It's that time of year again. There's not much point in pushing this on the front page this year when Nintendo have all but opted out of E3 (though we'll obviously cover any news that comes from Sun/Moon's appearance on Tuesday), but there's still plenty to discuss - so let's round it up as we normally do:
This year's conference schedule is more or less the same as it has been the past few years, but EA and Bethesda are getting the jump on everyone tomorrow, moving EA out of the slot in between Microsoft and Sony's conferences on Monday, with the returning PC Gamer conference taking its place instead. These times are all in British Summer Time (UTC+1) and local time in LA (UTC+7). You'll need to extrapolate your own local time from that.
You might notice that there won't be a Square Enix conference this year following their very first one last year. No word if that has anything to with how fantastically awkward last year's was, but PC Gamer's somehow survived despite it so...
Handily, we've also got all the Twitch streams available right here too, so set your alarms appropriately and keep this thread handy:
Sunday 12th June
EA Conference - 1pm PST / 9pm BST
EA are in effect skipping E3 this year by not having any floor presence during the show itself (and it isn't alone in going this way, either, as we'll come to) but lead the way in what's now effectively the real show of the live publisher press conferences. Meanwhile, EA will be holding a direct event not far from the events of E3 in LA, a similar event in London and will likely be offering some content up on EA Access - which is free of use to all Xbox Live Gold members from the start of E3 on the 12th until the 22nd - to give players a direct chance to play and see some of the new titles away from the 'exclusivity' of E3.
Here's what we can largely expect to see from EA this year:
Bethesda Conference - 7pm PST / 3am BST
So, Bethesda joined PC Gamer and Squeenix last year as conference rookies, but by far blew the other two out of the water, partly by Todd Howard's charm and frankness and partly by focusing on the content of the games themselves. Now, we kinda already know what Bethesda's bringing to the party this year 'cos someone was a naughty boy and told everyone, but it doesn't reaaally seem like they have anything as big as the draws of seeing Fallout 4 and Doom with in-depth gameplay for the very first time, so it might be tough to justify staying up until 4am to watch the whole thing. Not that it'll stop us...
Monday 13th June
Microsoft Conference 9:30am PST / 5:30pm BST
- also live on Xbox.com and Xbox One.
Microsoft have somewhat got something to prove here at E3 this year. They're currently selling a lot less Xboxes than they want to be, they recently just killed off Lionhead after forcing them down the path of folly with Fable Legends and their push for cross-platform support on PC is faltering with users after disasters like Quantum Break's release and an increasing PR problem for Windows 10.
We do know now that Microsoft are working on a more powerful version of the Xbox One (codenamed Scorpio) which in any other generation would effectively be a brand new console, but in this generation of PCs in fancy boxes will likely just mean a better experience of the same content for those that splash out - but these waters are somewhat muddied by the fact that they're also planning a refreshed version of the exact same hardware in the Xbox One in a smaller box, to likely be announced at E3.
Ultimately, though, Microsoft will focus - as it has for each previous E3 under Phil Spencer's reign - on the games, which is something they've unarguably had Sony dead to rights over. Here's what we expect:
PC Gamer Conference 11:30am PST / 7:30pm BST
The good news is that you don't have to stay up late this time. The bad news is it probably still won't be worth it. There were some announcements last year - with the biggest one probably being the Total War: Warhammer crossover which released just a few weeks ago. Chances are that Phil Spencer will show up again to try and push the Windows gaming message even harder, but if you're holding out hope that Gabe Newell is going to show up with a boxed copy of Half Life 3... well, it might be better to just go and get some dinner instead...
We don't really have an expected list of games for this one as it's not a publisher-driven event, but they do claim that "This year's show will be more focused, but packed with tons of new announcements and exclusive reveals." So... hey, that's something right?
Ubisoft Conference 1pm PST / 9pm BST
We'd probably expected Ubisoft to focus their conference on the announcement of Watch_Dogs 2 - the game we already knew was coming anyway and was tipped to take Assassin's Creed's normal spot in November as the series takes a much-needed pause this year- but then they went and spilled the beans on it last week...
Chances are it'll still take up a decent chunk of the show - and probably one or both of either Microsoft or Sony's conferences too - but it does make you wonder what the real meat of the conference will be without that reveal.
