[Aptorian]

E3 is still a few months away but news and speculation is already building up.

https://www.e3expo.com

https://en.m.wikiped...nment_Expo_2019

E3 is hosted each year by the Entertainment Software Association. It's traditionally an industry specific expo but it's also the biggest media event of the year for video games. In the days leading up to the show floor opening, conferences and special events will be held and new and old games will be revealed.

This year is an important transition for the ESA, Sony has pulled out of the show which is a landmark in a trend that has been building for years now. Sony, EA and Nintendo are all doing events or presentations around E3 but aren't at the venue.

Big companies are seriously assessing whether E3 is still worth their time in an age where business and marketing has changed significantly.

This is also the last year for E3s contract in Los Angeles so a different, maybe smaller venue may happen, but then again there's the growing focus on public attendance.

A big wild card this year will be Google and their streaming solution called Stadia. Will they have a big presence? How will they market themselves? Google exclusives?

So far four companies have announced press conferences: Bethesda, PC Gamer, Ubisoft and Devolver.

LET THE HYPE BEGIN

[Mentalist]

You missed Microsoft, they promised they were gonna "go bigger than ever"

I'll post more thoughts later.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 05 April 2019 - 11:26 AM

[Malankazooie]

I've read that E3 is going to be smaller and more muted this year. Its impact and significance has been shrinking over the years, for sure, but this year it's supposed to be quite obvious. I dunno, maybe I've just read articles from 'haters'? I'll still watch I suppose. We'll see, i guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Mentalist]

 Malankazooie, on 05 April 2019 - 02:51 PM, said:

I've read that E3 is going to be smaller and more muted this year. Its impact and significance has been shrinking over the years, for sure, but this year it's supposed to be quite obvious. I dunno, maybe I've just read articles from 'haters'? I'll still watch I suppose. We'll see, i guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

There are several opinions on this. First of all, this being the year before Sony and Microsoft are supposed to launch the next gen, some see it as "the calm before the storm"- everyone's holding out their "best stuff" for next year to start off next gen with a bang.

Then there's also the thought that with Nintendo engaging its fans through directs, Sony apparently getting ready to follow suit with the State of Play announcements, Microsof doing Inside Xbox every month, EA Play being a whole other thing, etc- E3 as a trade show is losing relevance, and its much easier, cheaper and more effective for devs and publishers to engage their audiences directly via streams on their own terms.

These things point to this E3 possible being "quieter" and more "low key'. Counterpoints to this exist, of course though: in the minds of many consumers E3 is still THE show (iIve heard the phrase "gamers' christmass" thrown around). IN addition, with Google making a Stadia announcement and "more info to follow in the summer", we may have a new challenger jump-starting "the next gen". Who knows, maybe Microsoft's gonna jump the gun as well? (more on that below)

That aside, let's speculate on what publishers might be there and what they'll show:


I) The conference-holders:

EA: though not technically part of E3, and not holding a single "conference", but rather a bunch of fan events and announcments, EA still wants to be part of the E3 conversation. Their big fall game is probably gonna be Respawn's Star Wars (let's hope they have the presence of mind not to release another battlefield/battlefront 2 weeks earlier/later this time). I don't think we'll see the EA Vancouver Star Wars game that Jason Shreier reported on, but who knows? Maybe EA will think outside teh box and address the hardcore fans, for once.
-other things EA has going on:
0) MORE INFO ON JEDI FALLEN ORDER
1) Sports games. There will be sport games announcements. They will be using Frostbite, they will look pretty, and they will have Ultimate Team packs.
2) I think EA is doing something with Plants v Zombies again?
3) Need For Speed might be due for another revival- or could be saved for "next gen"?
4) We will continue seeing nothing from EA Motive (surprise me, EA! I dare you!)
5) Dice will talk about the great Battlefield 5 community and announce a bunch of new content
6) Bioware will talk about theamazing Anthem community and how they want to make the game better. We won't hear almost anything about Dragon Age 4.
7) Sea of Solitude, the EA original indie game, will be showcased and released during the week of E3
8) Andrew Wilson will talk about the amazing numbers of Origin subscribers.
-if Command & Conquer Remaster will be present, they might save it for the PC Gaming Show.

