Introduction and Nintendo
Update: EA and Bethesda have officially kicked off E3 2016 with a ton of exciting announcements including a new Quake and Star Wars Battlefront II.
E3 2016 is probably the single most important event for gamers all year long. It’s here we’ll get our first look at the big franchises that will keep our consoles and gaming rigs humming later in the year and, if we’re lucky, a sneak peek at next-gen hardware, too.
This year is going to be different than most, however. All three of the main console manufacturers have hinted at new hardware – Sony with its PS4.5, Microsoft with a modular console and Nintendo with the Nintendo NX – meaning this could be a very big year.
But not everything is changing for the better this year. Activision, Disney, Wargaming and EA have all said that they won’t be attending the convention in an official capacity this year. That means no crazy surprise rock shows to support Guitar Hero Live and absolutely no Pele coming out on stage to talk about the beautiful game.
But maybe, just maybe, none of that will matter.
E3 is a fiercely independent beast. It’s survived with the support of those companies in the past and it can do so again. As long as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo show up with new IPs in hand and next-gen hardware in tow, this is going to be another memorable year in Los Angeles.
Nintendo, playing it safe with Zelda
What time is the Nintendo keynote? 9am PST on Tuesday, June 14
Where can I watch the Nintendo keynote? Nintendo @ E3 2016
No one could conceivably claim that Nintendo put on a good show at last year’s E3. Instead of footage from the new Zelda, we got a trailer for Zelda spin-off Tri Force Heroes. Instead of a juicy new entry in the Metroid series, we got Metroid Prime: Federation force with a trailer so underwhelming that it immediately sparked a petition to get the game permanently pulled from the Nintendo lineup months ahead of its release.
Even Nintendo’s Starfox reveal, a title which had the gaming community shedding a collective tear of joy, was quickly deflated when we discovered the controls were such a letdown.
But 2016 is a new year. We’ve been keenly following the news leaking out about Nintendo’s next console and last month Nintendo finally confirmed that the NX would be releasing in March 2017.
At E3 2014 it blew us away with the reveal of a new Legend of Zelda for the Wii U, but since then we’ve seen little of the new game aside from a Nintendo Direct broadcast. This will all change at E3 2016, where Nintendo will be streaming the new Legend of Zelda (which has also been confirmed for the NX) for an entire day.
Nintendo has confirmed that Zelda will be the only playable game they’re showing at this year’s show, but it will also be showing off footage for some other games.
Starting 9am PT on June 14 Nintendo will stream gameplay from The Legend of Zelda for Wii U as well as the first live gameplay for Pokemon Sun and Moon (which will actually open the stream).
On June 15, Nintendo will be showcasing Monster Hunter Generations, Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE!
Nintendo is playing this year’s E3 incredibly safe with its focus on the Legend of Zelda, and whilst we love the franchise as much as anyone else, one game does not an E3 showing make. It would be great if Nintendo surprised us with another announcement, or even more details of its mobile plans, but we’re not going to be holding our collective breath.
It’s no secret that Nintendo has big plans for mobile gaming after it announced them prior to E3 last year. So far we’ve seen just one Nintendo mobile game, Miitomo, but Nintendo has also announced that 2016 will see the release of Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem, so who knows – we might get a glimpse of these over E3.
Sony and Microsoft
Sony, the king of the mountain
What time is the Sony keynote? 6:00pm PST on Monday, June 13
Where can I watch the Sony keynote? Sony’s Twitch channel
Sony killed it at last year’s E3. In one press conference we got a long awaited updated on the development of fan-favorite The Last Guardian, the announcement of Shenmue 3 and the news that one of the most beloved games of all time, Final Fantasy VII, would be receiving a remake.
It’s hard to know how Sony could possibly top that performance this year, but expectations were high that the company might announce the rumored PS4.5 – aka the PlayStation 4 Neo.
Unfortunately we’ve now found out that Sony will not be announcing its new console at E3 thanks to a recent interview with one of the company’s executives.
