It appears to be happening again. Scientists around the globe still haven’t discovered why the mysterious phenomenon is known as the “Electronic Entertainment Expo” suddenly appears in the summer months in downtown Los Angeles. With an estimated arrival date somewhere around Tuesday, June 13th, experts anticipate a large number of people to flock to one centralized location to complain about eye strain, rapid hearing loss, foot pain, and whatever that smell is. E3 is upon us, friends, and the big fish of the industry are ready to spend inordinate amounts of money to bring us new gaming announcements. What do they have in store for us this year? Let’s wildly speculate and prepare for disappointment when our overeager expectations aren’t met!
Saturday, June 10th
Electronic Arts (12:00pm PDT / 3:00pm EDT / 8:00pm GMT) –
What on Earth is EA thinking holding a press conference on a Saturday? Do they not realize that far more people will actually be able to watch their show since they have a whole weekend ahead of them? In all seriousness, I hope this is the start of a new trend and I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner. EA is actually skipping E3 again, holding the same EA Play event as last year. Besides the usual yearly sports franchises and Star Wars Battlefront II, I’m not entirely sure what else they could have planned. Hopefully, that means they have some awesome surprises ready to go.
Sunday, June 11th
Microsoft (2:00pm PDT/ 5:00pm EDT/ 10:00pm GMT) –
Not to be outdone by EA, Microsoft has is also having their press briefing a day earlier. Quite possibly the most anticipated conference this year, we will finally see the full unveiling of the next Xbox, Project Scorpio. Microsoft has already revealed the basic specifications for the new console and it’s a pretty beefy piece of kit. We can probably expect to see familiar Xbox franchises, such as Halo, Crackdown, Phantom Dust, and Forza running on the new hardware. But most importantly, fingers crossed Cuphead gets a release date. Please make my dreams a reality, Microsoft.
Bethesda (7:00pm PDT/ 10:00pm EST/ 3:00am GMT) –
Bethesda hasn’t announced an official time as of this writing but has stated that their conference will be held Sunday night around the same time as last year. Prey just released, Quake Champions has a beta event going on now, and anything Fallout or Dishonored related seems years away. However, a lot of rumors are floating about regarding the next installment of The Elder Scrolls series, and that would be incredible if it were revealed this year. I honestly wouldn’t count on it myself, but you’re free to disagree and/or call me names. That’s what makes us human.
Monday, June 12th
PC Gaming Show (10:00am PDT/ 1:00pm EDT/ 6:00pm GMT) –
So this is still a thing. I have yet to actually witness the PC Gaming Show since its inception two years ago but expect to see the latest and greatest in PC gaming, apparently. PC Gamer, the show organizers, have partnered with Intel this time around, promising their best show yet. Planned for the event are game trailers and announcements, updates on interesting projects, and developer interviews. I promise I’ll try to watch it this time.
Ubisoft (TBA) –
Ubisoft has also not officially announced a time slot for their conference this year, or even a day of the week. Traditionally they’ve held their events on Monday afternoon, so this is my best guess. Assassin’s Creed was absent last year, and leaked screenshots and documents have found their way to the internet recently. The next AC is rumored to be called Assassin’s Creed: Origins and the setting are ancient Egypt. There is a very good chance we will see its unveiling at Ubisoft’s event. Also of note is the rumored Super Mario Rabbids RPG which could be shown off to exhibit support for the Nintendo Switch. Oh right, South Park: The Fractured But Whole still isn’t out! What’s the deal there, Ubisoft?
Sony (6:00pm PDT/ 9:00pm EDT/ 2:00am GMT) –
Remember when Final Fantasy VII Remake and Shenmue 3 debuted way back in ancient times? Neither one of those games seem to be anywhere near completion and it hurts my heart. Hopefully, Sony learned their lesson about making announcements powered by pure hype instead of, you know, an actual game engine. PSVR hasn’t seen too much love since the release of Resident Evil VII (and soon, Farpoint), so hopefully, we’ll see some new reveals for that platform. For the PS4, we may simply see more information on upcoming games such as God of War, Dragon Quest XI, Crash Bandicoot, and maybe Death Stranding if that is indeed an actual video game. Naughty Dog will likely make an appearance to show off The Last of Us Part 2 and Uncharted 4: The Lost Legacy.
Tuesday, June 13th
Nintendo (9:00am PDT/ 12:00am EDT/ 5:00pm GMT) –
Well, this should be interesting. This year marks the first official appearance of the Nintendo Switch at the show, and Nintendo seems to be heavily focused on their new console. Forgoing the usual press conference and opting for a purely digital format again, Team Mario will stream a Nintendo Spotlight: E3 2017 event Tuesday morning. Kicking off the event is a presentation with a focus on upcoming Switch titles such as Super Mario Odyssey and Splatoon 2. Likely making an appearance are Fire Emblem Warriors, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and whatever Retro Studios has been cooking up the past few years. Nintendo is also hosting Splatoon 2 and ARMS Tournaments from the show floor, and of course, the Treehouse will be on site live streaming gameplay footage of everything under the sun and skipping lunch because they love you and want you to be happy.
It should be an interesting show this year! All events will be streaming on Twitch and YouTube. Enjoy!