Bethesda: coming off Fallout 76, and with Rage 2 released in May, Bethesda will be all about id. Neither Starfield nor ES6 are gonna get any screen time
-apparently, Arkane's been helping out with Wolvenstein: Young blood. Does this mean that Arkane will have nothing of their own to show? I'll be disappointed if so.
-There will be lots and lots of Doom:Eternal. With a release date
-probably Rage 2 DLC detailed
-There will be lots of numbers: how many people play Quake Champions, how many people play ESO, how many people play the Elder Scrolls card game, How many people play Blades..Amazing communities, one and all
-Also, this is how we're gonna keep fixing Fallout 76
-Will there be anything new? I don't know, but Bethesda took Sony's Monday evening slot. So they'd better be ready for all the unfavourable comparisons, unless they bring something big.

Ubisoft: Well, apparently their big fall title is Watch Dogs 3. So that should be there.
-this begs the question: what the hell's happening with Skull and Bones? Is it delayed (again)? Or will they get ready to release it in the summer (during the "drought"), maybe announcing some kind of beta during the show?
-although my interest in it has been deflated since finding out it's an always online game, Beyond Good and Evil 2 continues to be Ubi's "fan pleaser" title. I'm expecting another gorgeous trailer, maybe snippets of gameplay, but nothing like a release date. In my mind, this is very much a next-gen title, possibly one that they'll partner with Stadia for to get the extra power for their huge, populated solar system.
-one of the few conspicuously absent "walmart Canada leaks" is a new Splinter Cell. Will Ubisoft finally greenlight this?
-Ubisoft does at least one new IP/announcement every E3. So they'll have something to surprise me
-There will be a dancing panda again.

Devolver- their corporate satire won't be as well received this time, since they made Observation an EGS exclusive.
-nevertheless, they'll hopefully show off Serious Sam 4, and (maybe) give us a release date for Metal Wolf Chaos? Wouldn't that be nice?

Squeeenix (if they do a "conference", or a stream, or w/e:
-they wrapped up work on Kingdom Hearts 3, so supposedly they can ramp up on that Final Fantasy 7 remake. Maybe
-Could also be doing some other remakes- following last year's remaster of The last Remnant. (I'd really like to play teh original Nier on PC, so a remaster for all platforms would be nice, please and thank you)
-Octopath Traveller is coming to PC- this would more likely be a PC Gaming show aside - This was already announced and it has a release date
-Tokyo RPG Factory is making that ghost-talking game whose name escapes me. (Okinaki)
-The 2 Eidos studios are plugging away at unspecified Marvel projects- the Avengers, as well as (supposedly) Guardians of the Galaxy. I'd expect one of them at least to show up in Microsoft's conference, given how many marketing deals Squeeenix had with them last E3 (Kingdom Hears 3, Nier Automata, Shadow of the Tomb raider and Just Cause 4 were all shown on Microsoft's stage)
-there's also Life is Strange 2- more episodes of that are probably coming.
-Squeeeenix has other publishing deal (though its recent record isn't looking too great, with the Quiet Man and Left Alive): Platinum's Babylon's Fall, as well as whatever shooter People Can Fly have been working on. Now, I'd hope that Squeeenix has more sense than to send an old-school shooter out to die in the year of Doom Eternal; but the management of former Eidos hasn't been displaying any intelligence, really, so I would not put it past them.
-I mean, this goes without saying, but I continue to yearn and hope for a new Legacy of Kain title.