And yes, Aisha Tyler is back with her massive hands and girl wood.
Games to expect:
Sony Conference 6pm PST / 2am BST
- also live on Playstation 4
If Microsoft has something to prove over how few consoles they've sold relative to where they want to be, then Sony has something to prove over how they're going to encourage you to buy a new version of your existing console as well as spend £350 on their VR headset.
Sony recently confirmed the rumours that they will be bringing out a more powerful version of the PS4 (dubbed by most as the PS4K, but seemingly going without an official name so far), but that they won't be covering it at E3. Which is a bit odd for a new bit of hardware due out this year, but it would seem to be all about controlling the message - or in this case, avoiding the message being about how much money Sony expects you to cough up this Autumn...
This is what we can expect though:
Tuesday 14th June
Nintendo Treehouse Live 9am PST / 5pm BST
So... yeah... This is a bit awkward. Far from being the E3 where Nintendo rises from the ashes of the Wii U and the loss of Iwata like a phoenix, they're really just kind of there this year and that's it. We do know that we'll be seeing a lot of the new Zelda and some of Pokemon Sun and Moon during this show - so that's a positive at least. Of course, that new Zelda is also confirmed to be coming to the NX as well as the Wii U - rendering the Wii U version that we'll be seeing a bit moot...
It is somewhat concerning that Nintendo have drawn back so much over the NX that they've completely abandoned their E3 show, and it adds to a bit of a worrying theme of this year's E3 of it really being just as much about who and what isn't there as what is.... With EA, Activision and Ubisoft not playing ball with the main E3 show whatsoever, Nintendo pulling back completely from pretty much the whole show and with a new console (effectively) from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo all deliberately not at the show (despite 2 of those definitely being released before next year's) it's all just a bit of a mess...
With Nintendo, it's clear that the loss of Iwata was a massive one that is still being felt. It also seems to be threatening to pull Nintendo closer into being Kyoto-centric after recent management reshuffles and the likelihood that we will finally see the NX at this year's Tokyo Game Show in September rather than E3 this week. A general lack of communication from the company to its fans also stings the most after Iwata's reign led to an increasingly communicative and increasingly frank (for Nintendo) company.
With Pokemon Sun and Moon being the only major new title Nintendo have to offer between now and March's supposed NX launch, it's a massively rough time for the company and its fans and a lack of progression at E3 this year won't do anything to stave that off, unfortunately...
This year's conference schedule is more or less the same as it has been the past few years, but EA and Bethesda are getting the jump on everyone tomorrow, moving EA out of the slot in between Microsoft and Sony's conferences on Monday, with the returning PC Gamer conference taking its place instead. These times are all in British Summer Time (UTC+1) and local time in LA (UTC+7). You'll need to extrapolate your own local time from that.
You might notice that there won't be a Square Enix conference this year following their very first one last year. No word if that has anything to with how fantastically awkward last year's was, but PC Gamer's somehow survived despite it so...
Handily, we've also got all the Twitch streams available right here too, so set your alarms appropriately and keep this thread handy:
Sunday 12th June
EA Conference - 1pm PST / 9pm BST
EA are in effect skipping E3 this year by not having any floor presence during the show itself (and it isn't alone in going this way, either, as we'll come to) but lead the way in what's now effectively the real show of the live publisher press conferences. Meanwhile, EA will be holding a direct event not far from the events of E3 in LA, a similar event in London and will likely be offering some content up on EA Access - which is free of use to all Xbox Live Gold members from the start of E3 on the 12th until the 22nd - to give players a direct chance to play and see some of the new titles away from the 'exclusivity' of E3.
Here's what we can largely expect to see from EA this year:
- Battlefield 1 - the WWI themed Battlefront game announced only a few weeks ago
- Titanfall 2 - this time the game will be launching on both consoles at once and will reportedly have more single player content, which might make the premise of the original game a bit more accessible to those not looking for a competitive online shooter that fades away within 6 months...
