Countdown to E3 2014: Predictions, Expectations and Anticipation

In five days the Electronic Entertainment Expo (or gaming Christmas as it’s often called) is making its return to Los Angeles, bursting with announcements and games of every kind. But with countless delays of games into 2015, gamers are wondering whether this year’s show might disappoint when it comes to solid exclusives. Leading up to the big event, here are my predictions for the main companies and some of the games that will likely be shown off at the event.

As my most followed and respected gaming company, Sony blew everyone away last year with a pitch-perfect presentation of why PS4 is THE console worth buying, not to mention the numerous shots fired at Microsoft’s original Xbox One policies which had enraged legions of gamers worldwide. Yet despite their huge success with the PS4 thus far, Sony has been struggling financially, selling off other divisions such as VAiO laptops and its shares inJapanese developer Square Enix to cover its losses. Sony’s gaming division has the potential to prop up the company’s profits but only if they make good on their promises on the gaming front.

What I’m expecting from Sony

Sony may have taken the crown last year, but their new slogan “Greatness Awaits” won’t be good forever; the exclusives need to come thick and fast, just as they for PS3 from 2008 onwards. By that I mean a steady stream of titles which will be rolled out from now till next year’s E3. The big exclusives can’t all be delayed to 2015 so it may be time to invest in even more new franchises for the PlayStation. Knowing Sony and their primary focus on gaming, they should rise to meet this challenge but if they shrug their shoulders and stick to games like The Last of Us: Remastered then it will no doubt be a bitter blow and a huge step back from last year’s domination.

What could happen?

The Last Guardian and Agent could come back, this time on PS4. Fans of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus have been waiting for Team Ico’s next spiritual masterpiece involving the journey of a boy and his pet griffin for quite some time. Likewise for Agent, an espionage thriller set in the Cold War, developed by none other than Rockstar Games. Given the developer’s legendary reputation for the Grand Theft Auto series, Sony would be wise to make good on this new IP, especially on a platform in need of some killer exclusive games.

After taking a beating at last year’s show on Sony’s part; Microsoft was inspired to finally get back on track, having caught up with its free games on Xbox and removed the controversial (and by many accounts rip-off!) kinect from the Xbox One. With the older executives gone, the newly promoted Phil Spencer seeks to repair the damage done by the likes of Don Mattrick amongst other blunders and get the Xbox brand back on the good side of gamers with a better focus and philosophy for the Xbox One. But all the build-up won’t matter if MS can’t deliver where it counts; games.

What I’m expecting from Microsoft

Just like Sony, I’m expecting big games from Microsoft; exclusives that justify Phil Spencer’s focus whilst also proving the Xbox One’s commitment to games as well as all over entertainment. They’ll still show the same Call of Duty demo and possibly talk a bit about their television strategies but I want to see new IPs; let’s see Microsoft branch out and try new ideas rather than just reusing Halo, Gears of War and Forza over and over again. Insomniac Games has already kicked off this trend with Sunset Overdrive, perhaps the biggest exclusive this year for Xbox One. Hopefully other studios owned by the corporation will follow in its footsteps.

What could happen?

Perhaps Microsoft may finally let Rare loose to work on its own projects again? It would be a logical decision to follow on from removing the Kinect. Rare was once a household name in game design and after years of making Kinect games, could they rise to prominence once again?

Ever since the release of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Nintendo has endured a bitter slog, cutting its profit forecasts and continuing to suffer lacklustre sales for its Wii U system. Whilst games like the recent Mario Kart 8 have kept it going there’s no denying that the system is really on the ropes, hopelessly outmatched when compared to its competitor’s features, despite ironically having the best exclusives. With the company not holding an official conference for the second year in a row, Nintendo needs something to pull itself out of the fire, and this time it won’t be just Mario, Zelda, and Metroid that save them.

What I’m expecting from Nintendo

Nintendo needs to find a solution for the struggling Wii U and that means giving third party developers an incentive to get back on board, and with that, there will be more inclinations to release new multiplatform titles on the system as well as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. More details on the next Zelda and maybe a new Metroid title wouldn’t hurt either.

