We are now about one month away from one of gaming’s largest yearly spectacles: e3. For those of you who do not know e3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is a yearly trade event where video game developers, publishers, and manufacturers such as Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft and more, get to show off their latest and greatest to the media and public. This event happens usually at or near the beginning of June and is my personal kick-off of the summer season. This year e3 2018 will be taking place from June 12-14, but in recent years some companies have showed their stuff to the public one-two days in advance.
Every year people like to try and guess what all will be at that year’s show, myself included. About 95% of the time everyone is wrong or something gets leaked online a week before the show. But in the spirit of the season, here are my predictions for what I believe each of the big 3 (Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo) will be bringing to the table at e3 this year.
Sony
Lets start with Sony. Sony last year had, in my opinion, a very lackluster show. Didn’t really show off a ton. Nothing super crazy. They showed a Spiderman trailer for the first time. They gave God of War a release YEAR. They said Destiny 2 would have exclusive content. And that was about it. A whole lot of “meh” from them last year. And I am going to expect the same this year. Sony has been splitting their announcements between e3, PSX (their own personal expo in December), and Paris Games Week for the last 2-3 years. While some big things have been revealed at e3 in those 2-3 years (Crash remakes, God of War, Days Gone, etc.), they really seem all in about stretching out their announcements all throughout the year. So this year from Sony, I am expecting the following:
– Spiderman trailer and demo: This game comes out in September, so I am expecting the reveal of integral story details (plot, villains, etc.) while also getting a demo that will playable at e3
– Call of Duty Black Ops 4 multiplayer trailer: Sony is in bed this generation with Activision, so I would expect your run of the mill trailer showing off how multiplayer is gonna be the same shit as the last game. Maybe they’ll show off the Zombie mode for this one too. I am also going to predict that there will be a PS4 Pro bundle with Black Ops 4 coming when the game launches
– Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer: Again, Sony is in bed with Rockstar this generation (GTA V reveal for current systems happened at the Sony conference), so I am fully expecting a trailer with a live, on-stage demo and reconfirmed 2018 release.
– Last of Us 2: They showed a trailer of this last year, but the only things we’ll get at e3 is another trailer and a confirmation that it’s coming in 2019.
– Days Gone: This game recently got delayed until 2019. New trailer. That’s it.
– Final Fantasy VII Remake: Hey remember when this was announced 3 years ago? And how they said it was going to be episodic? Well your first episode is happening in October. Go wild.
– Call of Duty Black Ops 4 multiplayer trailer: Sony is in bed this generation with Activision, so I would expect your run of the mill trailer showing off how multiplayer is gonna be the same shit as the last game. Maybe they’ll show off the Zombie mode for this one too. I am also going to predict that there will be a PS4 Pro bundle with Black Ops 4 coming when the game launches
– Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer: Again, Sony is in bed with Rockstar this generation (GTA V reveal for current systems happened at the Sony conference), so I am fully expecting a trailer with a live, on-stage demo and reconfirmed 2018 release.
– Last of Us 2: They showed a trailer of this last year, but the only things we’ll get at e3 is another trailer and a confirmation that it’s coming in 2019.
– Days Gone: This game recently got delayed until 2019. New trailer. That’s it.
– Final Fantasy VII Remake: Hey remember when this was announced 3 years ago? And how they said it was going to be episodic? Well your first episode is happening in October. Go wild.
– Kingdom Hearts 3: Release date for November. They’ll show off 2 new worlds, most likely Moana and The Incredibles to coincide with The Incredibles 2 coming out this summer. I will have a heart attack because for some reason I love game that combine JRPG elements and Disney.
– PSVR: Sony has been pushing PSVR for a year and a half now, and there is still no big AAA-esque game that is fully playable in VR besides Resident Evil VII. I still don’t expect there to be one for a while, so the usual crop of indie games and small titles will be there.
– Dreams: The new game from MediaMolecule that has been in development-hell for the last 3 years is supposed to be coming out this year. I personally find that hard to believe, but I feel like Sony would’ve told us if it wasn’t coming out this year. There will be a concrete release date and maybe a demo announcement.
– Ghost of Tsushima: The new game from Sucker Punch was announced last year and I really don’t see them talking about this one a whole lot at e3. This is one that I see getting more details at PSX.
– PSVR: Sony has been pushing PSVR for a year and a half now, and there is still no big AAA-esque game that is fully playable in VR besides Resident Evil VII. I still don’t expect there to be one for a while, so the usual crop of indie games and small titles will be there.
– Dreams: The new game from MediaMolecule that has been in development-hell for the last 3 years is supposed to be coming out this year. I personally find that hard to believe, but I feel like Sony would’ve told us if it wasn’t coming out this year. There will be a concrete release date and maybe a demo announcement.
– Ghost of Tsushima: The new game from Sucker Punch was announced last year and I really don’t see them talking about this one a whole lot at e3. This is one that I see getting more details at PSX.
That’s all from Sony. The Final Fantasy VII remake will close the conference, and everyone will be excited.
Microsoft
Onto Microsoft, where it seems the 1st party titles have run dry. They have been doing a tremendous job in the PR department however, with more Xbox 360 and original Xbox games going backwards compatible every week, but that;s not gonna be enough to satisfy. We know 1st party titles are in the works, it’s just a matter of how many are going to be ready to show at e3 this year. For Microsoft, I have the following:
– Sports games: It wouldn’t be a Microsoft e3 presser without Madden, FIFA, and whatever other sports games of EA’s they wanna show off. It’ll be trailers and them showing off how great everything looks on the X.
