# E3 2008: What do you expect?



## Commonmind (Jul 13, 2008)

I know E3 isn't quite the hoopla it used to be, but there's bound to be a few surprises in store for the enthusiast press. What are some of your predictions, or what are you looking forward to most?

Here's mine:

Sony - Announces better backwards compatibility support, for current and future SKU's; announces an open beta date for Home and Little Big Planet; announces the new PSP, which includes touch support and Skype functionality which closer emulates what we see in the iPhone/Instinct, confirming long-standing rumors. I don't foresee the motion controller we seem to be hearing about; I believe Sony will wait for Microsoft to take that course and see if it's a viable addition to a console which has already created a profile within the market.

My wish list: Killzone 2 release date.

Microsoft - Announces a 100% solid Gears 2 date, lifts the veil on the Bungie Halo project, as well as the Peter Jackson Halo project (anyone smell fresh milk?); announces a price-cut and possibly adds their 60gb SKU, which may include a redesign of the current hardware; unveils the motion-controller and several second-party titles which will feature support for it -- including the new Banjo and Viva Pinata titles. I think there's a few other tricks up Microsoft's sleeve, namely some solid exclusive titles that we've not seen thus far. 

My wish list: A new, exclusive IP not involving guns or anything derived from the Unreal Engine 3 -- possibly something furry.

Nintendo - Announces a few new games from old franchises which cater to their more hardcore audience -- Zelda and a new Metroid for starters; announces a new peripheral which includes some form of head tracking (the link that ties the balance board and Wiimote together); announces their going to remedy Wii shortages; unveils the new DS, including a wider screen more akin to the PSP and performance that is also comparable to Sony's handheld.

My wish list: Yeah, go ahead and throw rocks at me now -- I want a new Zelda title which uses a similar visual style to what we saw in Wind Waker; I loved the look and feel of that game. Oh, and I'd like some real online support; no more Friend Codes please!

Games - Beyond what I've mentioned above, I'd love to see a few dates for games which are currently in development. More specifically I'd love to see some of the more high profile PC games get some solid release windows -- Dragon Age, Diablo 3 and StarCraft 2. Unfortunately the PC platform isn't a real big focus at E3 and we'll likely have to wait for any other major news that might be headed our way.


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## Durandal (Jul 13, 2008)

I've given up years ago on trying to guess the whims of E3. I always look forward to it, and I am again this year, but I'm content to be surprised.

Having said that, I think your predictions are probably pretty accurate....


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## Lenny (Jul 13, 2008)

It might not be the hoopla it used to be, but I'm still annoyed that I'll be missing it! I'll have to catch up when I'm back from my holidays... either that or hope that Malta has a lot of Intarweb Cafes.

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From Sony I expect a solid *Home* date, some more *LBP*, and a *Resistance 2* date. *Killzone 2* will probably be shown with the "Feb 09" date, and even though I'd love to see something definite, I doubt we'll even hear a whisper of *FFXIII*. Mustn't forget a *Motorstorm 2* date - it'll either be one of the last four months of the year, or simply next year.

I'm not sure about them announcing any sort of backwards compatibility for the 40gb SKU, and I'd put money against a PSP2 simply because, in the past, the rumour that it's going to be announced has done the rounds so many times and nothing materialised.

Oh, I think some noise will be made about Blu-ray Profile 2.0.

As for new releases - there's bound to be a video montage of twenty-odd PSN games which are all so outside the box that they're in their own box (not necessarily a bad thing!), and I think there's a chance that *GoW3* will be officially announced.

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Nintendo will announce a new peripheral which turns the Wiimote into a hamster ball/is a hamster ball, which will be used specifically for an upcoming Sonic game in which you control Sonic (innovation at its finest!).

Microsoft are definitely going to announce a price-drop, but I'm not sure about a new SKU. *Gears 2* is a no-brainer, as is some sort of *Halo* game. I think *Fable 2* will rear it's head with Molyneux taking stage to talk about _another_ major mechanic in the game (dog, single-button combat, family... ability to jack a horse-drawn carriage a la GTA?), and there's a rumour (complete with pictures) that MS have got a Singstar-killer. If they have, that'll be shown... but wait! There's no Peter Moore anymore! I do hope MS have someone else to tattoo and use in demonstrations.

My wish list - something, anything about *Portal 2*. I don't care if it's just a white pster with the words "Portal 2" scrawled on it. And whilst I'm there, something about *HL2: Ep 3* would be nice.

Other than that, I don't really know. Surprises would be nice.

EDIT: There's bound to be *Far Cry 2* and *Crysis: Warhead*, if not *Crysis 2*. *Fallout 3*, too. *RE5*, *Tekken 6*, *Alone in the Dark 5*.

I wonder what the chances of a new _Factor 5_ game are?

Oh, and there'll be a new *Star Wars* game. There always is a new Star Wars game.

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I'm looking forward to it, but I can't see anything special coming of it - that is, E3 2008 will probably be the local school's Summer Fete to the extravaganza that was the fantastic E3 2005.

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EDIT2:



> My wish list: A new, exclusive IP not involving guns or anything derived from the Unreal Engine 3 -- possibly something furry.


