Despite discussion regarding its relevance, E3 is still a magical place where the rumors meet the road. The big show is nearly upon us as the game industry gathers in Los Angeles to show off the big titles for the upcoming year. This year looks to be no exception with a slew of expected reveals and hopefully some out of left field. I've written down my E3 2017 expectations and predictions for what I'm most excited about and I would love to hear your predictions.




5. UBISOFT

Whether or not any games are announced, the Ubisoft press conference is always entertaining thanks to Aisha Tyler. It's a foregone conclusion that we will see another Just Dance game and thanks to recent leaks, Assassin's Creed Origins. I'm glad they gave Origins some extra development time and I hope to see it in action soon. A collaboration between Nintendo and the Rabbids franchises has long been rumored and recently leaked screen shots look to confirm this. I hope the gameplay is similar to Mario RPG. With the recent announcement of Far Cry 5, I expect some gameplay footage and an announcement with a Far Cry 3 bundle either as a pre-order bonus or part of the special edition. It's been rumored that Michael Ironside will return as Sam Fischer, so I expect to see another Splinter Cell game.  However, it's also possible that we will see the announcement of another Tom Clancy game.


4. EA

EA has really doubled down on the standard properties that they know will make them money. I expect EA to show the standard sports games, and the usual first person shooters. I hope there will be surprise in there, but with Star Wars Episode VIII releasing this December, it will probably be a Star Wars centric year. I expect Star Wars Battlefront II to headline considering the sales of the last title. I hope that Amy Hennig's & Visceral's new Star Wars game will be shown as I've heard it described as "Star Wars/Uncharted" and I'm still a little sour on Star Wars 1313's cancellation. I expect some information on the new Need for Speed game from Ghost games with a release date in 2017. I also expect to see something from Bioware, but it's likely to be a sequel in the Dragon Age series of games. I hope that EA deviates from the well-worn path and announces some surprises even if they are small, like Unraveled.


3. MICROSOFT

I expect Microsoft will show off Project Scorpio and while I'm sure it will be visually impressive, I can't think of any games to go with it. I'm hoping they will have a great first party lineup that will feature something other than the usual suspects. In regards to established franchises, I expect that Halo 6 will be a no show, but that 343 will show a trailer for a new project as the reaction to Halo 5 was underwhelming. An announcement of Forza 7 is  expected and could come out alongside Project Scorpio. It has been years since we've seen anything concrete regarding Crackdown 3, so now seems to be a perfect opportunity to showcase the title. An "Only on Xbox" highlight reel will probably remind us that Sea of Thieves and Cuphead are still coming, but I still don't expect to be playing either anytime soon. It's very possible to see a marketing deal or timed exclusive with a 3rd party studio a la Tomb Raider, or a 3rd party exclusive like Sunset Overdrive.


2. SONY

Sony has been dominating the narrative this console generation and I don't expect that to change this year. With titles such as The Last of Us 2, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, God of War, Spider-Man, Crash Bandicoot and Gran Turismo Sport, Sony will have a lot to show. I expect to see an announcement and possible trailer of whatever Sucker Punch has been working on, as it's been a while since Infamous. I also expect an announcement from From Software as they recently bookended the Dark Souls series. It's possible that we will see Bloodborne 2, another Armored Core game or both. While the narrative around the PS4 Pro has been disappointing, I expect to see either a price drop or some other added features to combat Microsoft's Project Scorpio.


1. NINTENDO

Now that the Switch is out, I expect Nintendo to focus on games for it and maybe feature a small montage for 3DS/2DS games. It's already known that the majority of the narrative will revolve around Super Mario Odyssey and I hope that it and some unannounced titles will move the interest needle from buy later to must buy at launch. It's been a while since we've heard from Retro Studios and I've heard rumors that they are working on a new Metroid title. I expect we will hear something regarding Pokemon Stars, but with all the recent job postings, I don't see it arriving this year.

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