The PlayStation VR is due to be released in October this year and will apparently have around 50 titles available at launch. We’ve seen a few of these already on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, but Sony is likely to have a few more exclusives up its sleeve to launch alongside titles such as Rez Infinite.
Software-wise it would be nice to get an update on Horizon Zero Dawn, which was announced in last year’s conference and will be releasing later this year. Others might feel differently, but to me, developer Guerilla Game’s work has started to feel rather stale these past few years. But I’m hoping Horizon will be a fresh direction for the developer of the Killzone franchise to take.
Ultimately, if last year proved anything, it’s that Sony is not a company to be underestimated. It’s more than likely that it has a few more tricks up its sleeve for 2016’s big event.
Sony’s E3 press conference will take place at 6pm PST/ 9pm EST/ 2am BST on Monday June 13.
Microsoft – bringing the VR?
What time is the Microsoft keynote? 9:30am PST on Monday, June 13
Where can I watch the Microsoft keynote? The Xbox Twitch channel
Microsoft hasn’t really jumped on the VR bandwagon in the same way as the other big player in the industry, instead opting to hedge its bets on augmented-reality in the form of the Microsoft HoloLens.
At E3, that might change. Among the bunch of recent Xbox rumors is one claiming that a new console, launching in 2017, will have a virtual reality element. What’s more, a few hints on the official E3 website might point to something being announced at this year’s show.
But even if some VR games are announced, we might not get to play with them until next year – so what’s closer on the horizon? We could be looking at an Xbox Slim. Kotaku reckons a slimmer, cheaper Xbox One is coming soon, and E3 seems like the perfect time to announce it.
Another report, coming from Microsoft blogger Brad Sams, claims that there’s also a small Chromecast-style streaming device. It’s possible we’ll also see this at this year’s E3 show.
Ok, but what about the games?
We liked what we saw of the upcoming Gears of War 4 when we previewed the multiplayer component recently, and the excellent Forza series is due another entry sooner rather than later. Whether this will take the form of a main entry to the series or the Horizons spinoff series remains to be seen, however.
Beyond that? If Rare felt up to the challenge another Banjo Kazooie game wouldn’t go amiss, and Halo will almost certainly make an appearance in some form or another, with most of the focus likely being on Halo Wars 2.
What’s refreshing about Microsoft is the amount we don’t know about their lineup going forward. It’s got a good number of studios working under it, and it’s sure to have something interesting to talk about.
The third parties: Activision and Ubisoft
When it comes to the big publishers E3 2016 is looking a little more empty than it has done it previous years. Out of the big five publishers – Bethesda, Activision, EA, Square Enix, and Ubisoft – EA and Activision have pulled out from participating in the show itself, meaning they will not exhibit on the show floor.
This has been Activision’s policy since the 2008’s E3, but for EA this decision is a new one. EA’s decision appears to have been motivated by E3’s ‘press only’ attendance policy, since they will instead be hosting an alternative pair of events across both LA and London, UK.
But both publishers will have games on show with various partners. Activision has always made an appearance on stage with either Sony or Microsoft at their respective press conferences, and both are likely to have something on display (hint, hint: Call of Duty) in a partner’s booth on the show floor.
EA also hosted a separate event on Sunday, June 12, where it showed off more of Battlefield 1, Titanfall 2, Fifa 17 and more which you can read on the next page.
I’m sick of the silly console wars, what about the games?
Believe me, we’re sick of it too. Thankfully the list of games that’s likely to be on the show floor this year is impressive. It’s hard to mention one publisher without a big reveal up its sleeve.
Activision has been something of a known quantity for at least the last few E3’s. Call of Duty continues to sell year after year, and since this year’s iteration will be developed by Infinity Ward rather than Treyarch or Sledgehammer Games, anticipation is that much higher.
Beyond Call of Duty, we’re also excited to see what Activision shows off from the Destiny franchise. We haven’t had any new expansions since The Taken King was released in September last year and we’re keen to see what Bungie have been cooking up in the meantime. The developer has previously suggested further DLC might be in the pipeline for Destiny in 2016, but with the original having come out a year and a half ago it’s never too early to hope for a proper sequel.
