Gamescom Preview: What To Expect From Xbox, Game Announcements, And More | Spot On

I wonder if Assassin s Creed Shadows or Zelda Echoes of Wisdom might be playable.

Or Metroid Prime 4, but maybe too early for a playable demo of Metroid Prime 4 now.

Civilization VII is something i personally look forward to. :) I played Civ V a lot (A LOT!) and some Civ VI more recently too.

" From Monster Hunter Wilds, Star Wars Outlaws, and Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, to more niche titles like the aptly named Squirrel With A Gun, there's a lot to chat about and even more to get excited for. "

Two of the four games mentioned are made in Sweden. Outlaws is made in Malmö and Indiana Jones in Uppsala, i think. It is okay if you have not heard about the cities and only know about Stockholm.

Malmö is typically known for soccer, and a high crime rate. It is a small city compared to american cities (400 000 citizens or so) but with a very high share of immigrants compared to other nordic cities.

(We also have a city named Västerås, almost like the fictional Westeros from Game of Thrones.)

A couple of days ago I was actually thinking about Gamescom, and it hadn't even occurred to me that it's about that time again.

It's been probably close to a decade ago now, but I can remember a point there where it seemed like Gamescom would really become the successor to E3. It seemed like we were getting a lot of information from the event and it was something I looked forward to for a couple of years.

Nowadays, I'm still glad that Gamescom is around and kicking - especially after E3 shut down and a lot of the gaming expos aren't what they once were. I'm also someone who likes print media, so hearing that Game Informer shut down was kind of disappointing recently as well. Surely some gaming magazine can weather the storm and remain popular, and likewise some gaming expo.

But it's hard to worry or care as much as the years go on and I get older. And the industry has in large part moved away from these grandiose showings to do their own digital shows on their terms. Do you know how long it's been since the last time I actually thought about Gamescom? I think quite a few years, if I'm being honest.

I'm not saying one way or the other is better though. To me, they're all just events, whether they are digital or are presented at big expos. And hopefully great news comes out of this Gamescom just like any other event, that lots of people can look forward to.

Half Life 3

Sony and Nintendo skipping the event. Again. Not sure why they keep doing this. Any time a company has a chance to showcase their products, they should do so. Business 101. Even if they show nothing new, the Suits should make their presence mandatory. Not sure if its another case of Big Head Syndrome or the lack of enthusiasm for their latest State of Plays. Kind of like the huff they got into when they did what turned into their last E3 show. It was a bizarre show and whoever came up with the format and itinerary for that show needs to switch careers. Guys with bamboo hats, playing odd instruments. Making the entire audience get up and change venues to even more bizarre ones. They put all of their effort into the atmosphere of the showrooms and little thought into their showcase. Then they get got all uppity because people didn't love what they did and gave E3 the finger.