E3 2011 Predictions
Posted on May 14, 2011 in Events
Well, I can't seem to keep up the weekly posts, and missing three weeks is even worse! It's been a combination of being really busy, being really lazy, and having complete writers block. Tried to write a post up two or three times in the last few weeks, but couldn't seem to get past a sentence or two before I realised it was rubbish, and tossed it away.
Next month we have an exciting event (for gamers, anyway): The Electronic Entertainment Expo, a.k.a. "E3", for this year is happening next month! June 7-9, to be exact. Mark your calendars! Ever since I've been able to (back when I started university), I've watched the E3 keynotes (conferences held by Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft a day or two before the start of E3) streamed live from the web (which, due to timezone differences, air at around 2AM in Australia). There's something genuinely exciting about watching new game announcements and trailers live as it happens.
I always like to speculate and make predictions about what's going to happen at the keynote speeches. Each of the big three always have something up their sleeves, even if information gets leaked quite a bit in the lead up to the conference. So, I present to you my predictions for E3 this year.
Long post ahead!
"Realistic" Predictions
These are my predictions that I think have a high chance of happening. Some higher than others, but none of these are ridiculously unrealistic claims (more on those later!). I should warn you that most of these may be rather cynical. It's much more fun to focus on the negatives, after all.
Nintendo
The "Wii 2" will contain Nintendo's gimmicky gimmick ever. Everyone will love it.
Nintendo's new console will be one of the biggest announcements at E3 this year. Even though we have some rumors about the console specifications, we do not officially have much to go on from Nintendo. Everyone is waiting to see what Nintendo's now-standard "gimmick" will be for it's next generation console. The DS was touch screens, the Wii had motion control, and the 3DS had 3D. What will be next?
No price tag or concrete release date will be given for the Wii 2.
We will get a good look at the console, controllers, and some games, but we won't get any details on a concrete release date or price tag. I doubt we'll get any specifics on how powerful the console is, either. We will get a release "Window", probably Q2 2012.
Online functionality in the Wii 2 will hardly get a mention. Friend codes will return.
The much-hated friend codes are the bane of anyone wanting to play Nintendo games online. In fact, the online service that Nintendo has provided in the past has been quite bad, and they show no signs of improving. I just don't see Nintendo managing to launch a service that is the same quality as the XBL or PSN services.
Nothing will be said about the following things in the Wii 2: Patches, DLC, achivements, or any service to provide these features.
Following on from the above one, Nintendo will continue to drive developers away. Nintendo has not used achievements, DLC or post-release game patches, but they assume that nobody else wants to take advantage of these, either. Patches and DLC are staples of the PS3 and 360 game markets, which is one reason why a huge number of games are developed exclusively for those platforms, and not the Wii. I sincerely hope that Nintendo have realised that developers need attention, as well as the customers.
The Vitality Sensor will, yet again, be mentioned (at least in passing). No release date (or real games) for it will be announced.
Ah, the infamous Vitality Sensor. This is a little Wii gadget that clips onto your finger to take your pulse and other things. It has been mentioned in numerous E3 keynotes, but nobody is really sure what they are doing with it, how it could be used in games, or...any details at all, really. Expect more of the same this year!
Skyward Sword will not be delayed for release as a Wii 2 launch title.
Back when the Wii was launched, Zelda: Twilight Princess (which was announced the previous year for Gamecube) was delayed to be released as a Wii launch title. This was a pretty good move for Nintendo, considering that the rest of the launch line-up wasn't all too exciting. The latest Zelda game, Skyward Sword, is in a very similar scenario with the Wii 2 announcement. I do not think that Nintendo will pull the same stunt, however.
At least one announced title will be a re-release of a classic Nintendo title with a large fan base. (Wait...do they have any left?)
I'm not sure which class title they can re-release, but I AM sure that they will think of one! Nintendo sure do love their re-releases. This one could apply to the Wii 2 or the 3DS. Currently announced titles (e.g. Ocarina of Time 3DS) don't count, it's gotta be new.
The announced Wii 2 launch titles (if any) will be mostly rubbish.
Nintendo's last few console launches haven't been all that good (especially the 3DS), and that trend will probably continue. I hope I'm wrong, though!
New 3DS titles will also be mostly rubbish.
I can't see many really exciting announcements coming to the 3DS, though this one will be very subjective considering everyone's tastes are different.
One unexpected game announcement will trigger an enthusiastic response from the audience.
I'm thinking on the same scale as the Zelda: Twilight Princess announcement (which was crazy). Obviously you'd need to adjust the reaction because E3 isn't as large as it was back then. I don't know what the title would be, though.
Four people will participate in a co-op game demonstration.
This has become standard for Nintendo in the last few years. Let's hope it's not as painful as the Wii Music one. That was terrible!
Nintendo will show off a bunch of statistics and numbers to show why they have been the most successful game company this year.
They all do this.
Microsoft
"Hardcore" games for the Kinect will be demonstrated. The graphics, gameplay, and controls will all look terrible.
I simply cannot see how FPS games would work well on the Kinect, but I'm sure we'll see one NOT working well! Could also be another genre, like RPG or even possibly RTS. Maybe just a simple rail shooter, but that would be boring.
Somebody will make an idiot out of themselves on stage while demonstrating a Kinect.