II)the non-conference-holding major publishers:

Bandai Namco: They, surprisingly enough, might have a lot to show. not only do they have a Dragonball RPG in the works, as well as that "anime vampires Dark Souls"- Code Vein; There are rumourrs that From Software's next project is being published by them as well
-In addition, Bamco has some really interesting publishing deals when it comes to horror- they are publishing both Supermassive's "Dark Pictures Anthology" with its first entry, "Man of Medan" due this year, as well as DontNod's next episodic effort, "Twin Mirror". Bamco revealed JumpForce on Microsoft's stage last year, so they may well be a presence there again.

Koei Tecmo: I strongly doubt they'll be showing off Nioh 2, since it's supposed to be a PlayStation exclusive (at least to start. I'm hoping it'll be another timed exclusive before popping up on PC). Not to familiar with them, tbh. I think Samurai Shodown is something they've got in the works for this year? yeah, dunno.

Capcom- this has been their 2 years so far, going back to basics worked out for them big time. They are on a roll, and I wonder what's next. Seeing as I'm enjoying the re-release of the original Onimusha right now, I'd like more of those; a remake of Resi3 would be nice too, to complete my PC line-up.
-They got so many options, it's hard to even try to guess, really

2K- with Borderlands 3 slated for September, I'm pretty confident we won't be seeing a new Bioshock this year. Firaxis might show off another Civ DLC, or maybe tease X-Com 3?
-I also feel it's too early to port RDR2 to PC. Rockstar'll probably wait until next-gen systems are announced and then do the port along with the next-gen re-releases.

WB: This is an interesting one. They're releasing Mortal Kombat 11 this month, but they'll need something for the fall, beyond a Lego game (i'm pretty sure there's a Lego game every year).
-now WB has potentually up to 4 AAA studios right now who could show off something:
Rocksteady- though they've been hiring for a "next-gen" game; WB Montreal- they're rumoured to have started and scrapped a whole bunch of projects, but they've been quiet since Arkham Origins (which I liked the concept of a lot, but execution was kinda off), so maybe?
-there's also Monolith, who have been hiring for a sci-fi project using the Nemesis system; or that other studio named Avalanche that's rumoured to be making a Harry Potter RPG.
-Out of all these, I'm kinda leaning most towards WB Montreal showing something off, but who knows?

Activision lost destiny; Crash Nitro racing is due a week after E3, so it won't really be news; I dunno enough about Activision to guess what it might talk about besides a new CoD

CDPRED: MOAR CYBERPUNK! Here's hoping they double down with the cool sounding 07.07.2020 release date, show gameplay and such.
-I mean if they donlt I'm still sold, b/c CDPRED is my new Blizzard when it comes to quality.
-Also, turns out Thronebreaker wasn't the other big RPG project, so they're still planning to release another AAA RPG before 2021. So, maaaaaaybe we'll see that as well?

Wildcard: theTHQ Nordic/Deep Silver/Coffee Stain mega-blob. THQN skipped last E3, and they seem to cultivate this "AAA quality on AA budget" image, which means no unnecessary marketing expenses- making it more likely that they'll skip the trip to LA and go hard at Gamescom, which is closer to home for them. E3 participants list shows them as being there
HOWEVER, they've also been on an acquisition spree of beloved IPs (and many of their developers), so who knows?
-with the Deep Silver Merger, Volition and Red faction IP are reunited within the same corporate mega-structure.... surely this means something?
-THQN also bought Timespitters and the studio that worked on those games. Can't rule out a remaster.
-Gunfire Games (formerly Vigil) are working on a co-op post-apoc survival shooter with the most forgettable name ever - Remnant from teh Ashes (Actually, that one's not published by THQN, but by Perfect World, who IS also gonna be @ E3) They're based in Texas, so maybe they'll be there?
Satisfactory is likely to be part of the PC Gaming show.