Ubisoft are in a bit of an odd spot this year. This will be the first time in six years where we won’t see a new Assassin’s Creed game. Last year’s ‘Syndicate’ wasn’t exactly a bad release, but the stresses of a yearly release cycle are starting to take their toll on the series. In the absence of a game announcement, we wouldn’t put it past Ubisoft to surprise us with footage from its upcoming live-action Assassin’s Creed movie and/or a trio of new Tom Clancy titles.
EA
If we were to pick just one takeaway from EA’s E3 2016 press conference, it’s that the publisher is making full use of its Star Wars license, and appears to have at least seven different development studios working on games set in the galaxy far far away.
We got confirmation that Star Wars Battlefront 2 is coming next year from DICE, with support from the new Motive Studios development house. EA also re-confirmed that the new game will indeed feature content from the new Star Wars movies, repeating what was said in its recent earnings call.
EA also announced that the Star Wars title under development at Visceral Games will be coming in 2018 featuring an all original story.
Respawn Entertainment is also currently working on a new 3rd person Star Wars game, but unfortunately no further details were forthcoming.
We also got the news that Burnout developer Criterion Games is working on a new Star Wars game for PlayStation VR, but aside from the briefest of shots from the inside of an X-Wing cockpit details were unfortunately very light.
A significant portion of EA’s press conference was devoted to FIFA 2017, which features a single player story mode for the first time in the series history.
We were treated to an extensive trailer featuring the rise of a fictional soccer player rising from amateur through to a professional career in the sport.
Real world managers will also appear in the game for the first time, and Jose Mourinho was on stage with Peter Moore for the announcement.
Gameplay improvements have also been promised, with off-the-ball players behaving more intelligently on the pitch.
EA also used its show this year to announce a new indie partnership program called EA Originals. The program will allow EA to publish smaller titled from independent development studios.
The initiative’s first announced title was Fe by Swedish developer Zoink, a platformer that looked like a cross between Journey and Ori and the Blind Forest.
Gameplay from Titanfall 2 was shown for the first time, and a release date of October 28 2016 officially announced after it leaked earlier today. The game will be coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC.
Titanfall 2 will also be receiving a single-player campaign in which your mech appears to act as a companion when you’re not actively controlling it. In the trailer we saw it catch the protagonist as he fell, and then flung him to reach a distant platform.
Disappointingly, although Mass Effect: Andromeda has now been under development for what feels like years, EA limited itself to showing off just a trailer for the sci-fi RPG.
EA did however announce that the game will run on DICE’s FrostBite engine, and the trailer also hinted that a female protagonist may be the default selection, although in keeping with the series a male protagonist will likely also be an option.
Finally, we also saw a new trailer for upcoming World War 1 first person shooter Battlefield 1 which featured much of the vehicular combat the series is known for.
In the trailer we saw biplane shoot down a zeppelin which crushed a number of buildings as it fell, which is a pretty impressive inclusion if that level of destructibility is present across the entire game.
Overall EA appeared to play it very safe with its press conference this year. We didn’t see any big games that weren’t already announced, and outside of Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2 the conference was very light on actual gameplay footage.
It was also disappointing to see no live gameplay demonstrations appear at all.
However, it was nice to see EA really make the most of having simultaneous press conferences happening in LA and London. Transitions between the two were remarkably seamless and it was a nice change to have FIFA featuring heavily as a result.
Bethesda
Bethesda didn’t pull any punches with its E3 presentation and immediately broken by announcing Quake Champions. ID Software promised the new game will be a return of old-school arena shooter action.
It will also be as fast as Quake fans remembered with frame rates of at least 120fps and even higher with the frame rate unlocked.
While we were hoping for a new Elder Scrolls, sadly it was never in the cards for E3 2016. But we’ll gladly take the remastered edition of Elder Scrolls Skyrim Bethesda announced. Beyond sharper textures, the new version features new snow and water shaders, volumetric god rays, dynamic depth of field and more a ton of additional graphical improvements.