- Star Wars Battlefront - there's still plenty of new content on the way for the first Star Wars Battlefront game and EA recently confirmed there will be a sequel to Battlefront next year, so we might just see some of that too
- More Star Wars - EA's got one of the hottest video game licenses in the world and it will definitely be using it a lot. The same call that confirmed a sequel to Battlefront confirmed that the action game, expected be in a similar vein to Uncharted, is expected within the next year. If it can make it here for the end of this one, it'd be a hell of a feather in EA's Christmas Cap - especially with Rogue One out in November.
- Sports! - Ok, sure, most of us probably turn on our phones at this point but hey, it's EA's bread and butter and these games all sell really well so who can really blame them. Watch out for pretty new trailers for games like FIFA, though - with this year's new titles moving onto EA's gorgeous Frostbite engine - the one behind such sexy games as Star Wars Battlefront and Battlefield...
- Mass Effect Andromeda - this game isn't out this year any more, but it prooobably will make it out before next E3 so this will remain the game's big E3 push. We might even get a solid date out of it, but we'd settle for an actual look at the game in action and some proper details.
- Peggle/Plants Vs Zombies - the Garden Warfare series has wound up being a pretty big hit for PvsZ and perhaps represents a path we might see Peggle taking as well in trying a new genre's outfit on to try within the franchise. It's unlikely we'll see a GW3, but the Popcap titles have been big wins for EA now that they've finally put their acquisition to good work so don't be surprised to see one or both of these franchises come out with something new this week.
Bethesda Conference - 7pm PST / 3am BST
So, Bethesda joined PC Gamer and Squeenix last year as conference rookies, but by far blew the other two out of the water, partly by Todd Howard's charm and frankness and partly by focusing on the content of the games themselves. Now, we kinda already know what Bethesda's bringing to the party this year 'cos someone was a naughty boy and told everyone, but it doesn't reaaally seem like they have anything as big as the draws of seeing Fallout 4 and Doom with in-depth gameplay for the very first time, so it might be tough to justify staying up until 4am to watch the whole thing. Not that it'll stop us...
- Skyrim HD - is the biggie it seems. An Xbox one and PS4 update of the best seller Skyrim is apparently on the cards, and while it certainly won't bemoan a bit of polish and a fresh coat of paint, the major draw would seem to be the inclusion of mods on the consoles under the same mechanics that Fallout 4 recently launched on the Xbox One. With a massive library of mods on PC already available this does rather open up a lot of new opportunities for the game on console even if you've already put hundreds of hours into it. If you've put hundreds of hours into it on PC, however, you've probably already played it as prettily as it's going to get with as many mods as you can be bothered with, so it's unlikely to have much to offer, but you never know what they might have up their sleeves...
- Prey 2 is apparently coming after all - despite being cancelled following concerns with development. This time from a completely different studio, rebuilt from the ground up.
- Wolfenstein: New Order 2 - the original New Order game was a fantastic game built around a great take on alternate history that really earned slapping a title like Wolfenstein onto the box. Who knows how far they can push the alternate history with a sequel, but it'll be great to see a look at it for sure
- Evil Within 2 - With Konami in full on auto-destruct mode there's a definite gap in the market for a game like Evil Within, so it's not a surprise that Bethesda are apparently ready to go with a sequel
- Dishonored 2 - was announced at last year's conference and is due out on the 11th November this year. We'd expect it to get as in-depth a look as Fallout got last year, really.
- Elder Scrolls Legends - This year's E3 drinking game is to down your drink every time a Hearthstone clone appears in an E3 conference. Thankfully for your liver, the conferences are pretty spread out, because you'll be doing it a lot. We already know about Bethesda's, but don't be surprised if EA pips them to the post with one first.
Monday 13th June
Microsoft Conference 9:30am PST / 5:30pm BST
- also live on Xbox.com and Xbox One.
Microsoft have somewhat got something to prove here at E3 this year. They're currently selling a lot less Xboxes than they want to be, they recently just killed off Lionhead after forcing them down the path of folly with Fable Legends and their push for cross-platform support on PC is faltering with users after disasters like Quantum Break's release and an increasing PR problem for Windows 10.
We do know now that Microsoft are working on a more powerful version of the Xbox One (codenamed Scorpio) which in any other generation would effectively be a brand new console, but in this generation of PCs in fancy boxes will likely just mean a better experience of the same content for those that splash out - but these waters are somewhat muddied by the fact that they're also planning a refreshed version of the exact same hardware in the Xbox One in a smaller box, to likely be announced at E3.
