E3 2016: What even is this event, anymore?

Undead Scottsman

Streams
E3 on Youtube
Giant Bomb Talks over the E3 Press Conferences
IGN at E3
Gamespot E3 Live
Polygon's E3 Coverage

E3. E3 has changed.

As we approach that special time of year, filled with hype, promise and marketing out the wazoo, we’re faced with the landscape of an E3 in transition. Press Conferences are appearing earlier than ever, while Activision, EA, Disney and Wargaming.net all will no longer have booths on the show floor, for various reasons. Even Nintendo has reduced their already minor presence to a single game, even while having a new console launch waiting in the wings.

Meanwhile, the ESA has created a sister event called “E3 Live” that is open (via free, already ‘sold-out’, tickets) to the public, where a number of gaming and non-gaming companies will be attending, including Alienware, Facebook/Oculus, Frito-Lay, HTC Vive, Loot Crate, Monster, Twitch, Ubisoft, Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment and more to be announced. Meanwhile, EA is having it’s own public event as well, called Play LA.

But pay no attention to changing face of the expo, as there’s still a lot left at E3 2016! Tuesday is pretty much a bust for press conferences this year, but as mentioned, Sunday seems to be taking up the slack! Meanwhile, a number of pre-E3 Streams have started popping up for the week prior to E3.

Pre-E3 Reveals
Wednesday, June 8th at 8:30 AM PDT / 11:30 AM EDT
Deus Ex Universe Pre-E3 Showcase

Thursday, June 9th at 10 AM PDT / 1 PM EDT
Destiny Reveal Stream

Sunday, June 12th
1 PM PDT/ 4 PM EDT - Electronic Arts (Twitch)
EA has pulled out of E3 but that doesn’t mean they can’t still hold their own press conference on thier own time, and they’re kicking things off this year, going even earlier than Bethesda. They’re not terribly well known for big surprises at their conferences (and have had some lackluster showings in the past) but they’ve got a few big name games that it’s about time they started showing off.

Expected

-Battlefield One
-Titanfall 2
-Mass Effect: Andromeda
-Star Wars: The Old Republic?

Possible/Rumored

-New Star Wars Game (Respawn Entertainment, Visceral Studios and DICE all have projects in the works)
-Unravel 2 was announced, maybe we’ll see it? (EA Signs Coldwood For Unravel Sequel)

7 PM PDT / 10 PM EDT - Bethesda (Twitch)
Bethesda came out swinging last year with their first press conference. Big announcements, first looks and some big gameplay demos. They apparently feel strongly enough about their lineup this year to do it again.

Expected

-Dishonored 2
-Fallout 4 DLC
-Doom Multiplayer DLC
-Battlecry
-The Elder Scrolls: Legends (Card Game)
-The Elder Scrolls Online?

Possible/Rumored

-New Wolfenstein game (The voice of The New Order's Anya strongly suggests a new Wolfenstein is in the works)
-Prey 2 (Report: Prey 2 website redirected; news at E3?)

Monday, June 13th
9:30 AM PDT / 12:30 PM EDT - Microsoft (Xbox One, Twitch, Xbox.com)
Microsoft has been getting aggressive in trying to stay competitive with Sony, announcing a slew of exclusive titles and backwards compatibility last year. They’ve also been heavily pushing a new PC initiative, tying it to the Xbox brand, making most Xbox exclusives actually Xbox/PC exclusives.. Maybe this time it will actually stick? There’s a large number of games shown off at prior conferences that have yet to be released, giving MS a large list of potential games to show off without even getting into unannounced projects.

Expected

-Crackdown 3
-Scalebound
-Sea of Thieves
-Halo War 2
-Cobalt
-ReCore
-Gears of War 4
-New Forza (Horizon 3?)
-Ion
-Ashen
-Below
-Rest of Killer Instinct Season 3

Possible/Rumored

-New Xbox One Slim model (Xbox One Slim possibly leaked through FCC, Xbox One Slim production leak hints at E3 2016 launch, Sources: Smaller Xbox One Coming This Year, More Powerful Xbox One In 2017)
-New Controller Revision (Microsoft Will Announce New Hardware at E3
-New Xbox codenamed ”Scorpio” (Xbox One Slim possibly leaked through FCC, Xbox One Slim production leak hints at E3 2016 launch, Sources: Smaller Xbox One Coming This Year, More Powerful Xbox One In 2017)
-Red Dead Redemption Backwards Compatibility (Red Dead Redemption is playable on Xbox One after getting backward compatibility)
-Alan Wake Sequel (Alan Wake's Return Appears on Trademark Database)
-Phantom Dust (Is Phantom Dust dead? Phil Spencer says no)
-Xbox One VR (Developer: We’re working on an Xbox One VR game for 2017, E3 website adds Xbox One virtual reality filter, multiple companies register)

11:30 PM PDT / 2:30 PM EDT - PC Gaming Show (Official Stream)
The PC Gaming Show was a bizarre affair last year, resembling more of a talk show than a press conference. There were some small announcements here and there, but ultimately it was more of a low-key, kinda awkward affair that mainly existed to allow AMD to shill some new hardware.. Maybe a year will have given them the time to gain a little bit more legitimacy and get some bigger reveals, but I’m not holding my breath. Last year it was a late Tuesday press conference, but now it’s taken over the spot vacated by EA on Monday.

