E3 2009: NZGamer Predictions

Wild Guesses 'R' Us

In this day and age, it’s pretty hard to keep a secret. Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, and all the other major players in the gaming industry must really hate the internet sometimes – it makes it so hard to actually surprise people.

However, while we’ve been hearing all sorts of mumblings from various sources, it’s still nice to get things confirmed – and then there’s the wonderful element known as wishful thinking. Our list consists of both suspected announcements and things we’d really like to see – no matter how unlikely. Enjoy! We’ll see whether we should quit the gaming business and print prediction books when E3 rolls about at the start of June.

Microsoft

These guys have been making the most noise out of anyone in anticipation of their E3 press conference. They’ve been claiming their announcements will change the way we see gaming – although I’m pretty sure we heard something similar when they announced Avatars and Netflix last year. Did those things change the way you viewed gaming?

The motion control bandwagon
This one’s a no-brainer – Microsoft has been trying to reach out to more casual audiences for a while now, in an attempt to woo over SingStar or Wii Sports players. Specifically, there’s been talk of a motion capture camera that can detect three dimensions. Should be interesting if true – let’s just hope there’s some decent software to compliment it.

Zune HD
We’ve no concrete idea what’s going on here, but there’s been a few murmurings about a Zune media player that’s also a phone and can play games. File this one under “not so likely” – or perhaps under “sounds cool, but will probably be far more gimped than rumours are claiming”.

Windows? What’s that?
Do you remember a couple of years ago, when Microsoft made a lot of noise about Games for Windows, and how it would lead a resurgence of PC gaming? Yeah, that sure happened. Microsoft has even said that no Games for Windows announcements will be forthcoming at E3. So PC gamers should keep on doing what they’ve been doing all along: ignoring Microsoft’s posturing and getting on with better services like Steam.

New game announcements
What’s going to prop Microsoft up at the end of the year? Currently, Sony seems to have the edge when it comes to upcoming exclusive blockbusters – so ideally, they’ll pull a few cats out of the bag here. A sequel to Lips doesn’t count, I’m afraid.

Sony

Trailing somewhat in worldwide sales (bar Japan), Sony needs to light a fire and regain the momentum. To their credit, the boys and girls at this giant company are looking pretty motivated – let’s see if E3 can be their moment back in the sun.

The new PSP
Whatever it’s going to be called, this one is a very badly kept secret. The PSP2 is rumoured to feature a touch screen and no UMD drive – meaning that all titles will be purchased digitally, just like the iPhone. It’s going to be very, very interesting to see if Sony can get everything right for this one. To do that, the software is going to have to be there, from great new titles to a wide library of PSOne classics.

Home be pimpin’
Sony will try and put emphasis on a whole lot of new Home features. But can it finally draw more people in? We’re skeptical. As an aside, post in the comments whether you use Home much at all!

PS3 facelift or price cut
Sony is still losing roughly US $40 per PS3 sold, according to a recent report. This places them in a tricky situation when it comes to a much-requested price cut: while it’ll boost sales, can they afford to lose even more cash? An alternative rumour making the rounds says that a price cut will happen later in the year – and in the meantime, a slimmer PS3 will be released. Of course, they might try and get away with neither.

Exclusives ahoy
Expect to see a lot more of Uncharted 2, MAG, God of War III, and possibly even Gran Turismo 5 at E3 – and if they live up to their promises, these exclusives should really help Sony at the tail end of 2009. Personally, I’m hoping for even more games to be revealed – bring on a sequel of some kind to Flower!

Nintendo

Did you see Nintendo’s 2008 E3 press conference? If you don’t consider yourself a casual gamer, you won’t have missed much. They’ve even publicly admitted that their show could have been more attractive to core gamers. So it’ll be interesting to see if it’s all just words – or whether we’ll see more than just Wii Fit 2.

Games for gamers
Zelda! Mario! Kid Icarus! More! A lof of gaming publications are predicting a whole raft of new additions to Nintendo’s major franchises. We’re a little more skeptical – it seems more likely that only one (or maybe two) major core games will be revealed, so they have as much space to breathe as possible.

DSi exclusives
The DSi store – along with many games that make use of its new capabilities – has been off to a slow start. Ideally, Nintendo will announce a whole heap of first-and-third party titles that really make it worthwhile to pickup the latest DS model.

Time for MotionPlus
Likewise, more announcements will come of games that make use of MotionPlus, the new Wii remote addon that allows for greater motion control. We’re expecting a lot of hands on time with a bunch of new titles that enable this.

New Wii colours
Don’t want to drop the price just yet? No problem – just change the colour! We reckon Nintendo will have a lineup of Wii consoles beyond trusty old white. Who wouldn’t want a magenta Wii?

The rest

New game announcements from a lot of developers/publishers
We’re expecting a number of new games to be announced from top developers. Valve will show off Half-Life 2 Episode 3, but also announce an entirely new game. Bethesda will announce a new title – hopefully Elder Scrolls V! Rare will do the same. And hopefully Team Ico will finally show off their new game. Stranger things have happened.

OnLive will continue to polarize people
Until this new wonder device is set up in the homes of people across the globe, many will remain skeptical. Sure, it’s probably going to wow our socks off at E3, but the question will remain: how will it hold up in real world situations? In any case, it’s pretty irrelevant right now to us Kiwis – it won’t see a release here for some time.

A continuing flood of music games
Activision recently announced Guitar Hero 5 – along with precisely five billion other ‘Hero’ games. Even if no one else were in the rhythm game market, the Guitar Hero franchise would still have it saturated. But there will also be a whole raft of wannabes – along with The Beatles: Rock Band. Hell, maybe we’ll even manage to lock down a New Zealand release date for Rock Band 2.

Dragon Age on consoles
Sure, we’ve seen all sorts of previews for the PC version, but many are wondering how the console adaption will work. Can the interface remain any good? Hopefully we’ll find out at E3.

Sega unveils a Sonic game that actually looks good
No, just kidding. Actually, do you remember how Sonic Unleashed looked half decent when it was first announced? Yeah.

Got any other predictions? Stick ‘em below!