Somebody will be demonstrating a Kinect on stage. The rest is unavoidable.
A Halo game will be announced. Possibly two.
Can't have a Microsoft keynote without a Halo game! We'll probably see an FPS entry, but I want to see something more exotic, like a top-down/side-scrolling Live Arcade game, or a turn-based tactics game! Though you can't expect Microsoft to be too inventive.
Two people that nobody cares about will talk for WAY TOO LONG about something that nobody cares about. (Think the ESPN crap from last year)
That ESPN crap was terrible. Imagine two enthusiastic sports commentators going on for ages about some sort of sports feature in Xbox Live. To a huge theater filled with video game nerds. Sports and nerds don't have much of an overlap. This year, Microsoft will yet again tap into their ability to fail completely at engaging the target audience.
Cliffy B will, yet again, wield a Lancer gun (from Gears of War) on stage.
Gears 3 is out this September! And the best way to celebrate is for iconic game designer and overall a pretty cool guy, Cliff Bleszinski, of Epic Games, to rampage onto the stage with a plastic gun! Again!
Microsoft will show off a bunch of statistics and numbers to show why they have been the most successful game company this year.
No, seriously. They all do this.
Sony
Nothing will be said about the PSN hack.
And maybe that's for the best? I'm still undecided on the PSN hack thing. That said, I think they'll avoid it, in general.
Sony will brag about how the PSN is such a great and robust service (while still ignoring anything about the hack).
This one will happen if they haven't revised their keynote script after the hack occurred. It would be both sad and hilarious at the same time.
Uncharted 3 will get a sexy new trailer.
I hope so, anyway! Uncharted is Sony's flagship series at this point. It would suck to see an E3 without a shiny new trailer for it.
Resistance and/or Killzone title(s) will be announced. No gameplay will be shown, just a very cool looking cinematic cutscene.
Not much to say on these. Both series are Sony's attempts to copy Halo or Call of Duty, and they're both pretty boring affairs. That's not going to stop Sony from trying, though!
The new Sony tablets plus the phone will be talked about for an extremely long time. Nobody will care about them.
'Nuff said. We want to see new games, not re-released PS1 games with awful touch-screen controls on phones that nobody will buy. Basically, if it doesn't have analog sticks, nobody cares much.
More games for the NGP are announced, but none will look as cool as Uncharted.
That's not the fault of the games, though. Uncharted is just that cool. The NGP is basically the PSP 2, due for release at the end of this year. We're hoping that all the NGP games aren't PS2 ports. That would suck.
No price tag or concrete release date will be given for the NGP.
Actually, this one may be incorrect. Since the NGP is getting a release this year, we may see proper dates and prices. This one is more likely: The NGP will be delayed until Q2 2012. ....I'm kidding!
The menu screen of the NGP software will look less terrible.
Early images of the NGP software look TERRIBLE. They will have improved the software since then.
Somebody makes a "RIIIIIIDDDDGE RACER" joke.
If you've seen the footage of Sony's keynote in 2006, you'll understand this one. In pretty much every keynote since, the quote has come up in some form or another.
Sony will show off a bunch of statistics and numbers to show why they have been the most successful game company this year.
Who would have expected that they all do this?!
Other
Buzzwords like "Innovation" and "Experience" will be used far too often.
Often they forget that they're talking to gamers, developers, and the gaming press - NOT their shareholders. Buzzwords always get tossed around during the keynotes. Sony and Microsoft are the worst offenders.
A multi-platform game will be advertised to run the best on one particular platform.
This always happens. For example, Valve did it last year with Portal 2 on the PS3.
No newly announced game will be single-player only, except for Nintendo games.
This will make me sad if it actually happens. Not every game needs multiplayer! Nintendo is excluded because of their crappy online functionality.
Capcom will port Street Fighter 4 to at least one more platform.
How many platforms is this thing on now? Not enough, according to Capcom!
Not-So-Realistic Predictions
These are the predictions that probably won't happen, but would be cool (or funny) if they did.
Nintendo will announce a new IP.
Kinda sad that this is an unrealistic prediction. When was the last time Nintendo made a new IP?
A new Advance Wars game is being developed.
I love me some Advance Wars, but all has been quiet on the franchise for a while now. Considering that Japan never got the last game in the series, can we consider it to be dead? I certainly hope not.
A Wii 2 launch title will exclusively target a hardcore audience.
Shock! Nintendo catering to the hardcore audience? It sounds ridiculous, but who knows?
Sony apologises for withholding information during the PSN hack incident.
Not only do they acknowledge that the PSN got hacked, they also acknowledge that they could have handled customer communication better. Yeah, don't see that happening. Would be nice, though.
Sony or Microsoft will promote a game by advertising that it does NOT contain motion control.
Something along the lines of: "Game X can only be controlled using the standard controller, because only maximum precision will be accepted!".
Valve will announce, and show a trailer of, a new Half-Life game.
Ha ha ha. Yeah, not gunna happen.
Wrapping Up
E3 happens next month, 7th June. After the conference, I'll go back over this list and see how many were accurate! And I'll try to post more, I promise.
Posted on May 14, 2011 in Events
Follow-Up Blogs
- E3 2011 Review [Aug 6, 2011]
