Technically, E3 is next week yet I don't really feel much buzz for it. We've not had many leaks which is a surprise!

Anyone excited? Any predictions?

I wouldn't say I'm excited, I kind of forget it was coming, to be honest. I'm hoping there are surprises to make me feel foolish but, as this moment, not sure what they'd have to show for me to start counting my pennies.

Has Capcom been teasing anything? I remember they were mentioning bringing an older franchise back or did that get fulfilled with DMC5?

I'm surprised by the lack of leaks. I generally need a couple to get the juices flowing. Maybe the Death Stranding stuff tomorrow will set the bar and then people will start going ape.

Yeah, perhaps instead of stuff leaking they're going to get ahead of the game from the official sources. It must be a right nightmare to have a thing planned only for all the attention to be directed elsewhere.

I think the only leak we have is THQ remaking Destroy All Humans and maybe Timesplitters. Sounds weird to say but I'm more excited by THQ Nordic than most this year

Personally I’m looking forward to all of the conferences and I don’t quite understand the big downer on the show this year to be honest.

Lots of ambitious publishers and talented developers will still be showing their wares as usual. Add to that the fact late gen is often when we get some of the best releases in a console’s entire library, along with us hopefully getting glimpses of what are clearly next gen games (even if they’re not labelled as such), and there’s plenty to be excited about for me.

Sony aren’t there, but their conference was awful last year and really we know what they have coming, so I don’t see that as a big miss.

EA traditionally have the worst of all the conferences, so their lack of one isn’t a something I’m bothered about either. Plus they will still be doing their EA play event and I’m expecting there will be plenty of news from that showing up throughout the week anyway.

I’m also expecting Microsoft/Xbox to really go big and capitalise on the relatively open playing field this year.

It may all fall flat and the doubters might be proved right, but on pure potential there’s really just as much to look forward to as ever for me!

I've heard/read a few of the usual Nintendo leakers/scoopers saying that things have been really quiet this year. I have to be honest, I feel like Nintendo have given the Switch the massive push it needed to build momentum and they're now going to cycle through their IP in a fairly conservative manner. My real concern/interest is what they do next year, to be honest, once they've got the iterations out of the way.

I'm probably most intrigued by what XB have coming. My X is rapidly gathering dust.

Oh, I missed anything TImesplitters related. I'll be looking for that. And more footage of the new Doom game.

Another rumour is going around that THQ is going to show something called Darksiders: Genesis, so I'm pretty interested in that. I guess it sounds like a prequel spin-off, that will likely be made by a different team than the main studio working on the franchise. Darksiders 3 was pretty recent, and they're still working on DLC for that I expect.

Go on then, some E3 predictions...‬
Ubisoft:
‪- Splinter Cell (obvs‬)
‪- Just Dance VR‬ (‘bout time)
Microsoft:
‪- Heavily streaming-focussed presentation & next-gen reveal (bold guess, I know!)
‪- Gears 5 release date: October 2019
‪- Ori & TWOTW release date: August 2019‬
‪- Cyberpunk gameplay/release date: May 2020‬
‪- Great Rune reveal (teaser only, steady on!)‬
Square Enix:
‪- Marvel’s Avengers gameplay, but no release date
Nintendo:
‪- Metroid Prime Trilogy announced for Switch
‪- Kid-focussed (2DS-esque) Switch announced for holiday 2019

It would seem a London based Watch Dogs has leaked all over the place. Better get some puppy training pads.

I'm crossing my fingers for some proper third party support for Switch, even if its just some more ports of older titles. I was hoping that last years E3 was when we'd get lots of announcements from third party publishers, but they didn't really materialise in any great volume.

I can't fault Nintendo for the Switch library when it comes to first party games, but I do really think it's about time we got some more variety in terms of big budget, AAA type third party titles. For instance, i find it baffling that there still isn't a decent driving sim or arcade racer on the system, nor any first person shooters beyond Doom and Wolfenstein.

There's only so many indie Metroidvania games I can play in one lifetime...!

I think for a Nintendo console, the support from third parties so far has probably exceeded most of their previous consoles already (Wii not included)

I was literally wondering why there's no decent arcade racer on the system but in general, there hasn't been a good one lately.

In other news. THQ Nordic have revealed a Darksiders game in the vein of Diablo called "Genesis".

I am mostly excited about Microsoft potentialy showing a new console. Other than that release dates for Gears 5, Doom Eternal and Ori and the Will of the Wisps would be good as they are all supposed to launch this year.

Some Halo: Infinite and Dying Light 2 gameplay would be nice too.

It's strange to think that MS could potentially reveal a new piece of hardware. I guess this streaming future puts less emphasis on the hardware and making it all about the games which, from an MS point of view, is entirely the point.

They've always made money from software and not hardware, really so it makes sense but it will be the end of an era when all consoles become obsolete and all games will be stream-able on your screen of choice.

Well I think it's going to be the final iteration of console from Microsoft so it could be something huge (and surely it can't be any worse than the Xbox One reveal so that's something right?).

I actually forgot that they have said they will be showing 14 exclusive games. I really can't think of what they could possibly all be but at least it will mean that all these new studios they have acquired are actually doing something. I just kind of worry that if they blow their whole load at this E3 then next year will be back to reality where they have nothing new to show.

What games do you think we can expect from them? Surely there will be Gears, Halo and Ori. I assume Forza Motorsport 8 will be along this September so they will have that to show as always and Battle Toads as that had the briefest of mentions last year. There are obviously the rumours that Payground Games are working on a new Fable. That's 6 of the 14. What can the other 8 be?

Personally I'd like them to do something with some older IPs like Perfect Dark and Condemned but that's probably wishful thinking.

I’d be surprised if anyone shows new generation hardware this year actually.

KissMammal wrote: ↑June 6th, 2019, 11:14 pm ... i find it baffling that there still isn't a decent driving sim or arcade racer on the system

Outrun. Horizon Chase Zero. Mario Kart. Crash Racing. Team Sonic Racing. Virtua Racing presumably coming to the EU store soon I'd guess, too.

But yeah, I know what you mean, a modern driving game with 'real' cars would also be nice.

I fancy this Virtua Racing for some reason, everyone seems to be going on about how good it is. I wonder why it isn't out already here? It's just a digital download and it's not like there's any risk, or licences to worry about.

It’s coming out June 27th.

I’m starting to consider that Animal Crossing will not release this year.

With Nintendo announcing what games will be playable in the floor and while I agree that Animal Crossing isn't really a game that will ‘play well’ on the floor - I can totally see there being a large trailer as part of their Direct and stating a slip to Spring 2020 date or something.

There’s literally been nothing since that funny little Tom Nook skit at the back of last year’s September Direct.

No name, no gameplay, no features - nothing .