E3: What Are They Planning?

It’s almost time for E3 2014. We should get to see new game announcements along with footage from upcoming games. Some E3 shows are exciting and some are disappointing, but this time I just find myself wondering, “What are they planning?”

In more a “conspiracy theorist” way than a “general curiosity” way.

You probably know what needs to be announced for me to be fully satisfied. With no localization announcement for Gyakuten Kenji 2, I’ll be a little disappointed with E3 no matter what else I see, so it really  can’t hurt me too much to build up ridiculous hopes. After all, I’ve already got one of those, and I refuse to let it go.

So, why do I think “they” are up to something? First of all, who are “they”?

I’m talking about the big 3, Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. I’ll be watching their press conferences/digital events (Nintendo isn’t giving a traditional press conference) with a lot of interest, and their recent actions are what have led me to have such high hopes.

First, let’s talk about Nintendo. On May 7, Game Freak announced Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Fans of the original Ruby and Sapphire have been asking for a remake for a long, long time, so I’m not surprised about the decision to make the games. What surprised me is that it was announced in May, not at E3.

New games announced at E3 usually include high-profile, heavy-hitting titles. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are exactly the sorts of games that would make a good E3 announcement for Nintendo. All they had to do was wait a little over a month, but they chose not to. And they aren’t the only ones…

Just over a week later, on May 16, 343 Studios announced that the official title of the mysterious next Halo game is Halo 5: Guardians. Throw in a logo, a piece of concept art, and rumor-ready material, and the excitement was almost enough to overshadow the game’s planned release in 2015.

Now, we already knew Halo 5 existed, and there were some rumors hinting at some of the other information… but still, why not show a new trailer and reveal the title at E3? They just had to wait a few more weeks.

Sony didn’t reveal any big-name titles unexpectedly. It just decided its E3 press conference deserves to be seen in theaters.

Microsoft has been free with the fact that it has more content it could show at E3 than fits into the allotted time slot. Do all three companies have amazing game announcements in store for us?

We’ll know soon enough.

E3 Events of Note (times in Eastern time)

• Microsoft’s press conference  – June 9 at 12:30 PM
• EA’s press conference – June 9 at 3 PM
• Ubisoft’s press conference – June 9 at 6 PM
• Sony’s press conference – June 9 at 9 PM
• Nintendo’s (digital) press conference – June 10 at 12 PM
• Super Smash Bros. discussion – June 10th at 10 PM
• Mystery 3DS game discussion – June 11th at 9 PM

And much more.

Yes, I’m sort of biased in Nintendo’s favor. I’m the most excited for those announcements and revelations, and not just because I want to see a localized Gyakuten Kenji 2 on the 3DS (or the Wii U Virtual Console…or anything, really). My new Wii U has something to do with it, too. 😉

Other games I’m particularly excited to see at E3:

• The Order: 1886
• Dragon Age: Inquisition
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• Halo 5: Guardians
• X
• Zelda Wii U
• Majora’s Mask 3D (please?)
• Surprise announcements
• NEW IPs

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