Ah, it's the most exciting time for gamers, as well as the game industry. It's June, which means it's time for Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3. It's where the the big video game announcements are made, from console makers, like Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, to the third part video game developres, such as Activision, EA and Ubisoft. I see this as the New Year of the video game universe because we hear about everything upcoming for video games for the next twelve months. This year the convention will be taking place the week of June 5, with the press conferences on Monday, June 6 and Tuesday, June 7, and the show floor continuing into Wednesday and Thursday, June 8 and 9. That means it starts tomorrow. We've already heard about Konami, but I want to wait on commenting about them until all is said and done this week. I have been previewing around what is being shown off this week, and so I have a few predictions myself on what is going to happen. Let's begin with the console makers, then we'll move onto the third party developers.
Let's start off with Nintendo, not only because they are the oldest around, but because they have the biggest announcement because it is a hardware announcement. While the Wii has been leading in sales, it has been falling behind in support from the third party developer, mainly due to the poor graphics card. Thus, while the Wii is leading in the numbers, it is disrespected by the serious gamers because of what it is lacking. So this new Nintendo system, code name everything from "Project Cafe" to "Feel," we'll just call the "New Nintendo" while I make predictions about it. For starters, as mentioned above, it needs a really powerful graphics card, one to rival the PlayStation 3 and XBox360, so definitely the most recent graphics card. To accommodate with this, the New Nintendo is going to have update to something better than the "Wii Optimal Disc," which is really just and slight advanced CD-ROM. It will most likely be a DVD, like the XBox360, but it could be like the PlayStation 3 and use Blu-Ray disc. Along with that notion, it will be curious to see if the new Nintendo system will play movies on a disc, whether it be a DVD or Blu Ray. While the past 2 generations of XBox and PlayStation had the capabilities of playing DVDs, and even the PS3 playing Blu Ray, Nintendo's past 2 systems has not. Now it seems like the future of video watching will come from streaming, like Netflix, Zune and Hulu Plus. So adding that feature now might be irrelevent. At the same time, streaming can be still slow and pixilated. So I would say most likely the new Nintendo will be able to play DVDs, but there is also a chance for Blu Ray. Obviously, since the motion control is what put the Wii ahead of the other systems, this one will have it. I think it will have Wiimotion Plus in a controller that is two-thirds the original Wiimote size. I think it will have built in both a speaker and a mic, for both recording sounds and playing sounds. Just like PlayStation, the second half, or nunchuck half, will be like the first half, almost like holding two controllers for one player. This will allow both half of controllers to be sensed by the sensor, as well as fix the lack of buttons. Speaking of the sensor, I think Nintendo will go the same route the Move and the Kinect will go and use a camera for a sensor. Yet I don't think it will go the route of Kinect by having no controller at all. I highly doubt there will be backwards compatability for GameCube games anymore, and it's even a possibility that it won't be backwards compatability with the Wii. There are already some games for the Wii that require Wiimotion Plus, Wii games that don't require it that won't function properly with it. But these are only mere guesses from a vague announcement. Who knows? Maybe they will try to bring in ideas from their new handheld, the 3DS, such as 3D capabilities and a touch screen on the controller. But like I said, mainly guesses which are based on comparisons with the 3DS, XBox360 and the PS3. And I bet that the announcement at this year's E3 will only be a general annoucements, and it won't be until E3 2012 that we will really start to hear about the system because I can't imagine a release date until Fall or Winter 2012 since there is still so much in line for the Wii. Since a new system is on the horizon, most of the games we will hear about will be for the fairly new 3DS. But I'm not going into them too much because you can expect the regular franchises to be repeated: Mario, Star Fox, Zelda, Kid Icarus and Animal Crossing.
Sony is going to start their press conference with an apology to it players for allowing themselves to be hacked, losing all their personal data, the inability to get the network back up for nearly a month and giving lackluster apology for staying with them (the free PlayStation Plus and free games). I'm not sure it will work, though. I'm expecting more them to get booed, just as Roger Goodell got booed at the draft. With the introduction of Move last E3, I believe it is safe to assume we won't see or hear about the PS4 or another console until 2013 or 2014. The only thing about the console I think we'll hear (and this is the only time I will mention Konami because it's close ties to the PlayStation) is about Transfarring, which is the ability to transfer game data between the PSP and PS3, and also between the PS3 and the PS2. This is crucial because the latest edition of the PS3 has no backwards compatability both PS1 and PS2 games. A PS gamer could feel like their investment in their previous games uselss. PlayStation has tried to please their fanboys by making PS1 games downloadable onto the system with a small price. I think transfarring will help add to the game library, fulfilling the fanboy's pleasure. This might be what sets about PlayStation from the rest of systems. I think something else we will see (and we say Konami do a lot of this, too) is we'll see a lot of franchise "collections." That means franchise names from past systems will all be put one one disc and have updated graphics. They've already done it with the Sly Cooper series and Konami announced plans for a Metal Gear Solid Collections and Silent Hill Collections. I can see this happening with other franchises, such as Crash Bandicoot and Ratchet and Clank. I already mentioned handhelds, and I expect that what the majority of Sony's press conference will be mostly on their next generation handheld, the PSP2. Since PlayStation's handhelds keep failing Nintendo's, expect the PSP2 to be an imitation of the 3DS. You're going to see a touch screen, a camera, a microphone and motion sensor. Because of Transfarring and other reasons, the PSP2 will become more like the PS3 controller with 2 analog sticks and Six-axis.
