Hello dudes and dudettes,

It's that time of the year,isn't it? When all the pages of gaming websites are filled upto every nook and cranny about happening in some weird-city called Los Angeles (oh dear :P ) called E3. Well,guess what? I will help the cause and "spam" the gaming sites by writing a blog about my predictions on what may happen over the next four days.

Firstly, many people believe that this E3 is going to be the most crucial E3 of this generation so far. And I second those who say that. Because it's that time of the console wars when each of the Big 3 have had their moments to shine. It will be determined from now onwards that which of the three is going to carry forward the momentum each of them may have built over the past three years and carry it across to the finish line (or the end of the seventh-generation which I assume should be another 3-4 years). Also,this is also an important E3 due to the fact that Microsoft is going to E3 on the back of a poor show for the first time this gen, whereas it's the complete opposite for Sony.

Let's begin without any further ado about a couple of predictions I've got to make about E3. We'll follow the order in which the conferences will actually take place :

Predictions for the Microsoft Press Conference :

Like many have said before, Microsoft is going to E3 at the back of a mediocre display in the first half of the year. Halo Wars and Ninja Blade being at most average hits and only few XBLA titles like The Maw attracting a fair bit of attention. Infact, MS strength so far this year has only been the exclusive DLCs--the GTA one and the Fallout 3 ones (which if I am not wrong are now coming to PS3 as well)

So,that is why Microsoft has to be at their best this E3. I definitely see Turn 10 showing us something related to ForzaMotorsport 3 this E3 and perhaps even giving us a tentative release date somewhere in Q2 2010. Rare has been quiet for sometime,which makes me suspect they might be upto something as well. There are rumors floating that it could be a new IP altogether. I would go along the lines of a FPS that would be along the lines of their old hits like GoldenEye and Perfect Dark with an art $tyle that will go slightly more along Rare's cutesy one..

I'll make a risky guess at this point and say that Tecmo and Team Ninja will announce a new game. It might be a wild guess but I think it most probably should be a new DOA game or something called Project Progressive that Tomonobu Itagaki was working on. There's also a very good chance that Peter Molyneux will show his new "non-Fable" game. It will be interesting to see with what the guys at Lionhead come up with. Besides that MS recently acquired a certain "BIG" studios,so it might announce a new game.

I think that it will also be a great bonus at this point for MS, if BioWare reiterates that they plan to keep Mass Effect 2 exclusive to their console. Because MS know it well, ME2 is a BIG title they have and would like it to remain exclusive. I also expect and AM EAGERLY looking forward to some sort of trailers related to Mass Effect 2. :D

Without a doubt, Alan Wake is the biggest exclusive on 360 that has the possibility of releasing in 2009. Remedy has been very quiet about it for long and I think E3 is the ripe time for them to blow covers of what they've been working at. I am very excited about this and it looks damn promising as well.

Also Hironobu Sakaguchi-led Mistwalker is rumored to be planning to announce one of their own games as well. This might be an indication that their "previously-cancelled" project "Cry-On" might be under works once again,which would be amazing indeed. :D Or it might be the sequel to Blue Dragon?

Other than that there are the usual suspects like Halo 3 : ODST and Splinter Cell 2 which are 360 exclusives and which once again will be something MS should focus on as well. I don't care about the motion-sensing controller MS has been talking about but it's still something that will feature prominiently in their shows.

A slightly over-hyped rumour to say the least has been the prospect of MGS4 appearing a port on 360. I see this as a possibility but doubt it. But then nobody knows Kojima as well as himself, and that man can take wild decisions. So,Solid Snake appearing on 360 may not be a total impossibility. ;)

Predictions for Nintendo Press Conference

Everybody knows that Nintendo made a big and bad mistake last E3. They tried alienating the casual crowd to supposedly "rub-off" the tag of "family games" that they've earned over the years. The result? Nintendo clearly had their worst Q3 and Q4 probably ever and a very poor showing overall. One had to go back to Mario Kart Wii in April to find a big Wii game.

