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E3 2016 predictions: Sure shots, long shots and cheap shots

It’s almost time, boys and girls — E3 press conferences kick off early Monday morning, Australian time. Ahead of the big reveals, Stevivor Editors Stuart Gollan and Jay Ball sat down to discuss what they expect to see. Rather than play nice, we’ve presented these predictions to you in the form of sure shots — things we definitely expect to see — long shots, or pipe dreams and finally, cheap shots. Enough said.

Join us, won’t you? And don’t forget to take to the comments to predict some things of your own!

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Stuart’s Sure Shot: We find out what is next for the Forza series, what Microsoft’s answer to the Neo is and get a bit more concrete information on HoloLens. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a deeper Oculus/Xbox collaboration announced too, and of course we’ll hear more on its (so far ill-fated) PC gaming initiatives.

Jay’s Sure Shot: There are rumours that Microsoft’s new console is going to be significantly more powerful than Sony’s new offering. Four times more powerful in some reports. If that turns out to be the case, and both the Neo and Scorpio are officially announced at E3 then I expect Microsoft will milk it for all its worth. While the Xbox 360 dominated the market for its entire lifespan, Sony is now enjoying the high life with the huge success of the PS4 over the Xbox One. If Project Scorpio turns out to be a better console it may be able to tip the scales a bit and help Microsoft reestablish its competitive edge.

Stuart’s Long Shot: Microsoft needs something big to claw into Sony’s lead — what would be bigger than getting the new Rockstar game as an exclusive? Traditionally we don’t hear much from 2K and Rockstar at E3 but the Red Dead sequel being Xbox only would be a huge get for Microsoft, even as a timed exclusive, and not out of the realm of possibility.

Jay’s Long Shot: Is it just me or have we been lacking in news about HoloLens recently? Everyone else is jumping on VR with products due to be released this year and while HoloLens isn’t necessarily being developed as a gaming peripheral, it’s going to have some gaming applications isn’t it? I want to see lots more of what HoloLens has to offer to gamers and with so much anticipated focus on VR this year, now would be the perfect time to update us on what Microsoft have been up to.

Stuart’s Cheap Shot: What Microsoft won’t be mentioning is its missteps into the “all in one entertainment device”. You won’t see it bragging about canning Xbox One TV DVR or the fate of the Halo movie. Chances are you don’t hear much about sales figures or Fable, either.

Jay’s Cheap Shot: TV, TV, TV, TV, TV, TV on your TV.

What Stuart’s Excited For: I want to see more of Sea of Thieves and Scalebound, but I’m most excited to be surprised. Microsoft did a great job keeping its secrets last year and I hope this year they’ve got a few more lined up for us.

What Jay’s Excited For: Three words. Gears. Of. War. Yes the franchise’s narratives are a bit shallow, and its gunplay overloaded with rinse and repeat technique. That said, I’ve always loved the dark design of this series… even if the characters are abnormally huge like NFL players wearing 4 layers of body armour. With Gears 4 out in October I’m excited to see some fresh gameplay footage, and if we’re lucky some new features that will change up the combat a bit.

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Jay’s Sure Shot: At least half of the briefing will be all about VR. We’ll see new games specifically designed for the new hardware, and they’ll show us a 2 minute video featuring clips of all the existing games that will have VR support spliced in with actors pretending to play the games. Some have said it’s way too early for info on its Neo system (editor’s note — apparently not!). However I think now is the perfect time to tell the world about the worst kept secret in gaming.

Stuart’s Sure Shot: Sony has to debut the Neo at E3 (editor’s note — again, apparently not!) but the real surprise will be how they sell it to gamers. We’ll get more exclusive Call of Duty content, some Destiny hype and an exclusive Final Fantasy VII remake trailer. Sony was humble last year but now that the tides of battle are firmly in its favour I’d say we get some good old fashioned sales gloating too.

Jay’s Long Shot: My fingers and toes are crossed for any hint of a sequel to Red Dead Redemption. Rockstar has remained tight lipped on this for a long time but if an RDR sequel were to be announced, it would certainly be the biggest talking point of this year’s E3. Also, Naughty Dog needs to show us what it’s working on next. Uncharted has been and gone. Sure, they probably deserve a break, but we want a sequel to The Last of Us! Or even better, a new IP with the same quality narrative we’ve come to expect from them.