Ultimately, though, Microsoft will focus - as it has for each previous E3 under Phil Spencer's reign - on the games, which is something they've unarguably had Sony dead to rights over. Here's what we expect:
- ReCore - Announced via CGI trailer last year, this collaboration with Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune is supposedly still due out this year. We will at least see something from the game this E3 but I'd kind of hedge my bets at it being out this year...
- Scalebound - Unfortunately we already know that this hotly anticipated title from Platinum Games won't be out this year, but it likely won't stop it appearing at the show. Perhaps we'll see more of the multiplayer feature teased last year?
- Crackdown 3 - This has been in the pipeline for years, and technologically could be amazing - with the power of Microsoft's Azure cloud platform being used to take care of tricksy physics calculations to allow total destruction of the entire world around you. You might even get to play it one day.
- Gears of War 4 - Yet another title that seems to have been on the way forever, but the time is drawing near with a nailed in release date of 11th October this year. This will be Microsoft's big push for the end of this year, so expect to see plenty of it.
- Cuphead - God I love the style of this game. It's taken years of appearing at E3 without an actual release date - but with Microsoft pouring money at Studio MDHR to add more depth to the game with a full platforming single player campaign it seems like it's been worth the wait. It might not be as ambitiously huge as No Man's Sky, but Cuphead is the indie game to watch this year as far as I'm concerned.
- Minecraft - It's pretty likely we'll see a lot more brands appearing in Minecraft officially - especially after Microsoft closed down any of them using it unofficially recently. What it should at least mean is plenty of console DLC in the future.
- Windows 10 - Despite upgradegate, the increasing synergy between Microsoft's products will mean a closer relationship between Xbox and Windows. It didn't do Quantum Break any favours, but more cross-buys, more cross-plays and more Windows Store releases of Xbox games are on the way regardless. On the other side, the full update to the Xbox running Windows 10 will finally see Universal Windows Apps running on the Xbox, opening the doors for more apps starting with the social ones like Facebook and Twitter as well as the long-awaited integration of Cortana to the Xbox One - assuming you've got a Kinect...
- Halo Wars 2 - Halo Wars ended up being an unintended swansong for the Age of Empires developers, Ensemble Studios, but it was a pretty good one all the same. It managed to make, from the ground up, a console RTS that actually worked. Ensemble may be gone, but there's still life in the idea that an RTS can work on a console when done right, so more Halo Wars is a great thing.
- Dead Rising 4 - Well, we already know this is coming thanks to more naughty boys, but frankly we'd have been as well off waiting anyway as the information we have now is pretty confusing. The game definitely has a 4 in the title, but seems to effectively be a remake of the first Dead Rising game - but set at Christmas instead for some reason. Perhaps the real reveal will make some sense of it all.
- Forza Horizon 3 - Forza 6 was last year, so the pattern stands to reason that Forza Horizon 3 is this year... Horizon 2 was an excellent game that was somewhat less technically impressive than the main series, but ultimately felt a bit like playing a game adaption of one of Clarkson's Top Gear adventures. Horizon 3 hopefully won't be a bit like Chris Evans' embarrassing attempt to rebottle that flame.
- Sea of Thieves - It's an actual game, that has nothing to do with Kinect or Avatars, from RARE and it has pirates and some sort of multiplayer in it. We know bugger all else - which will probably be fixed during the conference - but frankly beyond a release date we don't need to know that much more anyway...
- Oculus Rift - We already know that a partnership exists between Microsoft and Facebook's Oculus - including promising sort-of attempt at support for Xbox games via Windows streaming and obviously the inclusion of an Xbox One controller with every Oculus Rift - but there are reports of Microsoft looking to make that closer to compete against Playstation VR. That may well end up being the focus of the 'Scorpio' model instead - given the power requirements necessary to actually run VR off the console - but Microsoft will likely say something in relation to this as it's a bit hard to ignore in the face of Sony's conference and the consumer releases of Oculus and Valve's headsets...