Microsoft's press conference probably won't reveal any XBox360 hardware. It's mainly going to talk about the updates to Kinect, such as the Avatar talk, and other games for the Kinect. We're going to hear more about the software. Since Call of Duty has been a franchise that has helped the XBox360 greatly, a good amount of the press conference will talk about Modern Warfare 3.
But that's just your first person shooter. For the third person shooter, the highly anticipated Gears of War 3 is going to be introduced. We'll see how the series comes to an end. For your racing game, we're going to see Forza talk about
Forzo Motorsport 4. This is going to be a great game for the XBox360 because it will work with and without Kinect. Offering both controller and Kinect, but letting the player choose is the ultimate way to use the system fully. Along with that, I hope Microsoft and Forza will share more on their developing Star Wars game for Kinect. I think we'll also be introduced to new game for the XBox Live Arcade. The leader will be the
Ms. Splosion Man. Just as the old school Pac-Man needed a Ms. Pac-Man, so the modern-day XBox Live Arcade
Splosion Man needs a
Ms. Splosion Man.Now let's go into third party developers.
EA will stick with what they know best with their sports games, such as
Madden 12 and
Fifa 12.
Madden 12 is going to be especially big for the 3DS because it will utilize the most recent technology with 3D graphics and the touch schreen. But that won't be the only thing. We're going to hear a lot about other franchises becoming trilogies, such as
Mass Effect 3 and
Battlefield 3. Another big hit is going
Star Wars: The Old Republic. You have a huge Star Wars fanbase, and a huge MMORPG fanbase. Put them together, you have magic.
Ubisoft has a lot of big names continuing their series, in all video game genres.The biggest has to be
Assassin's Creed continuing its story
Assassin's Creed Revelations. With 3 playable characters, we're going to see a lot in the story be fully revealed. A third game in the
Call of Jurez series is Ubisoft's lead first person shooter. For your driving game and your sandbox game, you got
Driver: San Francisco. For the tatical shooter, Tom Clancey continues his Ghost Recon series with its fourth installment
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Anyone who loves Tom Clancey will love this. Ubisoft will introduce new games into the music genre. Continuing its hit series for Wii,
Just Dance will become a trilogy with
Just Dance 3. The Just Dance series already has a big fan base, so expect several copies to be sold. But the one I am most excited about is
Rocksmith. Rocksmith is a game that claims it teach you how to play with a real guitar. From what I've seen, it looks legit. I think it will be more effective than Rock Band's Pro Guitar. Ubisoft did fairly good with Michael Jackson: The Experience for the music genre, so I can't wait to see Rocksmith.
Capcom is going to come back with all its big name franchises, too. The biggest being the Resident Evil Franchise. For the consoles, we hear about
Operation Raccoon City. For the handheld 3DS, we have
Revelations. Speaking of the 3DS, Capcom will please its Megaman fanboys by bringing him to 3D with
Megaman Legends 3. And also, after its long absence, we have another game in Devil May Cry series. But it's not a sequel, but a prequel. We'll hear a lot about the youn Dante in
DmC. And while not announced, I hope to hear more about
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright. 2 hard puzzle games combined is going to equal an epic crossover.
Square Enix is going to continue its rich history in RPGs. And its longest and most famous RPG series,
Final Fantasy, will take the lead with the sequel to
Final Fantasy XIII. Another famous Square Enix series is the
Deus Ex, and this year, you'll hear about the prequel, named
Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Also on the consoles, expect the
Dungeon Seige series to become a full trilogy with
Dungeon Seige 3. For those who want an RPG for the handheld,
Kingdom Hearts is going 3D with
Dream Drop Distance (yes, can be abbreviated "3D" and yes, they did do that on purpose). But Square Enix is not just for the RPGs. It's also going to continue other non-RPG series. You'll see a fifth Hitman with
Hitman: Absolutions and for
Tomb Raider, you'll get a ninth game, with a brand new Lara Croft. I know Lara Croft looks different, but I'll be interested to see if she acts differently.
