The Electronic Entertainment Expo is less than a month away now. So, here is a rundown of some things that we can expect to see and some that are just simply rumors and wishful thinking.
Sony
With many million units ahead of the competition, it’s Sony’s year to lose. At the moment, Sony has no new hardware on the horizon after release the Playstation 4 Pro late last year. It does have some heavy hitters that should release later this year. Games like Last of Us: Part 2, Spider-man, Uncharted 4: The Lost Legacy, Days Gone, God of War, Knack 2, Kingdom Hearts 3, Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy and Detroit: Become Human.
Sony will probably go back to some ol’ reliable heavy hitters with Call of Duty: WWII and Destiny 2 to anchor their E3 presence. Also, Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding could make another big splash as it has in the past. Thus far, we haven’t seen any gameplay or solid release details related to Kojima’s new project. Other unknowns are Final Fantasy VII: Remake and Shenmue 3. Both were announced in 2015 and Sony has been hush on when Playstation 4 owners will get to play them.
Sony’s press conference: June 12 at 6 p.m. PST / 9 p.m. EST
Microsoft
Microsoft’s star of the show is expected to their Project Scorpio console. It’s their upgraded Xbox One and apart from specs on the hardware, little is known about what the Scorpio will offer. No games, no user interface and no release date known to the public at this point. It’s safe bet that we’ll see what this upgraded console can do and a clearer release window.
This leads to the next unknown with Project Scorpio and Microsoft in 2017; What games are going to debut alongside Scorpio? We haven’t heard much on the status of Crackdown 3, Sea of Thieves and State of Decay 2. It’s possible one of these could help move sales for Scorpio. Or games such as Halo 6, Gears of War 5 or Forza Motorsport 7 could lift some of the weight for the Scorpio.
Microsoft’s press conference: June 11 at 2 p.m. PST / 5 p.m. EST
Nintendo
By the time Nintendo rolls into E3 this year, the Switch will have been on store shelves for more than four months. At the moment, Switch owners have some fantastic games to sit on through the summer with Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but what do Nintendo fans have to look forward to through the rest of the year?
So far, we know Super Mario: Odyssey, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Splatoon 2 are on the way this year. Rumor has it that UbiSoft’s Rabbids will be back with Mario too. However, there is a lot of year left and Nintendo has hinted of big news at this year’s E3 Spotlight Event. So, I guess we’ll wait and see.
Nintendo Spotlight Event: June 13 at 9 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. EST
Third parties
It’s not out of the picture that a third party could steal the show this year. EA should be bringing Star Wars: Battlefront 2, Need for Speed and FIFA 18. Bethesda could showcase a some more Quake Champions and DOOM VR, but also it’s been awhile since a new Elders Scroll and Wolfenstein game has been announced. UbiSoft should be giving fans a firm release date on South Park: The Fractured But Whole and probably a new Assassin’s Creed title. The company also dropped news recently about the release of The Crew 2 and FarCry 5 happening this year. Finally, perhaps Rockstar Games will take the veil off of Red Dead Redemption 2 during one of the “big three” press conferences. We can only hope.
Electronic Arts’ press conference: June 10 at 12 p.m. PST / 3 p.m. EST
Bethesda’s press conference: June 11 at 7 p.m. PST / 10 p.m. EST
