With E3 2012 being a little under a month away a few of the writers of HeyUGuys Gaming wanted to toss out some predictions for what we think could conceivably be unveiled at the mecca of all gaming shows. Some predictions will fall into the land of the plausible while some might traverse the outer rims of absurdity, but take this adventure with us through the universe of conjecture; some things may even come true.
Tim Utley’s predictions
Nintendo:
This year could either return Nintendo to dominance or render them obsolete. This year at E3 Nintendo has the opportunity to create some waves especially in the hardware department. First I think Nintendo will change the name of the Wii U not drastically, but at least enough to make it not seem like an expansion to its predecessor. The Wii branding is strong, but not using “2” or “next” will create more confusion than interest.
Nintendo has come out and said that they will not announce pricing or a release date for Wii U. I think that the system needs to generate some consumer buzz so I think both a price and at least a tentative release date will be unveiled (especially if they plan on releasing it this year).
With the Nintendo 3DS being sold under cost I think that they will announce more colors (in addition to the Midnight Purple one) packaged with software. Soft bundles are a great way to recuperate revenue and Nintendo is no stranger to just that. Especially look for a New Super Mario Bros. 2 soft bundle to be announced.
Launch titles will be announced for the Wii U and look for some strong first party support. Nintendo can’t afford to make the same mistakes as the 3DS and in some regards the Wii. Big titles like maybe a new Metroid from Retro Studios or a Mario 64-esque title will be announced for launch or launch window.
The Rayman Legends trailer leaked some interesting features of the Wii U tablet controller so definitely look for more features and capabilities of that tablet at E3.
Pokemon Black and White 2 have been announced for the DS not the 3DS. 3DS specific features will be implemented into the game and maybe even incorporate the Pokedex 3D.
Sony:
The House of Playstation has seen better days. I feel more so than anyone Sony needs to come out the gate swinging and have a huge E3 chock full of announcements and unveilings.
The PS Vita will get a price drop. The Wifi only model will drop to sub $200 (~£123) and the Wifi/3G model will drop down to $200 – $250(~£123 – £154). This price drop must happen to stimulate sales for Sony’s handheld. They will take a beating on the bottom line, but the more people that have the systems in their hands come fall mean more software sales during the holiday season. Expect the price drop to come into effect sometime around August.
A Monster Hunter title will be announced for PS Vita in addition to a Gran Turismo and InFamous title.
Sony will not mention anything about the “Orbis”. The Playstation 3 still has plenty of legs to stand on and they don’t want to prematurely scare any developers into thinking otherwise.
Sony will showcase an incredible lineup of their first party software coming this fall including a release date for The Last of Us. Also more details about the game will surface.
Microsoft:
Microsoft has been trading blows with Apple for far too long and at this E3 they are going to lay it on thick with tons of new stuff that will further integrate all of their products together.
They have teased at an Xbox Lite, a piece of hardware that would be a direct competitor to Apple TV. This product needs to do everything that Apple TV does and more. Connect with PCs via Media Center and hell maybe even Macs. Streaming media with access to XBLA titles with a built in hard drive (20 GB sounds good) will make this a sure fire piece of hardware for the modern family’s living room.
Xbox NEXT, Loop, Durango or whatever the heck the new Xbox will be called, will be announced at E3. Nothing concrete however, maybe just some potential new partnerships and maybe hint at a title or two. No price or release date and maybe no specs, just hype machine material.
Microsoft will announce a free-to-play game to launch on Xbox Live this year. That might seem contradictory because Xbox Live isn’t free, but this game will be available for download at no additional cost. This game will either be a shooter or a dungeon crawler of sorts.
Everyone else: (or my absurd predictions/dreams)
Sega will be bought by Microsoft. Through this acquisition Microsoft will obtain the blueprint for the long awaited Dreamcast 2. Microsoft will launch 2 systems in 2013 and decimate all competition.
THQ will announce their closure to the public. They will hold a silent auction at E3 and sell off all of their properties to the highest bidders.
Studio Japan will announce a release date for The Last Guardian.
