My E3 2018 Predictions
It’s hard to believe E3 is already
starting this weekend, and that means it’s finally time for me to give my
annual predictions!
I’ll be doing it a little differently
than previous years. Before I would pick a specific game that might get
announced and explain why I thought we were getting that. The problem with that
was that oftentimes I’d have no real frame of reference for what was coming
next, so it was mostly me guessing based on what was popular and what hadn’t
had a sequel in a while.
So this year I decided to go for
something a bit more casual: I’ll just be talking about the various things we
might see at the conferences, some things I want to see, and also a few
expectations I have. I also won’t be talking about Devolver Digital or the PC
Gaming Show, because the former is just here for the laughs and like only three
people watch the latter.
So let’s get started!
EA
Oh, EA. Why do we always have to start
with you?
As I mentioned last week, EA’s
conferences are possibly the least anticipated of the entire show. Recent years
have seen the show turn into a sports broadcast that ends with a game demo from
DICE, and I fully expect us to see the same thing happen again this year.
I’m not interested in the usual
rigmarole of Madden, NBA and FIFA, so let’s just move on to the real games. EA conferences are
usually split into four different sections: EA Sports, the EA Originals indie
game, the big DICE finale game, and usually something else, typically Titanfall or something by BioWare.
So let’s kick things off by talking
about what the show will inevitably finish with: Battlefield V. It’s
already been revealed and we know it’s gonna be there, but you might’ve noticed
that something wasn’t announced at that initial reveal show.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Battlefield follows in Call of Duty’s footsteps and throws in a
Battle Royale mode to try and cash in on some of that sweet, sweet Fortnite money. Introducing a new mode
would be a smart way to keep fans invested and not make them feel like they’re
seeing the same trailer they just saw a month ago.
Whatever this year’s EA Original will
be is anyone’s guess, so what about the other big game they usually have in
there? I have little doubt that Star Wars will be absent from this
year’s show with the chaos EA unleashed with Battlefront II last year still fresh in everyone’s minds, so the only real option we know about is Anthem.
Last I checked Anthem is due for Spring 2019, meaning that unless another delay
happens this is its last chance for the E3 stage. But then again, last year we
only got a sneak peek at it at the EA conference and didn’t see it for real
until Microsoft showed it off the next day. Will they do the same thing again?
I guess we’ll find out on Saturday.
Microsoft
To say the Xbox One has had an uphill
battle since launch is putting it nicely. Frankly, I don’t know why we don’t
mention the thing in the same breath as the Wii U. After a disastrous
pre-release that left the core gaming market wide open for Sony to take control
of, Microsoft has sort of coasted their way through this generation on hardware
specs alone. Even Halo wasn’t enough
to generate enough buzz to get their console to compete with the PS4, and once
Nintendo came back swinging with the Switch, Microsoft has sort of become that
weird third console developer that isn’t really relevant anymore.
But with early rumblings that the
eighth generation of consoles is coming to an end sometime soon, this seems
like the perfect time for Microsoft to pull a Nintendo and bring themselves
back from the brink. I definitely think we’ll be getting an early tease and a
codename for the next Xbox this
year, sort of how they teased the Xbox One X in 2016 under the name Scorpio
before properly unveiling it a full year later.
I also think Gears of War 5 is a safe
bet, especially after it was seemingly leaked by Walmart Canada. Microsoft
needs a big holiday season game to keep themselves afloat until the One finally
crosses the finish line, and with Halo seemingly
dead in the water, good ol’ Gears is
always a fan-favourite choice.
As for rest of the conference,
Microsoft has made a name for itself lately being a jack of all trades of sort.
They have big games, small games, a metric ton of indies, and a lot of other
stuff. It typically makes for a great variety show (last year’s especially was
a good time), but it’s a little hard to predict. Maybe we’ll get our minds
blown and CD Projekt Red will be there with Cyberpunk 2077 like the
rumours have been talking about. Maybe they’ll have games from EA and Ubisoft
there for some reason again. Maybe Half-Life
3, I dunno. Whatever the case, I’m interested in seeing what they do this
year.
Bethesda
Fun fact: literally as I was writing
the Microsoft portion of this article Bethesda announced what is surely going
to be the focus of their conference this year.
So, yeah. We all know that this year’s
BE3 is going to be nothing but Fallout 76, Fallout 76, and more Fallout
76. And you know what? That’s okay. After having two incredibly boring and
underwhelming years at E3 in a row (they absolutely should’ve skipped last year
or at least had a segment at someone else’s conference), having a big gun in
their arsenal like a new Fallout game
is definitely a good thing for them.
It’s also important to note that the
initial release trailer for the game tells us absolutely nothing about the
actual product. I think they’re saving the real big gameplay details for the
show itself, which is a great way to get people watching. According to what I’ve been seeing it’s a sort of DayZ-esque
experience, but whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing will likely be
determined by how it looks in action.
But my real question is…where the hell
is Elder
Scrolls VI? It’s been seven years now since Skyrim came out, and despite Bethesda’s attempts to port it to
every single gaming platform that ever existed ever, it’s gotten really tired. Skyrim seems practically archaic when
compared to modern day games of similar genre, including Witcher 3, Horizon Zero Dawn and
even Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It’s
time for Bethesda to stop reminiscing about Skyrim’s
glory days and realize that it’s time for a new installment.