***
PC gaming show- I expect this to feature about 40-60% games that'll end up Epic store exclusives, since PC Gamer's been playing Epic's cheerleader squad since the exclusivity debacle first really came up with Metro Exodus. Really, I'm mostly looking forward to Sega- since they own most of the biggest names in strategy games, they're heavily vested in PC now, and so they've been constantly bringing their Japanese games to PC. I'm expecting Yakuza Kiwami 2 to be next (it's already rated by the ESRB, Actually it's releasing in May maybe we'll get some Persona games, this time? There's also those Panzer Dragoon remasters (or remakes?) int he works, and it'd be a great time to announce those coming to PC as well
-potential cameos from big publishers with niche, PC-focused games: Ubisoft (the new Settlers game is due this year); EA (The Command & COnquer Remaster); 2k/Firaxis- if there's Civ or X-com news, they might end up here as well.
-Also, Microsoft could show up to show off Age of Empires, 4, or give us some dates about the Master Chief Collection on PC rollout; or maybe even talk about revamping the Windows Store app in general, and making gaming on Windows better.
***

III) The Platform-owners

Nintendo will do some kind of Drirect or other stream, talking about Nintendo things. Nintendo games don't come on PC, as a general rule, so I'll confess to paying very little attention to that world.

Microsoft- well they's got a ton of stuff they could be doing. Aside from the fact that their stage is the one place where all the publishers from II) can really show off their wares, Microsoft has its own stable of studios, as well as all kinds of platform announcements it could make.
-So the obvious ones: Halo Infinite, Gears 5, Battletoads and Ori 2 should all be part of the conference, and we should get release dates for all but Halo
-Which new Studios will have something to show off? My guess is Playground's second team (a Fable teaser) and maybe Ninja theory? I doubt Compulsion, inXile or the Initiative will have anything major yet.
-more interesting will be what's Xbox doing as a platform: is there any validity to the Nintendo collaboration rumour? Are there gonna be any significant changes to gaming on Windows and the PC xbox app?
-WIll we hear more about project Xcloud? Or is Microsoft gonna go super-big and drop the new console reveal before Sony?

Also, wild cards: Google- could be anything Stadia- related. Studio announcements, exclusivity deals, program rollout and fees- literally anything.

-Maybe even Amazon? they've got a studio plugging away on an MMO of some sort, maybe they might be ready to unveil that?

V) other games I'm interested in seeing more of:
-Bloodlines 2
-Greedfall Focus Home isn't listed as a participant, so I'm kinda readyt o wait until Gamescom for this one
-Biomutant
-Dying Light 2
-The Surge 2 May be released by then
Psychonauts 2?

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 10 May 2019 - 02:12 PM

[Malankazooie]

Ok, it's been reported that Sony will have quite a scaled down presence at E3 this year, but the next PlayStation (PlayStation 5?) rumors and/or actual info have been coming out the last few days. This is what has stuck with me (factual or rumor). What have you guys heard/read and/or have been paying attention to?

• Sony small participation at E3 this year but will be back in big way at E3 2020 for big push towards launch.

• SSD sexiness - very fast load screens demonstrated on Spider-Man. Could days of frustrating waits be over? (as you enter buildings/caves/fast travel etc. a la Skyrim & Fallout 4- current examples). This has been touted as a strong attribute of this next console and one that will create a competitive advantage over Xbox (if they don't incorporate the same, which they probably will)

• 8K support. Are there televisions available now in 8K? I guess this is for future adoption?

• Will still have physical media (discs). Allegedly, Xbox next gen will be digital only (rumor?)

• Nothing new/additional about cloud gaming/streaming games from Sony (like Google Stadia or Microsoft have been putting traction behind), but they are supposed to have a lot to say on it. Cloud gaming/Netflix of gaming will be THE 'buzzword' @ E3, I'm predicting

• Death Stranding will realease on PS4 and the new console

• Christmas 2020 launch and GTA 6 will be one of the launch titles.

This post has been edited by Malankazooie: 17 April 2019 - 07:10 PM

[Aptorian]

Supposedly the PS5 will have raytracing but I think that's more like how older GTX cards can simulate what the high end cards can do. Either that or the PS5 will cost 1500$.

I wouldn't get my hopes up for the SSD. Sure it'll make loading textures, etc a lot faster but developers will just cram in more information for the system to load. Just like games continue to favour visual splendor over fps.