 
Lol.

I can just imagine *Viva Pinata 2: Modern Warfare*.


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## Commonmind (Jul 14, 2008)

LOL! I'd buy it!

And I believe Factor 5 has their hands full working on the Wii Kid Icarus title 

Just to clarify Lenny, I wasn't predicting Sony was going to add BC to the 40gb unit -- I was referring to a firmware update that would expand current libraries, to something more on par with our old 60gb SKU.

I know this is never going to happen, but it would be nice to expand the PS3's ability to read from and play content of all types, from all sources -- I'm looking at you, FAT32!


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## Cayal (Jul 14, 2008)

What I'd like to see/hear for PS3

God of War 3
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Release date for Killzone 2, Resistance 2, Final Fantasy XIII, Uncharted 2
Jak and Daxter 5 announced
Kingdom Hearts 3 announed
More RPGs announced
Good looking games from new IPs, not sequels
Heavy Rain info
And whatever the mind blowing thing that writer signed a non-disclosure agreement is.


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## Commonmind (Jul 14, 2008)

I can't believe I'd forgotten about God of War 3  

I want that Kingdom Hearts 3 announcement as well.

Admittedly, though I love all of my systems equally, I really want this show to be a Sony blowout. The PS3 has the most untapped potential of the three consoles, and this E3 could be the event that proves that.


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## Lucien21 (Jul 14, 2008)

Cayal said:


> What I'd like to see/hear for PS3
> Heavy Rain info
> And whatever the mind blowing thing that writer signed a non-disclosure agreement is.


 
I believe those 2 are the same thing.


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## Lucien21 (Jul 14, 2008)

Nintendo Announces "Wii Motion plus" attachment to the Wii-mote which claims to up the accuracy of the remote. http://kotaku.com/5024907/nintendo-i...ii-motion-plus

*Microsoft Conference*

Portal: Still Alive to come to XBL this year - Exclusive for 2008 http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/14/po...x-live-arcade/

Resident Evil 5 delayed to March 2009 (Bugger 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





)

Microsoft announces "Lips" with a motion sensetive microphone http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/14/mi...wireless-mics/ (Trying for the Singstar Market)

Fallout 3 gets exclusive DLC for the Xbox and PC. http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/14/fa...es-for-window/

Fable2 is finished set for October release.

Gears 2 has a release date 7th November (Election Day 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 So will you vote or go play Gears 2)

360 gets new interface with Avatars (LOL ripping off the Mii's and Home now) http://www.joystiq.com/2008/07/14/xb...new-dashboard/

BIG final announcement: *FINAL FANTASY XIII coming to the 360 SAME DAY AS PS3*


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## Lucien21 (Jul 14, 2008)

----What happened to the much rumoured motion control ???


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## Commonmind (Jul 14, 2008)

I was expecting them to announce it


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## Lucien21 (Jul 14, 2008)

Gametrailers.com - Fallout 3 - E3 2008: Microsoft Press Conference Walkthrough  Fallout 3 gameplay


Looks freaking ACE.


Gametrailers.com - Resident Evil 5 - E3 2008: Microsoft Press Conference Walkthrough -Resident Evil 5 gameplay

Looks cool

Alos no Bungie or Halo related announcements - Strange.


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## Commonmind (Jul 14, 2008)

Yeah, I assumed we'd hear something on the Halo projects that everyone knows are in the works. Maybe we'll still see something.

...and Fallout 3 looks amazing.


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## Lucien21 (Jul 14, 2008)

Bungie.net has gone into countdown mode.

So some Halo type announcement after all. Maybe.


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## Lucien21 (Jul 14, 2008)

They announced some more details on the New system update for the Xbox360.



> · *Play from hard drive. *Copy your games from the game disc and play directly from the hard drive.  Not only will the drive not spin, but load times are quicker, as well. Of course, you will still need the disc in the tray to prove you own the game.
> · *Access Xbox LIVE Marketplace on the Web.*  Browse and purchase Marketplace content whenever you want from Xbox.com and it downloads automatically to your console.  Purchase that new map, television episode, the latest Xbox LIVE Arcade game or set up a movie to watch when you get home from work.
> · *Dashboard built into the new Xbox Guide.*  For everyone who loves the blades interface, it’s not going away; they are now built directly in to the new Xbox guide. Every feature and option is available right from the guide.  You can even access your full games library at all times.  No matter where you are (in dash or in game), immediately call up your games played list and directly launch a game.
> · *LIVE Party system.*  Create a party of up to eight friends, and stay with them from one game to another, or watch a Netflix movie together, or share a slideshow of your personal photos.  It works with all Xbox 360 titles, not just upcoming games.  LIVE Party allows up to eight people to chat in the dashboard, so you can meet up before playing.
> ...


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## Commonmind (Jul 14, 2008)

Thanks for the updates Luc.