Expected

-A Shit Show
-AMD hardware

Possible/Rumored

-Something Neat?

1 PM PDT / 4 PM EDT - Ubisoft (Twitch)
Ubisoft announced there was to be no new Assassin’s Creed this year, which leaves an interesting gap in their release schedule. Ubi has a handful of known games to show off and probably a few new announcements. Hopefully their conference isn’t quite as awkward as it was last year.

Expected

-Ghost Recon: Wildlands
-South Park: Fractured But Whole
-For Honor
-Watch Dogs 2

Possible/Rumored

-New AAA IP (Ubisoft plans to launch a new blockbuster game property before March 2017)
-Trials of the Blood Dragon (Ubisoft's Trials of the Blood Dragon leaked by Taiwan ratings board)
-Beyond Good and Evil (Beyond Good & Evil Resurfaces in New Ubisoft Trademark Filing)

6 PM PDT / 9 PM EDT - Sony (Twitch)
Sony won hearts and minds with a trifecta of unbelievable announcements last year, but their known release schedule is rather thin now, and with the industry waiting for them to confirm their new hardware plans, this will definitely be the conference to keep an eye on.

Expected

-The Last Guardian
-Horizon: Zero Dawn
-Dreams
-Gran Turismo 7 / Gran Turismo Sport
-Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Possible/Rumored

-Playstation “Neo” (Sources: Sony Is Working On A ‘PlayStation 4.5’, Sources: The Upgraded PlayStation 4 is Codenamed NEO, Contains Upgraded CPU, GPU, RAM)
-God of War 4 w/ Norse theme (Rumored God of War concept art shows Kratos tackling Norse mythology)

Tuesday, June 14th
9 AM PDT / 12 PM EDT - Nintendo (Official Stream)
No Press Conference, no Nintendo Direct, no Nx reveal and no fall line-up. As mentioned, just 100% Wii U Zelda, due out 2017. Nintendo shocked everyone by revealing the Nx would hit early next year and would not be revealed at this year’s E3, denying us of a potential triple-hardware reveal. All they’re bringing to E3 this year is Zelda. Zelda kiosks and a Zelda treehouse stream.

Expected

-Zelda on WiiU

Possible/Rumored

-Zelda on WiiU

The Others
Activison

New Destiny expansion called “Rise of Iron” (Next Destiny expansion, Rise of Iron, might have just been leaked)

Rockstar

Red Dead Redemption 2 (Red Dead Redemption 2 Mentioned in Former Rockstar Games 3D Artist’s Resume, Red Dead Redemption 2 Map Leaked, Will Be a Prequel)

Square-Enix

New Deux Ex projcts (Square Enix to announce more Deus Ex projects before E3)

Capcom

Resident Evil 7 (Rumor: Resident Evil 7 will be announced at E3)

Warner Bros

Injustice: Gods Among Us sequel (Injustice: Gods Among Us 2 to be unveiled soon, out March 2017 – rumour)

Devolver Digital

Serious Sam 4 (Rumor: Croteam to reveal Serious Sam 4 at E3)

Brolo

Enraged Engorged Erections

Lavender Gooms

If Bethesda does announce a new actual Elder Scrolls it better not be for next year. If they don't do like they did with Fallout 4 and say "and it's out in three months" then that would be just the absolute worst waiting experience.

Sterica

I really don't know what Nintendo is doing anymore.

But if it means more puppets then I'm game.

Mx. Quill

Pretty sure Atlus said Persona 5's NA release date will be announced at E3.

Whether that appears at Sony's conference is up in the air, but I think they know we all want that on stage.

YaYa

this may be the first time in four years I haven't made this thread

Alas

also I nearly snuck in last year and I'm feeling good about my chances this year!

Undead Scottsman

YaYa wrote: »

this may be the first time in four years I haven't made this thread

Alas

also I nearly snuck in last year and I'm feeling good about my chances this year!

Oh jeeze, I didn't realize there was precedent. I thought it was just whoever thought to make a thread first.

Now I feel bad.

ChicoBlue

YaYa

Undead Scottsman wrote: »

YaYa wrote: »

this may be the first time in four years I haven't made this thread

Alas

also I nearly snuck in last year and I'm feeling good about my chances this year!

Oh jeeze, I didn't realize there was precedent. I thought it was just whoever thought to make a thread first.

Now I feel bad.

nah you're fine

I saw you posting about it and decided against mentioning it

YaYa

so...anyone have any tips for sneaking in?

