August, the games will be Super Metroid, Star Fox and Star Fox 2.
3rd Party Publishers
Electronic Arts (EA)
What is their to say about Electronic Arts? They do the same thing every year. They present to us the game as last year, give it a few updates and new features, call it a sequel, and then they ask for full price (as well as some loot boxes!). I have no reason to expect any different from them this year. Madden NFL 20 is just another Madden game. FIFA 20 is just another FIFA game. Sims 4 is another Sims game. Battlefield V is another Battlefield game. Star Wars - Jedi: Fallen Order will end being a Star Wars: Battlefront clone (no pun intended). If EA wants to mix it up, even in the slightest, spend more time showing how you're supporting indie developers, which you did do a little last year.
Bethesda
Bethesda has a habit of spending most of its allotted time divulging us in one of their soon-to-be-released games, then spending a little time mentioning future projects. This year, I expect the same. The game they will be highlighting for a majority of their press conference will be Doom Eternal, the sequel to the Doom reboot. I'm expecting to see both a cinematic trailer and a gameplay demo. Besides that, we might hear a little about Elder Scrolls VI or an update to Fallout 76, but not much. I wish Bethesda would go back to one the one year when they showed us a little bit of everything they were working on. It demonstrated they could tackle a wide array of game genres. Now it seems like they can only tackle one game genre, which they simply put a different skin on.
Ubisoft
Ubisoft is always the epitome of E3 hype, which I enjoy for entertainment value. Knowing Ubisoft, they will build up hype. First, they will start by reminding us that another Just Dance game will come out later this year. Next, they will announce DLC packs for popular games already out, like The Division 2 and For Honor. Then, we will receive updates on recently announced games, like Rainbox Six Siege and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint. Finally, Ubisoft will announce brand new games, like the next game in the Assassin's Creed series (possibly wrapping up the prequel trilogy) and the Watch Dog series (also making that a trilogy). While it might sound boring because they are visiting old franchises, I'm sure Ubisoft will present it in an entertaining way.
Square Enix
Square Enix typically keeps their presentations short, usually around a half hour, so I don't expect to hear about a lot of games from them. What I want to hear the most about is the Final Fantasy VII HD remake. They announced it 2 years ago, and they were silent on it last year, so they need to make up from last year by giving us a lot this year. I also expect to hear a lot about their Avengers video game. It would be a good idea. They can use the hype from the Avengers movie to build up the hype from the Avengers video game. With the big announcement of Just Cause 4 last year, it would be great to see how game development has progressed, perhaps with a cinematic trailer and gameplay footage. I imagine these 3 games will take up a bulk of their press conference. Perhaps they can squeeze in an announcement of some Kingdom Hearts III DLC, following up on the success of that game.
Let's enjoy another E3, just in case it is our last.
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