Introduction and Nintendo
E3 2016 is probably the single most important event for gamers all year long. It's here we'll get our first look at the big franchises that will keep our consoles and gaming rigs humming later in the year and, if we're lucky, a sneak peek at next-gen hardware, too.
This year is going to be different than most, however. All three of the main console manufacturers have hinted at new hardware – Sony with its PS4.5, Microsoft with a modular console and Nintendo with the Nintendo NX – meaning this could be a very big year.
But not everything is changing for the better this year. Activision, Disney, Wargaming and EA have all said that they won't be attending the convention in an official capacity this year. That means no crazy surprise rock shows to support Guitar Hero Live and absolutely no Pele coming out on stage to talk about the beautiful game.
But maybe, just maybe, none of that will matter.
E3 is a fiercely independent beast. It's survived with the support of those companies in the past and it can do so again. As long as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo show up with new IPs in hand and next-gen hardware in tow, this is going to be another memorable year in Los Angeles.
Nintendo, playing it safe with Zelda
No one could conceivably claim that Nintendo put on a good show at last year's E3. Instead of footage from the new Zelda, we got a trailer for Zelda spin-off Tri Force Heroes. Instead of a juicy new entry in the Metroid series, we got Metroid Prime: Federation force with a trailer so underwhelming that it immediately sparked a petition to get the game permanently pulled from the Nintendo lineup months ahead of its release.
Even Nintendo's Starfox reveal, a title which had the gaming community shedding a collective tear of joy, was quickly deflated when we discovered the controls were such a letdown.
But 2016 is a new year. We've been keenly following the news leaking out about Nintendo's next console and last month Nintendo finally confirmed that the NX would be releasing in March 2017.
At E3 2014 it blew us away with the reveal of a new Legend of Zelda for the Wii U, but since then we've seen little of the new game aside from a Nintendo Direct broadcast. This will all change at E3 2016, where Nintendo will be streaming the new Legend of Zelda (which has also been confirmed for the NX) for an entire day.
Nintendo has confirmed that Zelda will be the only playable game they're showing at this year's show, but it will also be showing off footage for some other games.
Starting 9am PT on June 14 Nintendo will stream gameplay from The Legend of Zelda for Wii U as well as the first live gameplay for Pokemon Sun and Moon (which will actually open the stream).
On June 15, Nintendo will be showcasing Monster Hunter Generations, Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE!
Nintendo is playing this year's E3 incredibly safe with its focus on the Legend of Zelda, and whilst we love the franchise as much as anyone else, one game does not an E3 showing make. It would be great if Nintendo surprised us with another announcement, or even more details of its mobile plans, but we're not going to be holding our collective breath.
It's no secret that Nintendo has big plans for mobile gaming after it announced them prior to E3 last year. So far we've seen just one Nintendo mobile game, Miitomo, but Nintendo has also announced that 2016 will see the release of Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem, so who knows - we might get a glimpse of these over E3.
Sony and Microsoft
Sony, the king of the mountain
Sony killed it at last year's E3. In one press conference we got a long awaited updated on the development of fan-favorite The Last Guardian, the announcement of Shenmue 3 and the news that one of the most beloved games of all time, Final Fantasy VII, would be receiving a remake.
It's hard to know how Sony could possibly top that performance this year, but expectations are high that the company might announce the rumored PS4.5 - aka the PlayStation 4 Neo.
There are a lot of disagreeing reports flying around regarding the new console, with no consensus on when we'll see it. However, right now we're confident that the PS4.5 will improve the VR experience, and so launching it around the same time as PlayStation VR makes a lot of sense.
That also means an E3 reveal is quite likely.
The PlayStation VR is due to be released in October this year and will apparently have around 50 titles available at launch. We've seen a few of these already on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, but Sony is likely to have a few more exclusives up its sleeve to launch alongside titles such as Rez Infinite.
Software-wise it would be nice to get an update on Horizon Zero Dawn, which was announced in last year's conference and will be releasing later this year. Others might feel differently, but to me, developer Guerilla Game's work has started to feel rather stale these past few years. But I'm hoping Horizon will be a fresh direction for the developer of the Killzone franchise to take.
Ultimately, if last year proved anything, it's that Sony is not a company to be underestimated. It's more than likely that it has a few more tricks up its sleeve for 2016's big event.
Sony's E3 press conference will take place at 6pm PST/ 9pm EST/ 2am BST on Monday June 13.
Microsoft - bringing the VR?
Microsoft hasn't really jumped on the VR bandwagon in the same way as the other big player in the industry, instead opting to hedge its bets on augmented-reality in the form of the Microsoft HoloLens.
At E3, that might change. Among the bunch of recent Xbox rumors is one claiming that a new console, launching in 2017, will have a virtual reality element. What's more, a few hints on the official E3 website might point to something being announced at this year's show.
But even if some VR games are announced, we might not get to play with them until next year - so what's closer on the horizon? We could be looking at an Xbox Slim. Kotaku reckons a slimmer, cheaper Xbox One is coming soon, and E3 seems like the perfect time to announce it.
Another report, coming from Microsoft blogger Brad Sams, claims that there's also a small Chromecast-style streaming device. It's possible we'll also see this at this year's E3 show.
Ok, but what about the games?
We liked what we saw of the upcoming Gears of War 4 when we previewed the multiplayer component recently, and the excellent Forza series is due another entry sooner rather than later. Whether this will take the form of a main entry to the series or the Horizons spinoff series remains to be seen, however.
Beyond that? If Rare felt up to the challenge another Banjo Kazooie game wouldn't go amiss, and Halo will almost certainly make an appearance in some form or another, with most of the focus likely being on Halo Wars 2.