Capcom will announce a sequel to Auto Modellista that will be developed by the defunct studio Bizarre Creations.
Resident Evil 6 will not have on-disc DLC, but rather it will use a proprietary peripheral in which the game can only be played with.
Konami will strip Platinum Games of their duties for Metal Gear Rising and give them to Half Brick. Metal Gear Rising will be rebranded again as Metal Fruit Rising Chef.
Halo 4 will have a paid service like Call of Duty Elite. It will be called Bungie Didn’t Make This Game So Pay For Your Stats Prime (a free version will come out 2 years after release).
Paul Collett’s predictions
Generally, I think this will be a quiet show. It’s the calm before the storm as it were as all the big companies prepare for their next gene machines, which will hit bit next year
Nintendo:
I think Nintendo will be focusing most of their powers on the Wii U, after the luke warm reception last year and rumors abound that it’s not actually that powerful, they need to wow people. Not just with a new Mario or Zelda game, but what the Wii U can actually bring to gamers. Along with that we will be seeing the next wave of 3DS games and new downloadable features. Hopefully, Rayman Legends will be on display along with that fancy new toy recognition software.
Sony:
Sony will be pushing the Vita loads this year. After pretty lack luster launch and lack of games coming out in the near future, Like Nintendo, Sony need to show what the Vita can do. Hopefully they will be showing how the Vita can be used in conjunction with the PS3, either as its own controller, or at least demonstrate remote play working. I don’t think we’ll be seeing PS4, however their might be a logo and perhaps tech demos of Little Big Planet 3, and another Sony Flagship brands such as Uncharted and God of War. Speaking of which, God of War Ascension will be their big game. Sony will also be showing off the new game from Quantic Dreams and there will be a playable version of The Last of US.
Microsoft:
The big M will have the quitest show, they have no new hardware to push, unless its the big reveal of the 720. Again like sony, I don’t think we’ll be seeing the console in full, perhaps some teasers. They will also be showing off Halo 4, the only big exclusive game they have at the moment, and the next wave of Kinect titles. Other than that, Microsoft, in terms of exclusives is pretty thin on the ground. So I would expect one last hurrah from perhaps the likes of Epic.
The General things:
This year’s show is going to be the pre-match highlights. We’ll probably see Bungie’s new game but not playable, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron will be there in playable form as well as Insomniac’s first multi-platform game.
After everything is said and done it will be a quiet show. All the big game announcements seem to be made at the VGA’s so I don’t think we’ll be seeing anything that will get us really excited, perhaps Half Life 3 and GTA 5…
Tony Hick’s predictions
Microsoft:
I think the majority of Microsoft this year will be Halo 4, A big reveal will probably happen and we will all get a huge peek into both multiplayer and single player portions of the game, as Microsoft has a deal with Bethesda, Microsoft will show off Skyrim’s first DLC Dawnguard.
Nintendo:
More information on the Wii-U and maybe announcing more big titles coming to the platform, more releases for the Nintendo 3DS.
Sony:
No comment
Miscellaneous:
There has been a lot of great titles already announced this year (Assassin’s Creed 3, Black Ops 2, Medal of Honor Warfighter, Bioshock Infinite etc) there will be more revealed about them and a host of gameplay demos to be seen showing each game.
I think there will be a solid release date in place for GTA: V that will most likely take place not long before E3 starts.
It’s not going to happen but is always talked about every year is Valve revealing Half Life 3, It is highly unlikely but we can all be hopeful.
As an avid Battlefield 3 player I would also really like a peek into the future DLC beyond Close Quarters, maybe DICE could throw us a peek into Armored Kill.
As for the “next-gen” I don’t think anything will be revealed this year, I think the next generation of consoles will hit E3 2013 where prices will be revealed along with a list of launch titles.
That about wraps up what we think will happen at E3 2012. Like I said prior, some of these predictions are legit and some not so much, but we like to keep you guessing. Do you have any thoughts or predictions of your own? Would you like to see any of the things mentioned actually happen? If so drop us a line in the comments section and stay tuned as E3 creeps closer.