What could happen?

If the Wii U continues to struggle on as it does right now, then Nintendo may be forced to put a contingency plan in place to avoid crashing out of the console business. An entirely new system could be announced via their direct feed, one which catches up on features and is able to better compete with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Despite consistently wearing the dubious mantle of “Most hated gaming company” amongst the community, Electronic Arts still has some potentially brilliant games up their sleeve. Whether or not they botch the launches of their upcoming titles or build up false hype is a story reserved for later in the year. While there were titles players had been waiting for such as Star Wars Battlefront 3 and Mirror’s Edge 2, EA babbled on about sports games such as Madden 25 for far too long at their conference; which led to great anger when the finished products looked and played nothing like what was shown earlier that year. In the eyes of gamers EA still has a lot to prove, but could that change at this year’s E3?

What I’m expecting from Electronic Arts

EA’s conference was a mixed bag last year, so I hope to see them show more of what we actually want to see ie: more Battlefront 3 and Mirror’s Edge 2 gameplay and a cut-down of the crap associated with sports titles. Of course they’ll have to talk about these titles but it really shouldn’t take up more than ten minutes seeing as how most of what EA claims of its sport titles are mostly broken promises anyway. If the various tweets from last year’s show are anything to go by, EA seriously needs to rethink its stance towards sports games.

What could happen?

TimeSplitters 4? Fans of the shooter series have long yearned for a fourth entry in the franchise and while it has been announced by Crytek UK (formerly known as Free Radical) the game has remained dormant for many years. Because Crytek is owned by EA, this year could be an opportune time to bring the serious back the same way they did with Battlefront last year.

Having recently released the highly anticipated Watch Dogs, Ubisoft is again returning to E3 as it usually does, with several games from its various franchises to show off; these include Assassin’s Creed Unity, Far Cry 4, and The Division. It will probably be business as usual, showing off the major titles whilst also possibly expanding them into other mediums. Although as proven by Watch Dogs, Ubisoft is no stranger to new IPs and so new titles could emerge in their press conference this year.

What I’m expecting from Ubisoft

Last year’s press conference for Ubisoft certainly delivered with a variety of titles but the company resorted to trailers, some of which we had already seen rather than live demos which made the presser as a whole rather muted. Because Sony transferred the demos of Watch Dogs and Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag to their conference last year, I want to see Ubisoft build up excitement again. By showing in-game demos it really puts across what we’ll be playing much better than a trailer ever could.

What could happen?

Could there be another presenter blunder? Ubisoft has made a habit of hiring quite charismatic presenters in recent years, but they do have a habit of being quite awkward or in the case of “Mr Caffeine”, extremely over the top. Having a presenter who knows the facts about games and conducts themselves with a bit more seriousness would make a better impression when comparing the conferences with each other.

Potential trends of the show

·       Virtual Reality: Despite the previously failed attempts to make the holy grail of gaming immersion a reality, quite a few companies seem to be jumping into this field again. Oculus Rift and Sony’s Project Morpheus are leading this charge. Although neither of these have a confirmed release date, we’re sure to see the peripherals feature quite a bit at this year’s show.

·       Enhanced services on the consoles: Both Microsoft and Sony have introduced many new features, made possible by the power of the new systems and the ever increasing relevance of cloud computing. Sony has PlayStation Now; a rental service which will stream games from PlayStation One to present. Microsoft on the other hand is touting the cloud as making its exclusive games better, particularly where open world games are concerned. With luck, both companies might make good on these promises this time around, given how they’ve had a year to develop past the concept stage.

·      Upgraded engines in more fully-fledged games: Last year’s E3 saw the announcement of Unreal Engine 4 and while the “Infiltrator” demonstration back then was only a tech demo, the technology has heaps of potential on the new gaming consoles and PC. Crytek has also updated it’s CryEngine to fit the new systems. As with the console services, a year in development should allow developers to put out more fully-fledged games running on the new engines, providing the next-gen oomph that has been quite lacking in the eighth generation of consoles thus far.