What's refreshing about Microsoft is the amount we don't know about their lineup going forward. It's got a good number of studios working under it, and it's sure to have something interesting to talk about.
The third parties: Activision, EA and Ubisoft
When it comes to the big publishers E3 2016 is looking a little more empty than it has done it previous years. Out of the big five publishers – Bethesda, Activision, EA, Square Enix, and Ubisoft – EA and Activision have pulled out from participating in the show itself, meaning they will not exhibit on the show floor.
This has been Activision's policy since the 2008's E3, but for EA this decision is a new one. EA's decision appears to have been motivated by E3's 'press only' attendance policy, since they will instead be hosting an alternative pair of events across both LA and London, UK.
But both publishers will have games on show with various partners. Activision has always made an appearance on stage with either Sony or Microsoft at their respective press conferences, and both are likely to have something on display (hint, hint: Call of Duty) in a partner's booth on the show floor.
EA is also hosting a separate event on Sunday, June 12, where it will show off more of Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, Fifa 17 and more. We'll be there to bring you the news as it happens.
I'm sick of the silly console wars, what about the games?
Believe me, we're sick of it too. Thankfully the list of games that's likely to be on the show floor this year is impressive. It's hard to mention one publisher without a big reveal up its sleeve.
Activision has been something of a known quantity for at least the last few E3's. Call of Duty continues to sell year after year, and since this year's iteration will be developed by Infinity Ward rather than Treyarch or Sledgehammer Games, anticipation is that much higher.
Beyond Call of Duty, we're also excited to see what Activision shows off from the Destiny franchise. We haven't had any new expansions since The Taken King was released in September last year and we're keen to see what Bungie have been cooking up in the meantime. The developer has previously suggested further DLC might be in the pipeline for Destiny in 2016, but with the original having come out a year and a half ago it's never too early to hope for a proper sequel.
Not to be outdone, EA has recently released a teaser trailer for its upcoming shooter Titanfall 2. The original (from the ex-heads of Call of Duty 4's developer) floundered slightly after months of hype, but if Respawn Entertainment can learn from its previous mistakes EA might have a hit on its hands. The teaser trailer promises a worldwide reveal of June 12th, a.k.a. the first day of E3 2016.
EA also has a couple of studios working on as yet untitled projects. Jade Raymond (who you might remember from the Assassin's Creed franchise which we'll be getting to later) recently joined EA to form Motive Studios which have been tight lipped since their founding in July 2015.
Visceral Games is another interesting EA studio. After releasing three Dead Space games, the studio has apparently been working on a new Star Wars title under the leadership of Amy Hennig, who rose to fame as the head of Uncharted development studio, Naughty Dog.
Ubisoft are in a bit of an odd spot this year. This will be the first time in six years where we won't see a new Assassin's Creed game. Last year's 'Syndicate' wasn't exactly a bad release, but the stresses of a yearly release cycle are starting to take their toll on the series. In the absence of a game announcement, we wouldn't put it past Ubisoft to surprise us with footage from its upcoming live-action Assassin's Creed movie and/or a trio of new Tom Clancy titles.
Square Enix, Bethesda, Valve and Conclusions
Square Enix stunned us last year with the announcement that its seminal Final Fantasy VII would be remade and released on the PS4.
When it was later revealed that the game would be released as a multi-part series, Producer Yoshinori Kitase has defended this decision, stating that "If we were to try to fit everything from the original into one remake instalment, we would have to cut various parts and create a condensed version of FINAL FANTASY VII. We knew none of you would have wanted that."
We're cautiously optimistic about this move since it's clear that a modern game on the scale of the original Final Fantasy VII would be obscene by modern standards, but we're going to wait until after this year's E3 to allow ourselves to get properly excited.
As for Square Enix, the company announced it will be holding a pre-E3 conference on June 8 where it will be showing off new gameplay from Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Last but by no means least is Bethesda, who last year announced Fallout 4 with a release date just five months into the future. Bethesda's release schedule since Oblivion has alternated between the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, which would mean that we're due the sixth entry in the Elder Scrolls series next, though, admittedly we're not holding our breath for a reveal this soon after Fallout 4.
This leaves a big gap for Bethesda to fill in its E3 event, and there's been a great deal of speculation as to what they'll show. With its release coming later this year Dishonoured 2 is an obvious contender, but we're also hoping to see a proper sequel to 2014's excellent Wolfenstein: The New Order. On the DLC side of things, you can likely expect some Fallout 4 and DOOM downloadable content, with both games having released in the past twelve months.
Of course any wish-list wouldn't be complete without a customary prayer for Half Life 3 to finally materialize from Valve. It's been almost ten years since Gabe Newell and his team left us on Episode 2's notorious cliffhanger ending, and the studio has remained tight-lipped ever since about even the existence of a sequel.
In January of this year Marc Laidlaw, the original writer of the series, left Valve after having been at the company for almost twenty years. Laidlaw was instrumental in defining what made the Half Life series what it is today, and his departure is troubling to say the very least.
Whereas previously we might have been able to convince ourselves that Valve were simply spending the time necessary to make Half Life 3 perfect, Laidlaw's departure appears to confirm that the title will stay a wish rather than a reality. Whether it ever ends up seeing the light of day is anyone's guess.
Your takeaway? There's a lot to be excited about
E3 2015 was a groundbreaking year where it felt like all of our dreams could come true, and if even half of the guesses on this list come to fruition then we'll be in for a very happy couple of years in gaming indeed.
The only problem we can see is that short of the improbable happening, like Half Life 3 finally getting literally even the smallest mention, there's not much that can top The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy VII Remake and Shenmue 3 all being announced at the same press conference.
At any rate, June 12 is right around the corner and we'll be approaching this year's E3 with baited breath.
June 03, 2016 at 08:33PM
Jon Porter
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