Where are you hearing this GTA6 thing from? That game is at least three years away. If they even make a GTA next. Supposedly the Housers are leary about attempting a GTA in the current political climate. I'd be willing to bet we get a new IP for a new generation or maybe something old.

[Galactic Council]

 Aptorian, on 17 April 2019 - 07:19 PM, said:

I wouldn't get my hopes up for the SSD. Sure it'll make loading textures, etc a lot faster but developers will just cram in more information for the system to load. Just like games continue to favour visual splendor over fps.

I agree with this. The demonstration was running a PS4 game on what is supposedly PS5 architecture. Actual PS5 games will likely not load that fast.

The 8K thing I also take with a pinch of salt, much like they said PS4 Pro will run 4K at 60fps, which about ten games actually do.

- Khell

[Mentalist]

 Aptorian, on 17 April 2019 - 07:19 PM, said:

Supposedly the PS5 will have raytracing but I think that's more like how older GTX cards can simulate what the high end cards can do. Either that or the PS5 will cost 1500$.

I wouldn't get my hopes up for the SSD. Sure it'll make loading textures, etc a lot faster but developers will just cram in more information for the system to load. Just like games continue to favour visual splendor over fps.

Where are you hearing this GTA6 thing from? That game is at least three years away. If they even make a GTA next. Supposedly the Housers are leary about attempting a GTA in the current political climate. I'd be willing to bet we get a new IP for a new generation or maybe something old.

I heard rumours that Bully 2, is R* next project.

@ kazooie: Sony's position on streaming is pretty set- PS Now was the original 1st party streaming service. So they'll keep iterating on that, but they won't be pushing it as a front and centre service, but rather an auxillary to the console ecosystem.

Microsoft's not gonna go all digital yet- latest rumours suggest they'll have 2 boxes- one possibly discless and focused on streaming, and a bigger, more expensive box that packs more power than XOX.
-they're clearly pushing hard for "Xbox as a service" with allt he rumours of an Xbox app (and games) showing up on the Switch, as well as potentially bringing backwards compatibility of the Xbox catalogue to PC through emulation. Take all together, it makes Microsoft the least predicatable of the Big 3, since they have so many potential directions to take now.

[Mentalist]

Squeeenix confirms E3 showcase Monday night (sony's slot? I though Beth was doing that? )

I want Babylon's Fall gameplay. All the hype is about Avengers and FF7 remake, but I'm skeptical as to whether they'd make those "next gen games" or release now.

My wish list would be a remaster of the original Nier coming to PC + a new Legacy of Kain game (obviously).

[Malankazooie]

Well, we're a month out. Any pre-show hype got you guys salivating? Any leaks you found to share with us? What might make a big splash at the show?

Cyberpunk 2077 has been pretty quiet. I'd like to know if there will be anything forthcoming about it.
Oh yeah, and Death Stranding.

[Mentalist]

News today:

Ubi announced the next Ghost Recon game: Breakpoint- basically Wildlands 2.0 releasing October 4th. This puts both the rumoured Watch Dogs 3, and the continuously-delayed Skull & Bones into interesting position, since the question is, how's Ubi gonna space all these releases?




Squeeenix showed up for PlayStation's State of Play stream and showed a new FF7 remake trailer, with "more to come in June" . Who knows, maybe they will to go all out with Avengers and FF7-R after all?



Cyberpunk confirmed a while ago, they will be @ E3, and they'll be showing loads. Techland also recently tweeted that Dying Light 2 will be at E3 as well.

EA did their earnings call and next fiscal year projections, and they basically said they've got a new PvZ shooter, a new Need For Speed, Jedi: Fallen Order + the usual gaggle of sports games. So no Dice battleshooter this fall, and i'm not expecting any Dragon Age 4 news from Bioware, given they're only now putting a team together to come up with a new concept, apparently based on the foundations of "Anthem" .