Namco Bandai is going to lead with bringing its "Tales" series back into the light. For the console, there will be
Tales of Grace F. From what I've heard, it's going to be a PS3 exclusively. For the handheld, they are re-making PS2's
Tales of the Abyss. But this is not for the PSP, it's for the 3DS. Another series coming back into the light is
Soul Calibur with
Soul Calibur V. I can't wait to hear who the guest characters will be! Finally, we'll hear about
Dark Souls, the sequel to
Demon Souls.
Demon Souls was largely promoted, but was a hit or miss in the eyes of gamers. We'll see how its sequel will do.
2K Games is going to bring out sequels for franchises we haven't heard about in a long time. The one I'm most excited about is
Bioshock Infinite. When 2K tried to make a direct sequel to the first Bioshock, it didn't do too well. It was heavily criticized and before you knew it, it was reduced for clearance (Bioshock 2 was even cheaper than Bioshock 1 for a while!). But with
Bioshock Infinite, 2K decided to be a sequel in gameplay, but not in story. In short, they are keeping the gameplay mechanics, but starting with a brand new story. This could be the fresh start the Bioshock series needs. Another game we haven't heard about for a while is
The Darkness, which came out in 2007. 4 years later, we will be introduced to
The Darkness 2. We'll see how many times Jackie dies this time ;-). Last but not least, we're going to see a series resurrected that we thought was dead for sure. 14 years after its development began in 1997, we'll finally hear more about
Duke Nukem Forever. The last time Duke was on console, we were in the fifth generation of systems, so we'll see how it takes the update to seventh generation.
And how can we forget Activision, the leading 3rd party developers. One of the reasons they have been leading is because of their Call of Duty series. So expect to hear lots about
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. But don't let that overshadow everything. Prototype will have a sequel, obviously named
Prototype 2. Spyro the Dragon will be re-introduced after 3 years in an odd way: by being a playable character in
Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. After the hit game
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, we will have a sequel with 2/3 of the returning characters in
Spider-Man: Edge of Time. This game is going to widely loved after the success of the last Spider Man game. Besides, everyone loves playing as Spider Man. Hopefully, it will have more Sandbox qualities this time. Activision will also continue working with Marvel in its newest X-Men game
X-Men: Destiny. And since I am such a Guitar Hero fanboy, I will predict this: At E3, Activision will clear up what it meant about Guitar Hero's fate. Activision will claim it meant that Guitar Hero is not dead or shut down, but simply it is on hiatus, doing what Rock Band did waiting 2 years to publish a new Guitar Hero game. If they want to convince they are telling the truth, they will give a small and generic tease of the next Guitar Hero game -
Guitar Hero: Red Hot Chili Peppers. Yes, I know it was just a rumor around the time of Warriors of Rock, and prior to the so-called "shut down" announcement in Februrary, but I believe it's a rumor backed up with good reason. Why else is Rock Band not allowed to transfer 2 Red Hot Chili Peppers songs to Rock Band 3, when it has a whole Red Hot Chilip Peppers CD available for DLC? Also, last year,
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock made a big fuss at E3, and went out to outsell Rock Band 3. Something that successful does not shut down easily.
Well, since I already said "Rock Band" I have to go ahead and talk about Harmonix, I guess :D. Harmonix already made it clear that there will be no Rock Band 4 for at least 2 years past Rock Band 3's release date. But they did say there will be a big announcement. So here's my prediction:
The Who RockBand. Hear me out on this. Remember a long time ago, before Rock Band 3, there was an announcement about a Rock Band for the band The Who. And we all thought, "That's ridiculous. The Who already have a full CD for DLC. Why would you need a Rock Band game for The Who?" And we would have been right...back then. But now we have Rock Band 3, with keys and harmonies. The Who is a band that has used piano, organ and keyboard. The Who has had multiple band members sing, which needs harmonies. Now an update is needed for all the Who songs, just like one was needed for Bon Jovi and Queen. This year, I would bet on
The Who Rock Band with pro guitar, pro bass, keys (both basic and pro) and harmonies. And yes, all songs will be importable to Rock Band 3. It could possibly be Dance Central 2, but I doubt it. Dance Central 1 is still fairly new, barely comes out with DLC (it's about once a month), and doesn't have as big as a fan base as Rock Band. Besides, I think that would be out of Harmonix's character. I'm going to stick with
The Who RockBand as my prediction.
This is a lot, so I'm going to quit for now and see how it plays out. Other titles to look out for are:
Batman: Arkham City, Elder Scrolls V, Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny, Sonic Generations, Saints Row The Third and
Ninja Gaiden 3. These will be the games that people will be talking about for the rest of 2011, and into 2012. But as you can see, most of these games were either sequels or another game to a long series. I hope to see more original games with original stories and original gameplay ideas come worth to bring us new gold. This I saw lack last year, and I hope it doesn't lack this year.