Stuart’s Long Shot: Sony would be hard pressed to match the nostalgia factor of 2015 but I’d love to see it try. Perhaps Crash Bandicoot in some glorious deal with Activision? It’s more likely than the Vita even being mentioned in the show, there would be more chance of Sony announcing a new handheld. Outside of hardware, Thatgamecompany has been quiet for a while…

Jay’s Cheap Shot: I think it’s about time that we all accept the fact that we will not see another Crash Bandicoot game ever again. I know it’s tough, but poor Crash is just going to have to go hang out with Gordon Freeman in the land of games that will never exist.

Stuart’s Cheap Shot: Rumours are that Microsoft will stop at nothing to end the “Sony has more powerful hardware” narrative with its new Xbox One. If Microsoft announces a beastly new console on Tuesday morning there could be a few unusually long demos in place of where the Neo announcement would sit.

What Jay’s Excited For: Sony is all about No Man’s Sky for me. While the exploration RPG seeds of this game are far from what I would normally play, the technical feat that this game promises is something that I can’t wait to see for myself. It’s understood that the footage we’ve seen of the game so far has been intentionally limited to basic and familiar animals and planets to maintain the wow factor when the game finally comes out. I would love to see some “real” footage of how this game is going to look.

What Stuart’s Excited For: I’d love to see some new Shenmue 3 gameplay footage and steps toward an affordable entry point for Playstation VR. Hopefully the recent delay of Horizon: Zero Dawn doesn’t mean it is absent from E3.

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Stuart’s Sure Shot: We’ll see more of what we already know is coming: Mass Effect Andromeda, Battlefield, Titanfall 2, sports games. That is a good thing in this case. With Need for Speed in an off year there has to be one big announcement — I’m predicting Star Wars or maybe even Dragon Age. Last year’s NFS will end up in EA Access (that might be a Microsoft announcement) and we might end up with Xbox 360 games announced for Access too.

Jay’s Sure shot: Without a doubt, Titanfall 2 will be all over this year’s EA conference like a rash. A sexy, mech killing rash. We’ll hopefully see a bit more of the use of swords which appeared in its teaser but I’m expecting the focus will be on the single-player campaign and the fact that it’s no longer an Xbox exclusive. Of course there will be a release date announcement for it which will likely “fall” (see what I did there?) around early November this year.

We’re likely to see some quality game play footage shown of Battlefield 1 as well. Again the focus will probably be the campaign as it’s much easier to demo than multiplayer, considering the scale of these games (editor’s note: multiplayer will be showcased after the press conference). I’m looking forward to watching someone explain how piloting a zeppelin is going to be fun. Because it we all know it will be about as much fun as watching paint dry… from inside the cabin of a zeppelin.

Stuart’s Long Shot: Does the absence of Need for Speed leave room for a new Burnout game? Probably not, but I can dream. In the even more unlikely category sits a new college football game, though a new Fight Night isn’t as far fetched an idea.

Jay’s Long Shot: If EA even hinted about a sequel to Brutal Legend, I would probably wee myself in excitement. A man can dream, right?

Stuart’s Cheap Shot: There are plenty of other dormant EA franchises waiting for a revival, but I don’t think we’ll hear from Medal of Honor, Command and Conquer or Army of Two. Hopefully EA doesn’t need to fill time with another dull sporting interview either.

Jay’s Cheap Shot: Throughout the whole briefing I’m expecting to hear about EA’s subscription service. In fact I’m expecting to hear too much about how every title they launch in the next 6 to 8 months will launch on EA Access before anywhere else.

What Stuart’s Excited For: Titanfall 2 and Mass Effect Andromeda are two of my most anticipated games. Titanfall was near game of the year for me in 2014 and Mass Effect stands alongside Total War as my favourite game series. More freebies in EA Access would be great too.

What Jay’s Excited For:  Aside from Titanfall 2 I think the most exciting for me from EA is… well… Titanfall 2. I was a huge fan of the first game and played it almost exclusively for a year. But it lacked the depth and longevity that most AAA multiplayer shooters have and the online player count reflected this with numbers dwindling very quickly.  Respawn Entertainment will have to announce some big changes to bring more players into the franchise without the added features being dumb gimmicks that we’ve all seen before. I’ll buy it either way.

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Jay’s Sure Shot: Ubisoft is always known for having briefings that go beyond just having developers and executives talk about games and for that reason I look forward to them above all others. Aisha Tyler will host once again and will continue to be in fine comedic form as she has in previous years. We already know that we’re going to see new footage of South Park: The Fractured But Whole and I’m expecting this will be presented by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, as they make jokes about sequels never living up to their counterparts. I’m also confident in its presentation video that Cartman will break the third wall.

Earlier in the year Ubisoft mentioned that they have a new IP in the works with “strong digital live services”, so hopefully we’re going to see something that breaks the mould this year. Perhaps a game with regular one time live events?