PC Gamer Conference 11:30am PST / 7:30pm BST
The good news is that you don't have to stay up late this time. The bad news is it probably still won't be worth it. There were some announcements last year - with the biggest one probably being the Total War: Warhammer crossover which released just a few weeks ago. Chances are that Phil Spencer will show up again to try and push the Windows gaming message even harder, but if you're holding out hope that Gabe Newell is going to show up with a boxed copy of Half Life 3... well, it might be better to just go and get some dinner instead...
We don't really have an expected list of games for this one as it's not a publisher-driven event, but they do claim that "This year's show will be more focused, but packed with tons of new announcements and exclusive reveals." So... hey, that's something right?
Ubisoft Conference 1pm PST / 9pm BST
We'd probably expected Ubisoft to focus their conference on the announcement of Watch_Dogs 2 - the game we already knew was coming anyway and was tipped to take Assassin's Creed's normal spot in November as the series takes a much-needed pause this year- but then they went and spilled the beans on it last week...
Chances are it'll still take up a decent chunk of the show - and probably one or both of either Microsoft or Sony's conferences too - but it does make you wonder what the real meat of the conference will be without that reveal.
And yes, Aisha Tyler is back with her massive hands and girl wood.
Games to expect:
- Watch_Dogs 2 - which we've already covered
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole - announced last year but quiet since, this game is a much-demanded superhero-focused follow up to the amazing Stick of Truth. Hopefully it'll squeeze out a release this year, but we're sure to see more of the game at E3 either way.
- Ghost Recon: Wildlands - also announced last year, this is a sort of refresh of the Ghost Recon franchise that takes the series into what Ubisoft claims is its largest ever open world. It somewhat seems like a more down-to-earth version of Just Cause, but hopefully it'll have the depth to survive that comparison without the fun of tying guards to gas canisters and blowing them up.
- For Honor - This melee-action game was also announced last year, but again we've not seen too much about it. It seems like it'll be Ubisoft's answer to Dynasty Wars - with Vikings. Sounds good to me...
- The Division - Much like Destiny, this game will be supported for some time with new content and DLC, so even though it's already out, there'll be a bit of noise for it at E3 all the same.
- Rabbids Heroes - Yup, it's time to down that drink again. This is already doing the rounds as a public beta, but a proper release will likely be confirmed here.
- More Rabbids - Until the inevitable Rabbids Vs Minions: Dawn of Merchwhores crossover, you can be damned certain there'll be more Rabbids.
- Rayman? - The lack of success of the Wii U has somewhat harmed Rayman a bit as Ubisoft were clearly expecting Legends to be the first of many releases on the system. Its legacy is somewhat spared by a re-release on the other consoles, but the limbless mascot has been relegated to endless running on mobile phones since. It'd be nice to see more true platforming from Rayman.
- Assassin's Creed - Just 'cos there isn't a game this year, doesn't mean this is going anywhere. The movie is due out at the end of the year, almost in place of the normal game, and since Ubisoft is actually involved in the making of it, it's not unlikely it'll get some E3 coverage... Meanwhile, we might not be playing Assassin's Creed this year, but the supposedly Ancient Egypt-set 2017 soft-reboot might yet be seen at the show itself. Especially since Ubisoft likes to end their shows with a big reveal of a game due a year later...
Sony Conference 6pm PST / 2am BST
- also live on Playstation 4
If Microsoft has something to prove over how few consoles they've sold relative to where they want to be, then Sony has something to prove over how they're going to encourage you to buy a new version of your existing console as well as spend £350 on their VR headset.
Sony recently confirmed the rumours that they will be bringing out a more powerful version of the PS4 (dubbed by most as the PS4K, but seemingly going without an official name so far), but that they won't be covering it at E3. Which is a bit odd for a new bit of hardware due out this year, but it would seem to be all about controlling the message - or in this case, avoiding the message being about how much money Sony expects you to cough up this Autumn...
This is what we can expect though:
- Horizon: Zero Dawn - this was one of the most pleasant surprises from any of last year's conferences - let alone Sony's. The action-adventure game looks like a strong swing for a brand new IP, but unfortunately was also confirmed last week to be slipping into next year.