Elder Scrolls has also been spun off into a new card digital collectable card game similar to Hearthstone.
Bethesda also announced a number of new pieces of downloadable content for Fallout 4, many of which expand the game’s home building features. Contraptions introduces building objects such as elevators, armor racks, weapon racks, and it will all be available starting next week.
Vaultec Workshop looks to be the most exciting update that hits later this July and it essentially allow users to create their own vaults. Part Fallout Shelter and Doom Snap maps, vaults start off as blueprints and from there users can snap together rooms and conduct experiments on their dwellers.
Lastly Bethesda teased Fallout 4 next big DLC expansion would be called Nuka World and it’s due to release in August 2016. Unlike the last two additions, this will be a larger piece of content similar to the Far Harbor.
In one last surprise announcement, Fallout 4 is coming to the HTC Vive and virtual reality in 2017.
Prey 2 made it’s reappearance as we expected, except now it’s just been renamed Prey and being developed by Arkane Austin. The new game is quite a bit different from its decade-old predecessor.
Prey casts the player as Morgan Yu, a run of the mill space man who is unfortunately the subject of experiment. Even more unfortunate circumstances lead the space station Morgan is on to being over overrun by aliens, fortunately Morgan gains powers and a lot of guns to deal with the invasion.
Surprisingly it’s due to come next year to Xbox One/PC/PS4.
Last but not least, Bethesda spent a large bulk of its keynote showing off some actual Dishonored 2 gameplay. From the looks of the new game plays more with time and slow motion. On top of this, the sequel adds a new playable character in the form of Empress Emily Kaldwin, who is able to reach out with purple-colored telekinetic tendrils.
Dishonored 2 is also introduces a new setting called Karnaca or the “jewel of the South.” It features a distinct Mediterranean vibe and greater vertically, allowing users to climb higher onto the city’s rooftops. Dishonored 2 will launch on November 11.
Square Enix, Valve and Conclusions
Square Enix stunned us last year with the announcement that its seminal Final Fantasy VII would be remade and released on the PS4.
When it was later revealed that the game would be released as a multi-part series, Producer Yoshinori Kitase has defended this decision, stating that “If we were to try to fit everything from the original into one remake instalment, we would have to cut various parts and create a condensed version of FINAL FANTASY VII. We knew none of you would have wanted that.”
We’re cautiously optimistic about this move since it’s clear that a modern game on the scale of the original Final Fantasy VII would be obscene by modern standards, but we’re going to wait until after this year’s E3 to allow ourselves to get properly excited.
As for Square Enix, the company announced it will be holding a pre-E3 conference on June 8 where it will be showing off new gameplay from Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.
Of course any wish-list wouldn’t be complete without a customary prayer for Half Life 3 to finally materialize from Valve. It’s been almost ten years since Gabe Newell and his team left us on Episode 2’s notorious cliffhanger ending, and the studio has remained tight-lipped ever since about even the existence of a sequel.
In January of this year Marc Laidlaw, the original writer of the series, left Valve after having been at the company for almost twenty years. Laidlaw was instrumental in defining what made the Half Life series what it is today, and his departure is troubling to say the very least.
Whereas previously we might have been able to convince ourselves that Valve were simply spending the time necessary to make Half Life 3 perfect, Laidlaw’s departure appears to confirm that the title will stay a wish rather than a reality. Whether it ever ends up seeing the light of day is anyone’s guess.
Your takeaway? There’s a lot to be excited about
E3 2015 was a groundbreaking year where it felt like all of our dreams could come true, and if even half of the guesses on this list come to fruition then we’ll be in for a very happy couple of years in gaming indeed.
The only problem we can see is that short of the improbable happening, like Half Life 3 finally getting literally even the smallest mention, there’s not much that can top The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy VII Remake and Shenmue 3 all being announced at the same press conference.
At any rate, June 12 is right around the corner and we’ll be approaching this year’s E3 with baited breath.
Source: techradar.com