E3 2016 - What I Want To See

It’s that time of the year again. E3 is starting this Sunday meaning we’re going to be bombarded with reveals and release dates - release dates that always end up being delayed of course. With the dawning of social media and developer based conferences, The Electronic Entertainment Expo isn’t the powerhouse it used to be. 10 years ago developers would wait the entire year just to reveal hardware and exclusives at E3. These days big reveals are fairly scarce, with publishers revealing information at their own conferences and presentations.

We do still get the occasional shock though. You can never fully predict the outcome of an E3 press conference, so here are my predictions!

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Horizon: Zero Dawn got delayed just a few days ago, but luckily we were treated to a lovely new trailer that gave some insight into the narrative. As much as I loved it, I found myself wanting to know more about the gameplay, what are we going to be doing from moment to moment? So far we’ve just seen a few fights and a tiny bit of stealth. Not bad by any means, but I still feel like we’re missing out on a big chunk of what makes Horizon: Zero Dawn a game.

I’m hoping that we get some extended playthrough footage of Horizon in action, with the developer talking us through how the game works and what we’ll be doing in its massively open world. Given that the game is coming out in February next year, it’s likely that we will get to see some gameplay, the developers need to keep consumers interested. Expect a big main slot in the Sony conference, followed by an extended playthrough afterwards via YouTube.

Skate 4

This is a long shot and it’s likely not going to happen, but a man can dream right? It’s been six years since Skate 3 released, six long years in which a terrible Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater remaster happened, six long years in which the Skate series has garnered a major cult following thanks to various YouTubers and six long years in which EA has been very quiet on an excellent series. Every year, gamers ask the question “Will Skate return this year?” and every year we are left cold, in the dark, tears dripping from our eyes.

It will likely be no different this year, but what if? What if EA just drop a new Skate 4 trailer while simultaneously announcing a remaster of the previous three? I can’t even imagine how excited I would be, I would completely “mark out” so to speak. There are currently no rumours for a Skate 4 reveal but you never know: The demand is certainly there. Fans flooded the EA Instagram account with comments about Skate 4 earlier in the year, demanding some news about the sequel. EA were the buzzkills they usually are and decided to shut down fans rather than offer some hope. This could be because they are just big meanies, or maybe they just wanted to try and keep Skate 4 as low-key as possible until a reveal at E3 this year. Who knows…

Destiny 2

Activision have been pretty quiet on the Destiny front the past 6 months. Since The Division released it feels like Activision have been slowly biding their time, waiting to unveil something new. It’s been almost three years since Destiny initially released and the game is starting to feel a little dated now. A new release would likely bring them back to the forefront and back to competing alongside the likes of The Division.

Activision don’t usually have that much to show at big conferences as they focus their efforts on a few major IP’s. A big Destiny reveal would put them in good standing going into Q4 2017 and probably bring a lot of people back to playing Destiny on a regular basis. This is probably quite likely in my opinion - we won’t see full gameplay but definitely expect a pre-rendered trailer of some kind.

(Acitivision have just announced a new Destiny expansion called Rise Of Iron, so expect to hear about that at E3. I still think we might get a Destiny 2 announcement though)

No Man's Sky

Please don’t give me death threats: No Man’s Sky was recently delayed, with Hello Games citing that they needed a little more time to polish things off. Feels like I’ve been waiting forever to play this game, but I can wait a little bit longer if it means we get a finished product. While we’ve seen a lot of No Man’s Sky so far, I’d really love to see how far the game has come in the past 6 months.

A new trailer delving into the lore and history of the universe would be lovely, and might make the following months a little easier to digest. You never really know what Sony are going to show during their presentation, but I would be really surprised if we didn’t see Sean Murray getting up on stage and giving us something new to drool over. This is probably pretty likely, if we don’t see anything during the presentation I’m sure we’ll get a trailer uploaded just before or right after anyway.

Boundless

Boundless was revealed during Paris Games Week last year. Merging Minecraft with Rick and Morty, the game allows players to warp between voxel worlds. The game instantly caught my eye with its warm and pretty visuals, and the warping mechanic is mystifying and equally captivating. The trailer last year didn’t give that much away, but the game actually allows crossplay between PC and PS4.

I’d love to see the developers show us what’s changed in the past year whilst also showing us some unedited gameplay. Boundless has the potential to be a much more multiplayer driven version of Minecraft. We’ve not really heard much since then, but the game is actually available on PC currently via Early Access. Hopefully we hear more about a full PS4 release during E3. Considering the lack of news in the past eight months, you can count on some Boundless news over the E3 week.

Fight Night

I’ve talked about Fight Night a lot. Not content with only one instance of EA dropping the ball on this list, I thought I’d add another. We haven’t had a Fight Night title since 2011 when EA released Fight Night: Champions. Since then we’ve had several UFC games, all fairly well received and fun to play but they are not Fight Night.

Considering UFC 2 released a few months ago, EA might very well have already started development on a new Fight Night title. UFC is a growth sport but boxing still brings in larger amounts of money, thus it is far more established. It would be daft for EA to completely turn their back on the world of boxing, the Fight Night games have always had a big following. I do think a Fight Night reveal is unlikely, but definitely not impossible.

Red Dead Redemption 2

I’m just being wishful with this one. Red Dead Redemption 2 has become the Ross and Rachel of E3. Each year the gaming community collectively sits there pondering the question “Will they? Won’t they? Might they?” I don’t see why not though, It just makes so much sense! Red Dead Redemption was probably one of the best games to release during the previous generation of consoles. Rockstar have spent the past 3 years rinsing people’s bank accounts through GTA Online, but maybe it’s the time to finally announce a new Red Dead Redemption?

I think Rockstar would genuinely take the E3 crown this year if they came out and announced a Red Dead Redemption sequel. I can imagine they’ll likely just announce some new content for GTA Online and expect you to sink more money into those terrible shark cards. Red Dead Redemption 2 is unlikely, but never give up hope.