E3 2013 is upon us, and we've got some predictions what the Big Three will be talking about this time around the block.
Current Gen
First off, this will be the last we see of the current generation of consoles. There will likely be a couple of gems hidden in there. Many consoles have that one game that was released towards the end of its lifespan that people didn't pick up because newer things were being released. There's a really good chance we'll see those gems being shown here. Every publisher has things in the pipe that they want to get finished up and out the door so they can turn their attention to the XBone, PS4, and Wii U.
Wii U
Nintendo, in its death throes, will remain mostly silent this year at E3 having cancelled their E3 stage presentation. Instead, Best Buys across the country will host events that will allow its fans to come in and same some of their upcoming products. This is a pretty neat idea, but doesn't feel well put together. There'll be some announcements after the show for sure, and don't count big announcements from Ubisoft and other big publishers (maybe not EA...). The Wii U is about to face the competition that will begin killing it off in the next couple years. However, fortunately for Nintendo, a wild card has been thrown onto the table in a move that nobody saw coming...
Xbox One
In a series of astonishingly bad decisions, Microsoft leaped after the drowning Wii U system to show everyone how to really screw up a system launch. DRM, nearly always online connectivity requirements, a bundled Kinect sensor that is always on listening to you, and a big used game sale debacle makes Nintendo look like they actually know what they're doing. Microsoft had the chance to take their Live service and bring it to the same level as the PlayStation Plus service and decided to put all their energy into any kind of entertainment that didn't involve video games.
So what's Microsoft going to do at E3? Well, there's two real options here. They've lately made a series of very bad announcements as to the requirements for the system, so they're either getting those out of the way so we can talk nothing but good stuff at E3, or they truly don't see anything wrong with what they're doing and we're going to get more of it at E3. With the news that Microsoft has cancelled after E3 round table meetings, our guess it the latter.
Edit 6/10 10:45am - This is in before the Microsoft conference at 11:30, but I want to predict that Microsoft will attempt to steal the show with a $99 subscription based price point on the XBOne at a $15/month rate, making the actual price point of the system $459.
Edit 6/10 10:45am - This is in before the Microsoft conference at 11:30, but I want to predict that Microsoft will attempt to steal the show with a $99 subscription based price point on the XBOne at a $15/month rate, making the actual price point of the system $459.
PlayStation 4
Sony's been relatively quiet about their system since the initial announcement. They have sent some elbows Microsoft's way for bungling their announcement, and have responded to fans who made the #NoDRM Twitter movement happen with enthusiasm, but much is still secretive about exactly how things will work with the system.
At E3, we're going to see the console, we're going to see lots of games, a price, and they're either going to counter Microsoft's mistakes, or spin them a different way. PS+ is rolling along great and there will probably be no further changes with it minus the announced new Instant Game Collection and how many games their subscribers have received for free since it's announcement last year.
This is Sony's E3 to lose, and will set the first shots of the next gen console war. Microsoft isn't looking good with their position, and Nintendo has a niche carved out by their loyal customers. So long as Sony recognizes what the other systems did wrong and actively telling us how they're doing it right, the next generation will belong to the PS4.