– Halo 6: As optimistic as I would like to be this, I honestly don’t think that Halo 6 will be ready to show at e3. We have no clue how far long this game is, and with it being Microsoft’s darling franchise, I can see them not wanting to announce it early so that it has all of the time it needs to be great.
– Gears of War 5: Same things as Halo 6. It’s just not far enough into development to warrant an announcement.
– Fable 4: Iit’ll be there, it just won’t be the same. Lionhead Studios, the people who make Fable, closed last year and there are rumors some studio is gonna be rebooting it. The trailer will look good, but it’ll come and go and people won’t be very happy about it.
– Crackdown 3: The game that keeps getting delayed (it was originally announced for a 2016 release) will finally be coming out this holiday season. There will be an on-stage demo and the game will officially be released this November.
– More Backwards Compatibility: Microsoft will continue to try and win the good graces of their people for not having enough 1st party games and will show off over 50 more OG Xbox and Xbox 360 games that will be BC by the end of the year.
– Anthem: This is the new game from the EA studio Bioware, the people who brought you Mass Effect. Demo, trailer, Holiday 2018 release date. The game is essentially Destiny from what I have seen, but hopefully it will have a steady release of content and won’t make me really sad (more on that for another day)
– PUBG: Yes there will be some more PUBG stuff from them. I don’t know what it’ll be, but until the game stops printing money for all parties involved, it’s not going away anytime soon.
– Cyberpunk 2077: New game from CD Projekt Red, the people who did the Witcher 3. It will be a TIMED EXCLUSIVE on Xbox One for 4 months before it drops on PS4. This will be the shocker of the Microsoft conference.
– Indie Stuff: After the success Cuphead had, they will try and capitalize on that and shove some more indie stuff down our throats, and some of it will be enjoyable.
That’s all I got for Microsoft. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a new IP from one of their studios, I just don’t know which one.
Other Conferences
Before I go to Nintendo, it’s time for some BONUS ROUNDS!
– EA: Battlefield 2 (yes the name is bad but we all know that it’s gonna be called that), some Star Wars Battlefront 2 DLC because they want your money, sports sports and more sports, and a new Star Wars game because EA knows that Star Wars will make the big bucks.
– Ubisoft: The Division 2 will get more info, Just Dance because people are still buying that apparently, Assassin’s Creed because they can’t be original, new Splinter Cell game, some more Beyond Good and Evil 2 info, and possibly another collab with Nintendo, most likely using another IP Nintendo’s (my guess is F-Zero)
– Square: Kinda already touched on them in the Sony section, but FF7 and KH3 will be the big things as well as more FF15 DLC and I’m sure some JRPGs.
– Bethesda: There wont Elder Scrolls 6, but there will be a sequel to Prey announced as well as new Doom game. Possibly a new Fallout game ala New Vegas, but I’m hard pressed to see that one happening.
Nintendo
The Switch is amazing. It’s selling faster than the Wii did, it’s already outsold the WiiU. So what’s Nintendo gonna do? They’re gonna shove so many 1st party games at you that you won’t know what to do. There will be some 3rd party announcements as well, but let’s not board the hype train just yet. From Nintendo, I expect the following:
– Smash 5: The entire roster will be revealed. I’m not gonna go into who I think is gonna be in the game or not (another post for another day), but the entire roster will be revealed, the subtitle will be revealed, and it will have a November release
– Metroid Prime 4: Trailer, but no set in stone release date. They don’t wanna mess this one up like Other M, so expect just a “2019” at the end of the trailer, and a lot of ensuing hype.
– Pokemon: Hey whadda ya know Pokemon Switch is gonna come out this year (October to be exact) and they are gonna realize that Gen 7 was garbage and take you back to Kanto where you’ll redo everything from the start but with a National Pokedex. This will start a soft “reboot” of the Pokemon franchise as well.
– Yoshi: Remember last year when we got a trailer for this and nothing else since? It’ll be out in August, and fully co-op much like the new Kirby was. It’s cuteness will be unbearable, in a good way.
– 3DS games: Yup. They’re still gonna make games for this thing. It’ll be some spinoff series of theirs that they’ll throw onto the system, and maybe a mainline entry into something like Ace Attorney or Phoenix Wright.
– Fire Emblem: Fire Emblem will be 2018’s Xenoblade Chronicles 2. It’ll be out in December, it will continue upon the themes that Awakening had and will feature full voice acting as well as stunning visuals. It will be a whole new story with new people and places.
– Mario Odyssey DLC: Paid DLC for Mario Odyssey will include 6 brand new worlds where Mario will visit locations of older games such as Sunshine, Galaxy, and 3D world, and will have a new story to go along with it.
– Online details: Earlier this year Nintendo said their paid online service will be coming in September. There will be more details about what all comes with it at e3 (it wont be a lot)
– Animal Crossing: JUST MAKE THIS ALREADY WHY DO YOU TORTURE ME. IT’LL COME OUT IN SEPTEMBER. I WILL BE A HAPPY BOI
– More Mario Sports: The new tennis game comes out this summer, so naturally we will get a trailer for either Golf or Strikers and it will be slated for next year.
– Indies: Everyone showcases indie games. Just deal with it
– Fortnite: The big 3rd party support bomb will be that Fortnite will be coming to the Switch in July. Same game that’s on all other platforms, but there will be exclusive skins from Nintendo franchises
– Nintendo’s “…and one last thing”: They do this every year. This time it will be for Mother 3. Yup. It’s finally coming. eShop exclusive. Comes out as soon as the presser is over.
And there ya have it. My e3 2018 predictions. I can with certainty that at least ONE thing will be correct from this list of stuff, and if not, then I will continue to spew my opinions all over the Internet. You’re welcome
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