Also, Bandai Namco's Code Vein (aka, "anime Dark Souls") had a preview event and a bunch of impressions are out there. What i'm getting from it is that although it has some interesting quirks on teh formula (AI companions, focus on story, ability to combine skills from different classes), it's not looking very polished on the technical side (animations), and personally, the overall aesthetic is a bit dull.
Still, we can probably expect a showing at E3 (probably Xbox, since it was shown there before), and maybe even a release date?

EDit May 10th: Capcom released its financial forecast: only major title for 2019-2020 year is the Iceborne expansion for Monster Hunter: World. Increased digital revenue suggests more re-releases on PC and switch, so maybe more Onimusha re-releases incoming? But major AAA announcements seem unlikely.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 10 May 2019 - 12:10 PM

[Malankazooie]

I guess Assassin's Creed Vikings has been debunked. So I'm interested in hearing any announcements about the next title. I think the ancient world trilogy could still been in the works. I wouldn't mind if they finished that up and then missed a year as they shift to a different setting/era. I still need to play Odyssey.

[Aptorian]

There's no AC this year. We're getting Ghost Recon and probably maybe Watch Dogs 3 and that pirate naval warfare game.

[Mentalist]

 Malankazooie, on 10 May 2019 - 05:41 PM, said:

I guess Assassin's Creed Vikings has been debunked. So I'm interested in hearing any announcements about the next title. I think the ancient world trilogy could still been in the works. I wouldn't mind if they finished that up and then missed a year as they shift to a different setting/era. I still need to play Odyssey.

The more I think about it, the more Vikings would make sense. Not from the "ancient world trilo" perspective, but from the "mythology-angle trilo" perspective. Egyptian, Greek and Norse mythologies are the 3 best known and established in Western thinking- probably cuz we know the most about them and they have the benefit of pretty clear divine hierarchy and extensive bestiaries to draw from. We've seen other myth-focused games draw on this trifecta (Age of Mythology, Titan quest), so this move makes sense, even if the 4chan leak was debunked as fabricated footage.

[Mentalist]

Cyanide confirms that Werewolf: The Apocalypse RPG will be shown @ E3

[Malankazooie]

Oh yeah. The Last of Us Part II. I would like more info to be shown at E3 this year. It's supposed to release this year (2019), right?

[Mentalist]

 Malankazooie, on 13 May 2019 - 08:28 PM, said:

Oh yeah. The Last of Us Part II. I would like more info to be shown at E3 this year. It's supposed to release this year (2019), right?

That's the current rumour.

Since Sony is skipping E3, it'd have to be another State of Play stream. Whether they'll do one in June or later is anyone's guess.

[Aptorian]

Is it just me being inattentive this year or is there a much smaller and slower drip of E3 leaks and announcements leading up to this years show?

Feels like 2019 is a slump before the 2020 extravaganza.

[Mentalist]

 Aptorian, on 14 May 2019 - 06:58 PM, said:

Is it just me being inattentive this year or is there a much smaller and slower drip of E3 leaks and announcements leading up to this years show?

Feels like 2019 is a slump before the 2020 extravaganza.

Well, it seems like someone at ubi just leaked a new Splinter Cell on Twitter, so...

Also, PC gaming Show's main sponsor this year is EGS- with more exclusive announcements coming. Sigh.
-and Sega's not showing up b/c "timing's not right". Double sigh, no Persona ports for PC this year, looks like.

Squeeenix also teased that they'll have more info to reveal throughout May and June leading up to E3, so... keep you eyes peeled? I guess?

[Mentalist]

Ubi financials report announced that Skull & Bones is delayed... again. Will not be shown @ E3

Ubi is planning to release FOUR AAA games before April 2020. Only confirmed one is Ghost Recon Breakpoint, launching Oct 4th. The other 3 are yet to be revealed.

Hmmm. Loads of speculation on Watch Dogs 3 out there, but ionno. Seems too similar to Breakpoint to release two open-world AAA stealth-shooters in a close succession (even if one is more co-op based).