So E3 is almost upon us again. And this year, it is looking to be bigger than ever. Both Microsoft and Sony have revealed next generation consoles, and Nintendo have a lot to show for their next gen console. The WiiU, while getting some game releases, hasn’t exactly been winning any wars due to lack of competition and lack of must-have exclusives. That is soon to come though, and this E3 shall prove it. But not in the way you’re familiar with.

Nintendo won’t be holding a big pre-E3 conference, but will be active on the first day of E3 with a Media Showcase with hands-on testing, as well as a Nintendo Direct for all us fans. There’s also the Pokémon conference, or whatever it turns out to be. There is a Konami conference today, and I’ll be checking it out. Not expecting much, but I’ll still give a little review of it. Microsoft kicks off the pre-E3 stuff though, with it’s conference at 17:30 BST on the 10th, and we all will be expecting the Xbox One to be there, trying to claim it is a gaming machine. Microsoft have said that E3 will be all about the games, and I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

There is also this ‘big’ Xbox 360 reveal, and I’m expecting another console which could probably run through the One. Then we have these exclusive IPs, whatever they might turn out to be. I’m not expecting much, but I hope that some of them are for the 360 as well. Microsoft’s conference had also put to rest these false claims and confusion surrounding it’s console, as well as back-pedal on features that have received a lot of criticism. I’m also expecting GTAV to be shown off here as well. Other games that definitely will be shown off are more of Forza 5 and Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Ubisoft then takes the helm at 21:00, and it’s pretty obvious what will be shown. Having taken South Park: The Stick of Truth after THQ went into administration, this will probably be a big feature of the conference, but even bigger would be Assassins Creed: Black Flag, Watch Dogs and Rayman Legends. Filling up stock would be Just Dance 5, The Smurfs 2: The Game (if they even bother showing it off), Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Patriots, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and Spartacus: Legends. This possibly won’t be all that they show, but it will be a big chunk of it. Next generation only games can now be shown off since all next gen consoles have now been revealed.

The same goes for EA, who then hold their conference at 23:00. The biggest things to expect here would be Battlefield 4 and Need For Speed Rivals. The majority of sports games will come into it as well, but may be highlighted before in Microsoft’s conference due to the Xbox One only features. Star Wars as a franchise will be mentioned, as EA have already confirmed they will announce plans for the franchise, and hinted at Battlefront III. It would greatly please me if EA announced they had taken up the slack of finishing the Star Wars LucasArts games that were in production, as that would mean we would be able to get something playable quickly, though possibly not before Christmas this year. If we look to last year’s conference, we can expect more DLC and expansion packs of The Sims series to be in with all of this as well.

Sony have their conference at 02:00 BST of the 11th, at the same time as the Pokémon information. Sony’s conference will be bigger though (unless you are a massive Pokémon fan), and we can expect more features of the console to be talked about, as well as what the console will look like. Remember all those games shown at the reveal event? Expect more information on all of those, as well as Gran Turismo 6, and even more games for the PS4. Don’t be forgetting the PSV though, and more games are needed for that. EDIT: Thanks to the confusion on that earlier, it is now known that the Pokémon conference is not the same time as the Sony conference, but is Wednesday 12th June.

This Pokémon event then. Well, we know nothing except that it is obviously going to contain information on X and Y. I’d also guess at a new Rangers game to be shown, or a full 3D Battle Simulator similar to the Gamecube Colosseum-Gale of Darkness duo, on the WiiU.
The Nintendo Direct will be shown at 15:00 BST featuring Mario Kart, a new 3D Mario, and the ultimate game we’ve been waiting for – Super Smash Bros. WiiU and 3DS. Remember all those previous Direct’s? Most of what was in them will more than likely be here. Zelda: A Link to the Past 2, and Wind Waker HD, and the two Yoshi games. Basically, a lot. And also expect one or two new announcements. Come on, this is Nintendo Direct. There’s always new announcements.

Sega’s partnership with Nintendo. When was the last F-Zero game and who developed it? Right… That’s what many people are saying, and if not that, other Sega IPs like Yakuza and Shenmue getting sequels or remakes for Nintendo’s consoles as well. Then of course is the fact that three exclusive Sonic games are coming to Nintendo consoles, and all three are coming this year. Only two have been announced. That leaves one more. And where better to announce it than E3 and in another Direct. With all these Sonic the Hedgehog games, wouldn’t it also make sense for a special edition bundle of Sonic? Both for WiiU and 3DS? This wouldn’t be the first time a Nintendo Direct has been used to showcase special edition consoles.

Then of course, after Nintendo have shown off all of this, there’s the Media Showcase at 17:30 where the gaming press get to test out the games for delivering their verdict. Out of those three mentioned, only the Direct is going to be definitely streamed live. That’s not to say that all the other information will stay locked up in the vaults of E3 though. The gaming press will have the info readily available as soon as.

Remember last year when I went wild on predictions? Well then. I’m still expecting the Midtown Madness HD remakes, and I also want a UK version of Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime 2. Japan have had it exclusively for a year and a half now, and it should really be announced for conversion to the west, as America got the last one as well (and since the 3DS is region locked, the UK had better get it as well this time). And also, would now be a good time to mention Advance Wars? Now that Fire Emblem: Awakening is out and Game and Wario is set for release, now would be a good time for Advance Wars – Intelligent Systems’ other strategy game. There are plenty of racing games coming soon, and Animal Crossing has me covered for simulation games for the next five years plus, but more of both would definitely be welcome. Nice to have variety, after all.

Images Taken From:
South Park: The Stick of Truth E3 Official Trailer | South Park Studios
Forza Motorsport 5: Announce Trailer | IGN
Midtown Madness 3 | The Racing Madness Wiki
Advance Wars | Nintendo.co.uk
F-Zero GX | Nintendo Life