Square Enix
Much like how I think Bethesda’s show
this year is going to be almost exclusively focused on Fallout 76, I think it doesn’t take a genius to realize that
there’s only one reason why Squeenix is doing a conference: Kingdom
Hearts III.
The long-awaited third installment in the now eight-game spanning Kingdom Hearts franchise has been one of
the most anticipated games by fans since it was announced years ago, and it
looks like it’s finally on target to release this holiday season. That being
said there’s still a lot that we don’t know about the game, and I’m guessing
Square will be pulling the curtain back a little more during this conference.
We’ll likely see some new Disney
worlds (probably some big name ones like Frozen
or The Incredibles), learn about
some new gameplay mechanics, and get a tease at where the ever-convoluted story
will be taking us next.
And if you’re hoping for the Final
Fantasy VII Remake to finally make a return this year…keep dreaming.
Ubisoft
Ubi had a huge success story on their
hands last year after they finally decided to cut the crap and fix their E3
show. As a result it turned out to be one of the best conferences of the year,
pumping out game after game with little messing about in between. And even
better, a lot of the trailers looked really, really good.
I think it’s safe to assume we’ll be
seeing a few favourites from last year make a return experience, such as Skull
and Bones, which I’m guessing is going to be Ubi’s big Christmas game,
and Beyond
Good and Evil 2, which I’m not expecting until next year at the
earliest.
The Division 2 has also been
confirmed, and unless I’m mistaken I think this’ll be the first time we’re
seeing it. The first Division was met
with a pretty resounding “ehhh” from everyone who played it, especially after
one of the worst launch day in game history when players were stuck waiting in
literal line-ups to access mission terminals because someone had the stroke of
genius to make them only useable by one person at a time. Smart!
We also know Assassin's Creed Odyssey will be there thanks to a leak forcing an early announcement, so expect lots and lots of Mario jokes surrounding that over the next few weeks. Ubi has also promised several
surprises will be at the show, so one has to wonder what those are.
Sony
It’s all speculation right now, but a
lot of people have been talking lately that the PS4 is heading into its
twilight hours. Even major Sony employees have gone on record saying that the
system is approaching the end of its life cycle.
Despite this, I still think it’s way
too early to be getting a glimpse of the PS5. The 4 still has quite a few games
promised, and unlike Microsoft, Sony tends to wait until release date is closer
before talking about new hardware. I do think that this conference will be a
good place to judge how much longer the PS4 has before it’s replaced,
especially if anything new is teased.
Right now we know at least four games that’ll
be at the show for sure: Spider-Man, Days Gone, Death Stranding and The
Last of Us 2. Aside from Last of
Us those have been E3 staples for Sony dating back to their 2016 show, but
time is running out for a few of them. We know we’re getting Spider-Man in September, and I wouldn’t
be surprised if Days Gone received a
Spring 2019 release date, leaving just Death
Stranding and Last of Us as the
stragglers likely sticking around for E3 2019. If Sony doesn’t announce any
other major titles this year and instead focuses on those four, that likely
means next year will be reserved for showing off the PS5 instead of more
exclusives for PS4. Maybe we’ll even get a Breath
of the Wild-style release for Death
Stranding or Last of Us,
releasing them simultaneously on PS4 and as a launch title for PS5.
But if we do get something new this
year, I’d really, really like to get
a glimpse of Horizon 2. The first game was a monumental success for both
critics and audiences (I stand firmly by my choice naming it Game of the Year
2017), and I am very hungry for another taste of Aloy’s mechanical world. While
I think it’s much more likely I’ll have to wait until PS5 to get that game, I’d
be totally okay with a quick tease. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Crash
Bandicoot got a new game, thanks to renewed interest in him because of
the N-Sane Trilogy. It wouldn’t be
hard for Vicarious Visions to make a new one using assets from N-Sane, and I think now is the perfect
time to strike that iron while it’s hot.
Nintendo
Let me get something out of the way
real quick: the big Pokémon RPG due for 2019 isn’t going to be at the show. Okay?
Alright, let’s go.
Nintendo is easily the biggest show this year. After a monumental first year with the Nintendo Switch,
gamers are practically beside themselves getting excited for what’s coming
next.
Let’s start with the elephant in the
room: Smash Bros. for Switch. We’re still not clear on whether it’s
an extended port of Smash Bros. for Wii U
or an entirely new experience, but at the end of the day Smash is still Smash regardless
of what package it comes in. We’re gonna get some new characters, probably
including at least one big name. Past E3s have seen characters like Solid Snake, Mega Man and Pac-Man announced at the show, so we'll likely be seeing someone of that caliber.
As for the rest of the games, I think
it’s safe to say we’ll get our first look at what Metroid Prime 4 is all
about, as well as a return of that Yoshi game that fell off the face of
the Earth after last year’s E3. We’ll probably get at least one surprise, too.
Some people are betting on the supposedly leaked Star Fox Racing game
Retro Studios has apparently been working on, but I’d really like to see the
return of Animal Crossing. The Switch would work perfectly with that
franchise.
What would you like to see at E3 this
year? Let me know, and enjoy the conferences! I’ll be back on Tuesday to give
you my full thoughts as well as my annual ranking.
No comments:
Post a Comment