Stuart’s Sure Shot: We get at least one previously unannounced game with the Tom Clancy name attached. With Watch Dogs 2, Wildlands and For Honor all still to come they will get extensive screen time and we are in an “on” year for numbered Far Cry sequels, that has to be a good chance.

Jay’s Long Shot: Let’s face it, The Stick of Truth aside, Far Cry: Blood Dragon was the funniest game to come out in the last 10 years. I would love to see a full length title similar to it.

Stuart’s Long Shot: We haven’t heard from Rayman for a while, and Legends was such a good game. A bigger long shot would be any Ubisoft game drifting from an open world formula.

Jay’s Cheap Shot: You heard it here first — the Ubisoft briefing will conclude with some artist or band that nobody in Australia has heard about, performing its latest track from the Watch Dogs 2 soundtrack to an audience that doesn’t care. I just hope any Watch Dog 2 footage contains an accurate depiction of how the visuals will look in the final game. Oh Ubisoft, do you need some cream for that not-so-subtle burn?

Stuart’s Cheap Shot: I can’t wait for all the exclusive pre-order bonuses, maybe we’ll even get a handy table to show exactly how to get everything for Watch Dogs 2. Another awkward Just Dance demo will prove a highlight too.

What Jay’s Excited For: The thing that excites me most about Ubisoft is that it likes to publish little nuggets of gold that turn out to be either very creative, clever, addictive or all three at once. The Trials series and Valiant Hearts: The Great War were both excellent titles. So I hope Ubisoft continues this trend and gives us a whole showcase of smaller yet original titles that can fill in the gaps between the upcoming AAA releases.

What Stuart’s Excited For: For Honor is an interesting concept that has been very quiet since its reveal last year, and it’d be nice to see a release date for the new South Park RPG.

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Stuart’s Sure Shot: With two big games out in the last year we’ll be hearing more about the post-release plans for Fallout 4 and Doom, but the focus will be on its next big thing: Dishonored 2. Without much else on the cards rumours are flying about a new Evil Within or Skyrim remaster, even a new Wolfenstein game. Unless they intend to give Blink-182 a half hour set, its show needs something — expect at least two of those to come to fruition.

Jay’s Sure Shot: With the huge popularity and success of Doom, Bethesda is bound to announce some amazing new DLC. There’s also been rumours of a sequel to The Evil Within which is a high possibility. Hopefully the sequel will have a story that’s a little more comprehensible and will be scary for more than just the first 25% of the experience.

Stuart’s Long Shot: It is too soon for another Elder Scrolls game to be announced, but perhaps a Fallout: New Vegas-style spinoff of Fallout 4 could be coming?

Jay’s Long Shot: Bethesda has been known for successfully keeping secrets for a long time — look at its announcement of Fallout 4 last year. The game was almost finished and nobody knew anything about it. I’m hoping that they’re going to surprise us again only this time with a new IP that’s only months away.

Stuart’s Cheap Shot: There hasn’t been an official update to Battlecry social media accounts since July last year and seeing what Overwatch did to Battleborn I don’t think Bethesda will be wanting to step into the team shooter market anytime soon. This one might die a quiet death.

Jay’s Cheap Shot: While I hope for a shiny new IP, lets face it — it’s probably not going to happen. With the rumours surrounding the Skyrim: Definitive Edition I’m hoping that this will be nothing more than a pipe dream for the die-hard fans. Aren’t we all a bit sick of HD remakes? Just give us new games already!

What Stuart’s Excited For: Having never played Skyrim (I know, I know) an excuse to sink my teeth into that on current hardware would be much appreciated.

What Jay’s Excited For: To be perfectly honest, Bethesda hasn’t grabbed my attention much over the years. The games it produces often aren’t my style. That being said, Wolfenstein: The New Order was well received and the young gamer in me that remembers when Wolfenstein 3D came out in 1991 wants to see more successful revivals of the games that started it all. So I would love to see the Wolfenstein franchise have more success with a sequel.


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About the author

Stuart Gollan

From Amiga to Xbox One, Doom to Destiny, Megazone to Stevivor, I've been gaming through it all and have the (mental) scars to prove it. I love local multiplayer, collecting ridiculous Dreamcast peripherals, and Rocket League.

About the author

Jay Ball

I'm a big fan of older consoles and can flawlessly complete the first 2 levels of Donkey Kong Country with my eyes closed. These days I still play platformers but also love shooters, arcade racers and action adventure titles. I may or may not be in denial about the death of rhythm games.