I was very close last year, I managed to get past the front door security by waiting for a bunch of people to leave and going the other way in their crowd

I would have gotten in the floor using a similar strategy but I didn't have enough time to wait for the opportune moment

BahamutZERO

they mentioned on giant bomb that they're actually checking ID sometimes maybe now so it's less easy to just print out a fake pass and get waved through, or something

-Tal

throw a rock behind a guard and then non-lethally choke him out and stash his body in a dumpster

BahamutZERO

no snap their necks like a coolguy

-Tal

nonlethally snap their necks

miscellaneousinsanity

no no, ya gotta find the air vent either in the lower left corner or on the second level

Brolo

yaya how many cans of expired spaghetti do you have

-Tal

hire four prostitutes to walk around you and then sneak past the guard while they're fondling him

webber

Sneak inside the building a week before the event. Gotta play the long game.

Mr. G

I kinda can't believe the turnaround on this E3

Remember like two months ago, when Nintendo was going to announce their new hardware at E3

And now they're the only one that WON'T announce new hardware

Jimothy

Sneak in in a barrel and meow intermittently

Or just wear the Stone Mask

Undead Scottsman

Mr. G wrote: »

I kinda can't believe the turnaround on this E3

Remember like two months ago, when Nintendo was going to announce their new hardware at E3

And now they're the only one that WON'T announce new hardware

Yeah, that's probably the craziest thing, but it kind of makes sense. Nintendo will want as much spotlight on the Nx as possible, and that won't happen at e3. Especially if Sony and MS are doing their own reveals.

Wyborn

Nintendo's created information channels which have rendered E3 kind of moot for them, which is weird to say and also makes me kind of sad? But we'll get a Nintendo Direct sometime about the NX and that'll be OK

I'm getting eyes-on and information on Andromeda and Zelda, and that is all I need to be a happy camper

-Tal

nintendo has also somehow managed to keep their shit completely on lock for over a year while we know like 80% of the new xbox and playstation

Etchwarts

-Tal wrote: »

nonlethally snap their necks

New Arkham game confirmed??????

Mr. G

-Tal wrote: »

nintendo has also somehow managed to keep their shit completely on lock for over a year while we know like 80% of the new xbox and playstation

Nintendo is on some JJ Abrams shit

I wonder if they've done his patented "flood the market with bad information" too

So much of the misinformation about Force Awakens came FROM Bad Robot

DarkPrimus

Knock them out non-lethally, then throw them down from a high height.

UnbreakableVow

This year, same as always:

Gitaroo-Man 2, please

Sterica

I dunno about the 1.5 incremental hardware upgrades. Like Nintendo has the New 3DS and there are basically no exclusives because cleaving your userbase is actually not a good idea.

Veldrin

Non-lethally drive them through a concrete pillar with your electrified ATV

Mr. G

Bobkins Flymo wrote: »

I dunno about the 1.5 incremental hardware upgrades. Like Nintendo has the New 3DS and there are basically no exclusives because cleaving your userbase is actually not a good idea.

It's already known what Sony's policies are, at least

No exclusives whatsoever, just performance and graphical boosts

You can't even have an exclusive MODE to the upgraded version

UnbreakableVow

I am so ready for the new PS4

Give me specifics and tell me when I can buy it

Mr. G

I would be super stoked about the new PS4 if I didn't finally get a nice PC

For the price of the new PS4 I can get one of those insane new Nvidia cards and be set for years

Prohass

I would be excited about new hardware but between myself and my freinds we have 4 xboxes to replace, and we went halvsies on two of them, so it's going to be costly

If they don't allow some sort of trade in discount Ill be annoyed. I'm not opposed to .5 systems,it seems like the way things are headed just cos of how tech works, but damn my moneys

Wyborn

I will be excited about new hardware if it means cheaper options for playing The Last Guardian

Outside of that I don't think I actually like the annual or semiannual hardware iteration concept very much. I know it works fine for phones but I don't know that it's a fair shake for consoles

Mr. G

personally i'm way more interested in the Xbox Slim than a better one

The Xbox One is the murderbrick-iest of the entire history of consoles

You could build a tornado-ready home out of Xboxes

Prohass

I'm ok with like every 3-4 years just because of the reality of how fast tech requirements are rising now, but 1-2 year cycles wouldn't be worth it, I'd just buy a good comp and save in the long run

Reynolds

Wyborn wrote: »

I will be excited about new hardware if it means cheaper options for playing The Last Guardian

I don't think the PS5 is going to be very cheap.

Wyborn

ALso you guys it's not going to be called the Scorpio, or the Xbox 1.5

It's going to be called the Xbox Two

And its successor will be called the Xbox Three

Prohass

Mr. G wrote: »

personally i'm way more interested in the Xbox Slim than a better one

The Xbox One is the murderbrick-iest of the entire history of consoles

You could build a tornado-ready home out of Xboxes

It's seriously the quietest console I've ever owned tho. It's like a black hole of light and sound

Peewi

Just two weeks left, huh?

I guess out of the known stuff I most want to see Zelda, Dishonored 2 and Titanfall 2. It could be cool if Prey 2 isn't dead.

Prohass

Ooo I forgot about titanfall 2, I played titanfall one from release until the end of last year, I fucking loved that game