But this year,they've started off in a decent manner once again. MadWorld impressed everyone with it's unique art design of depicting gore. Punch-Out!! is an old cla$$ic revived once again. And House of the Dead Overkill is earning praise in some sections of gaming community as well. So,not a bad year for them. But then,they will have to please both the sides of the crowd this time. I expect them to announce a new Zelda game alongside the supposed Mario game (which shows their desperation in many ways) that's coming out. Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort should keep the casual crowd more than satisfied. The Conduit, a futuristic FPS from Sega looks promising and I think SUDA51'S No More Heroes 2 will also feature somewhere in E3.

An area where Wii is massively lagging behind is the JRPGs. It was never Nintendo's forte but now both of their rivals have gained some sort of influence over that genre. I think at this point,even the slightest hint of that "new Mario game" being Super Mario RPG (SMRPG) would create a massive delight in many fans. I too would wish such a thing would happen. I would also not be surprised to see if the "new Mario game" turns out to be Paper Mario. That would be awesome as well.

I think DS has once again proved why handheld shouldn't be considered any less than consoles and it has already delivered some really interesting games this year. So a few more games to accompany the already announced Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks would be good enough.

Predictions for Sony Press Conference

Sony who were criticised and bashed from Day 1 of the seventh-gen are finally coming onto a E3 with a massive amount of momentum courtesy to their smash-hit exclusives this year so far like inFamous,Killzone 2 and then the PSN ones like Flower. This is the first time since E3 04, that Sony is coming with that much attention and momentum centered around them. Sony's ability to silence their critics is something I applaud them for.

They are also coming to E3 with the strongest lineup to boast about as well. God of War 3 is going to almost prominiently feature anything Sony this E3. The series has almost become like a flagship franchise for Sony. So it's a massive game yeah. Gran Turismo 5 is also a game that has been constantly evading any sort of trailers and info on it. I expect Polyphony Digital (the so-called perfectionists and hence their excuse of taking so long) to reveal something about GT5. This would make a head-on-head battle between the two "simulation-drivers" in Forza 3 and GT5. :D

Heavy Rain : The Origami Killer is a game that drew loads of attention back in E3 06 with a stellar trailer titled "The Casting", back when the "Mad World" trailer from Gears of War 1 was wowing everyone. Heavy Rain is from Quantic Dream,a French-based developer for whom I have a great deal of respect and admiration. They previously made Omnikron: The Nomad Soul and Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit. Having played Fahrenheit, I can easily call it as one of the most immersive "movie-like" gaming experience in recent years. No matter what people say about it's over-reliance on Quick Time Events (QTE), it was a great achievement. Heavy Rain is utilising an insane amout of technology. If you just go through the "Casting" tech demo once again,you'll see what I am talking about. ;)

There has been a lot of hoopla surrounding "a new MGS" game featuring Big Boss and Raiden. Supposedly, a leak has reported this to be a PSP game. I think most likely it will be "a follow up" and not a full-fledged sequel to MGS4. It will be like what ODST is to Halo 3.

We've all been waiting for a long time to hear something about Shirokishi Monogatari (or the White Knight Chronicles),Level 5's RPG that released last year in Japan. I think WKC got a Winter release date in NA, and if that is true then there's a VERY good chance we are going to hear something about it. I wonder if Level 5 will keep the much-criticised online component intact in the NA version of the game.

The new 16GB PSP Go! has already been leaked. My real concern is not whether it's 16GB or 16000GB. My concern is whether it has UMD or not. And even without the UMD,does the long loading times and weak battery issue still exist? Let's face it. PSP would be twice better the handheld if it weren't for those two of it's problems. So,let's hope it doesn't have those gripes.

On the Neutral Side...

I don't think I can even list the possible number of multi-plat titles that can be shown in E3. Because,with each growing day, more and more games are taking that route. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for a few like The Beatles: Rock Band, Dragon Age : Origins, Max Payne 3, Red Dead : Redemption, Ghostbusters :The Game, Mafia II to name a few.

So,let's hope for a swell of a E3 and here's hoping I can once again write a blog similar to last year's when I wrote one while in a state of shock and ecstasy at FFXIII was announced for 360 as well.

Cheers!

See ya

Lightwarrior179

P.S : Thanks to all of you who commented on the last blog! :D