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Sony's been ponying up the money for special privileges with Call of Duty lately and that'll continue this year. Of course, with Infinite Warfare quietly announcing itself earlier in the year, that deal seems somewhat less explosive than when Microsoft were commanding it in the Xbox 360 era, but it'll still bag CoD a spot on the show.
- The Last Guardian - Will it ever actually come out? It'll definitely be at E3 following a re-emergence from silence last month, but a release date of 2016 seems... ambitious...
- INDIES - Sony love Indie devs you guys. They love them soooo much. They'll make sure you know this by going on about upcoming games from indie devs for at least 15 minutes solid.
- No Man's Sky - Even the massive world of No Man's Sky is going to seem pretty small by the time we're done with all these E3 demos of it. It is, at least, finally due for release this August despite a last minute delay.
- Playstation VR - This is Sony's crux for the entire show this year. This £350 device (plus more for the Playstation Camera if you don't already own it...) may at least be cheaper than the full-fat alternatives of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive - but we've seen next-to-nothing of actual consumer content for it to actually make it worth that cost. Part of the problem is that it's actually really hard to convey the strengths of a VR game when you can only show it in 2D, flat video anyway. The other part of the problem is that those 2D, flat videos will show up the fact that these games are going to be heavily downgraded visually in order to render out the necessary frames for the headset. Having had a go on all three, I can personally say the PS VR is the weakest on merit - so it's got an uphill battle to climb in making sure the content is at least engaging enough to look past the inherent downsides.
- Sonic the Hedgehog - Yes, I know it says Sony, not Sega. Hear me out. This year is Sonic's 25th anniversary and we are pretty certain there's a big anniversary game due out this year from the actual Sonic Team guys (not the ones behind the abomination that is Sonic Boom). It seems pretty likely given how silent they've been otherwise that we'll finally see that game at E3 and while it's likely to be multiplatform, it's also a good shout that Sony will be the ones to reveal it as they're also working with Sega to make a live action Sonic the Hedgehog movie (yes, I know, I'm sad too), due out in 2018.
- Tomb Raider - We can be pretty certain that Rise of the Tomb Raider will be out on the PS4 this year, so Squeenix will probably show up to confirm that - likely with some exclusive DLC.
- Final Fantasy VII - There isn't a Squeenix conference so this is the best place for this anyway - ignoring the fact that Sony announced the remake all the same last year. We've not heard much more since last E3 other than the threat that the game will actually be episodic, but maybe we'll get some real details this year.
- Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts etc - There's a lot of Squeenix content that's much more aligned with Sony than anyone else (due to being the de facto Japanese console) that we'll likely see a fair amount of covered in Sony's show.
Tuesday 14th June
Nintendo Treehouse Live 9am PST / 5pm BST
So... yeah... This is a bit awkward. Far from being the E3 where Nintendo rises from the ashes of the Wii U and the loss of Iwata like a phoenix, they're really just kind of there this year and that's it. We do know that we'll be seeing a lot of the new Zelda and some of Pokemon Sun and Moon during this show - so that's a positive at least. Of course, that new Zelda is also confirmed to be coming to the NX as well as the Wii U - rendering the Wii U version that we'll be seeing a bit moot...
It is somewhat concerning that Nintendo have drawn back so much over the NX that they've completely abandoned their E3 show, and it adds to a bit of a worrying theme of this year's E3 of it really being just as much about who and what isn't there as what is.... With EA, Activision and Ubisoft not playing ball with the main E3 show whatsoever, Nintendo pulling back completely from pretty much the whole show and with a new console (effectively) from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo all deliberately not at the show (despite 2 of those definitely being released before next year's) it's all just a bit of a mess...
With Nintendo, it's clear that the loss of Iwata was a massive one that is still being felt. It also seems to be threatening to pull Nintendo closer into being Kyoto-centric after recent management reshuffles and the likelihood that we will finally see the NX at this year's Tokyo Game Show in September rather than E3 this week. A general lack of communication from the company to its fans also stings the most after Iwata's reign led to an increasingly communicative and increasingly frank (for Nintendo) company.
With Pokemon Sun and Moon being the only major new title Nintendo have to offer between now and March's supposed NX launch, it's a massively rough time for the company and its fans and a lack of progression at E3 this year won't do anything to stave that off, unfortunately...
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