E3 2010 Predictions, PART 1

UPDATE 6.1.2010: Don't you know it.  I make a risky prediction and it's disproven almost the next day.  This morning, Rockstar announced that they will be skipping E3 this year.  They explained that they do not have enough prepared to show off at E3, and will be showing their latest builds of Max Payne 3 and L.A. Noire at a later time.  Reports suggest that they also had an announcement to be made at E3 this year, but whether this is true or not is irrelevant as it will not come to light at this E3.  That's too bad.  Oh well.  You gotta get some wrong to get some right!

Ah.  Only 2 or so weeks till the greatest convention known to manking arrives: the Electronic Entertainment Expo, also known as E3.  For many, this four day expo is Heaven on Earth.  It is the culmination of all that is video games.  Unfortunately, it remains very much the unnatainable gold.  E3 is a press-only event, and therefore no gamer outside of the industry can witness first-person the magic.  Thank God there is an internet.

Gamers can enjoy much of what E3 has to offer right from the comfort of their own homes.  The television channel, G4, will be running over 5 hours a day from the event, with inside exclusives, and of course, all the press conferences imaginable.  Tons of websites also have 24-hour coverage, including IGN, GameTrailers, and Kotaku.  Finally, many other channels will be running E3 related events, such as Spike TV and MTV.  And it would come as no surprise if a couple national news outlets covered the event, too. 

As I am also a gamer, I too am anxious for the wonders of E3.  Which is why here on Just Another Gaming Blog, a tradition will come to the surface.  This may be my favorite post so far, as I have spent the most time constructing it.  Friends, Romans, and Countrymen, may I present my E3 predictions for E3 2010. 

MICROSOFT
I have many predictions for the great MS this year.  No one can deny that MS will put the majority of its focus on pushing its new product, Project Natal.  Much of what they announce will surround this device, and it will be the first time they will update the progress of the tech since last year's E3.  I predict that everything will be announced for Natal so that it may be released in fashion at the end of this year.  This will include pricing, which I predict will be under $100.  Sony has announced that the Move will be under $100, so MS wants to stay competitive.  Release date for the device will be around October or November, definitely after the announced release date for Halo: Reach in September.  They want the device to sell well and not be overcome by Halo, making hardcore gamers choose.  The name of Natal will also change.  Natal is the project name, and it will have an official release name.  My guess is something with "LIVE" in it. 

Natal will see a crapload of games.  This is not so much a prediction as a fairly safe fact, as over thirty companies have stated that they are developing for Natal, and at least half of those have confirmed that they are showing off that game at E3.  Natal will include a casual game package, ala Wii Sports, which will include the tech demo from last year, Ricochet, and some other casual games.  I wouldn't doubt plenty of other casual games, also.  MS will also make sure to show Natal's capabilities with more hardcore games.  Peter Molyneux is sure to show off how Natal works in Fable III, and I predict a few more games to show off Natal's potential with the hardcore crowd.  However, Natal will be focused more as a dashboard and functionality add-on.  I predict things such as using Natal to turn on and off the Xbox, use the dashboard, watch Netflix movies, and everything else.  Don't forget that Natal also has voice recognition, and I predict that will come in play too.

Possibly the largest prediction and the most risky I can make about MS is that of a Slim Xbox 360.  Yes, I do think they will introduce a new SKU to be packaged in with Natal.  Over the last year, MS has reduced their SKU's to the Core and the Elite.  The new SKU will serve as a little of both, pairing a redesigned Xbox with a faster, cooler, and quiter processor with the best casual peripheral, Natal.  It will fall in between the two current SKU's in price, most likely at a $300-350 price point.  This would make sense as the actual box would be $200-250 and Natal under $100.  This package will have a 250 GB hard drive, once again appealing to the hardcore.  This new SKU will launch simultaneously with Natal.  However, calling the SKU "Slim" may be a stretch.  Although I'm sure the SKU will be smaller, it may just be a redesign to accompany Natal.

As far as other announcements go, MS is sure to continue adding online functions and other partnerships.  TV in North America for Xbox 360 is very likely in my opinion, especially since in the UK, SkyTV is already being offered.  Now, this could be a small thing at first.  I predict a possible partnership with a TV channel to offer programming simultaneously on the console with the television.  More app-like things are sure to come, as MS has made is quite clear they want to implement the internet into the Xbox. It's quite possible avatars might see something new, but I'm sure more awards and clothing are on the way.  It is also very likely that Microsoft will announce more partnerships.  This comes at a perfect time, as Bungie has left MS and gone to work on their new IP with Activision.    

As far as games go at the MS conference, Natal is sure to take up a lot of the announcements, but not as much as people suspect.  Remember, MS is having an entirely seperate conference for Natal.  Most of the developed games will also be from third-parties, who have their own conferences.  The hardcore shouldn't worry, as I am sure MS still has some major announcements in store.  Before I get into that though, I do want to run down what known games I predict will be there, and what I predict they will show. 

• Rock Band 3, with the Harmonix band playing a demo at the beginning of the conference, like they have done the last 2 years.
• Fallout: New Vegas, with a demo and release date.
• Batman: Arkham Asylum 2, with a demo and release date (this one is iffy.  It might go to Sony's).
• Mafia II, with a release date.
• Dead Rising 2, with a release date.
• Halo: Reach, with a singleplayer demo.
• Crysis 2.
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, with a release date.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops, with a demo and release date.
• Rage, with a demo.
• Gears of War 3, with a demo.
• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, with a demo and a release date.
• Fable III, with a demo and release date.
• Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.
• Bulletstorm, with a demo and a release date.
• XCOM.

And now, onto what games I think may be announced and/or shown at the conference.  First, I believe the previously announced Final Fantasy Versus XIII will be announced for the Xbox 360.  It is currently known as a PS3 exclusive, but with the moderate success of FFXIII on the 360, I don't doubt this will happen.  Possibly a very risky prediction for me is that I fell something for the Grand Theft Auto franchise will be announced at E3.  Yes, possibly Grand Theft Auto V.  It also could be a spin-off, like Vice City or San Andreas.  But something will be said.  I am also stepping out on a limb and predicting that after all the developer closings, a developer will come forward and announce that they are making Star Wars: Battlefront III.  LEGO will also announce another game, possibly a sequel to LEGO: Batman.  Finally, I am predictiong that another entry in the Rainbow Six series will be announced.

That is it for my Microsoft predictions for E3.  Please, PLEASE, PLEASE leave comments telling me your two cents.  If you comment enough I will write a response post to your predictions and comments.  PLEASE leave some (or a lot, if you want) predictions for JUST MICROSOFT on this post.  Also, I'd love to hear what you think I predicted correctly, and what you think is total crap. 

Stay tuned this next week for parts 2 and 3 which will cover predictions for Sony and Nintendo.