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## Lucien21 (Jul 14, 2008)

Gametrailers.com - Gears of War 2 - E3 2008: Trailer  - Gears 2 Trailer
Gametrailers.com - Gears of War 2 - E3 2008: Microsoft Press Conference Walkthrough  - Gears 2 Gameplay  (Brumack Riding you say )


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## Commonmind (Jul 14, 2008)

I can't wait for Gears 2. And I love the Horde gameplay idea. Especially having spent so much time playing Gears one online, I've got 3 other folks whom I play with on a regular basis, so something like Horde is going to be right up our alley.


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## Lucien21 (Jul 15, 2008)

Some more trailers

*Mirrors Edge*
Gametrailers.com - Mirror's Edge - E3 2008: Leap of Faith Trailer HD Mirrors Edge Trailer 
Gametrailers.com - Mirror's Edge - E3 2008: Developer Walkthrough - Mirrors Edge Gameplay 

Still not 100% convinced with this game. I love the look of the character and the idea of the free running. I still have doubts about the freedom in the game and the combat mechanics and whether the whole thing will gel together as a cohesive game. It looks a bit "On-rails"

*Dead Space*

Gametrailers.com - Dead Space - Exclusive E3 2008: Loved Ones Trailer HD - Dead Space Trailer
Gametrailers.com - Dead Space - E3 2008: EA Press Conference Cam Walkthrough - Dead Space Gameplay 

OMG I want this game. The interface looks cool and the game has a System Shock 2 vibe about it. (It was originally supposed to be System Shock 3 I heard before they changed direction). This game rocks.

*Sony Bites back*

Gametrailers.com - Resistance 2 - E3 2008: Exclusive Trailer HD - Resistance 2 Trailer 

Resistance 2 looks seriously cool


*Prince of Persia*

Gametrailers.com - Prince of Persia: Next Gen - E3 2008: Exclusive Trailer HD - New Prince of Persia game 

Artistically looks great with the cell shading although they look a bit seperate from the backgrounds at times in the video. The coop mechanic might be ok.


*Misc Others*

*Gametrailers.com - Infamous - E3 2008: Exclusive Trailer HD - Infamous Trailer (looks OK)*
*http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36304.html - Viva Pinata 2 (Looks colourful at least)*
*http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36299.html - Ghostbusters (Ah nostalgia)*
*http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36283.html - Rage from ID (looks interesting)*

*http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36262.html - Star Ocean (Looks ok)*


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## Commonmind (Jul 15, 2008)

So, the 60gb unit is a reality.

Microsoft cuts 20GB Xbox 360 to $299.99, launches 60GB model


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## Lucien21 (Jul 15, 2008)

It will be needed to install the games on the Hard Disk. 20GB isn't big enough.

p.s What's up with the Alan Wake no show is it turning onto the new Duke Nukem Forever ?


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## Lucien21 (Jul 15, 2008)

*Nintendo's Turn*

Shaun White Snowboarding using Balance board.

Animal Crossing: City Folk  with Wii Speak (I.e a Microphone)

Spore Creatures on DS

Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades

Pokemon Ranger Shadows of Alma on November 10th in the US.

Grand Theft Auto game called Chinatown Wars is out on DS this winter.

Wii Sports Resort with the Motion Plus add on. Beach Frisbee etc next Spring

and finally 

Wii Music



*SNORE* * SNORE*

WTF is this guff. No Zelda, No hardcore games, No new DS or anything of interest.

Engadget & Joystiq live from Nintendo's E3 2008 keynote - Joystiq


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## Commonmind (Jul 15, 2008)

Yeah, it was a bust. And at the very end, when Reggie started talking about expansion and revolution, I assumed he was going to pull a new hardware trick out of his sleeve. What a tease.


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## Commonmind (Jul 15, 2008)

Resistance 2 looks fantastic.


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## Commonmind (Jul 15, 2008)

Video service from Sony for PS3, launching tonight. Sony takes a page from Apple's book.


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## Lucien21 (Jul 15, 2008)

*Sony's Turn*

Well I can't say I was blown away by any of that.

Resistance 2 looked excellent. The playthrough with the giant monster was ace. Same trailer as previously posted.

Doing your sales presentation as a Little Big Planet level - Priceless. A cute idea and a great way to promote the range of LBP customisation (out in October) Gametrailers.com - LittleBigPlanet - E3 2008: Sony Press Conference Presentation

New downloadable Ratchet and Clank - Quest for Booty looked like fun.

Gran Tourismo TV - Yawn

Still no date for Home - Arrrrrrrrrrggggh although the themed areas looked nice. They need to bloody release this already. Gametrailers.com - Home (PSN) - E3 2008: Sony Conference Home Trailer

New TV service from today - *shrug*

Resistance on the PSP was a surprise. Looks ace and I might actually play my PSP for the first time in about a year then. Other Highlights for PSP over the next year: Star Wars, Madden, LocoRoco, NBA, a new Lego franchise, Patapon 2, Buzz quiz game with ad-hoc play

Sony online with a MMO - DC Universe. Can't play any of the characters, but otherwise looks like City of Heroes. Gametrailers.com - DC Universe Online - E3 2008: Sony Conference Trailer

New 80 gb PS3 for $399, no mention of lowering the other models.

A montage of developers kissing ass about the power of the PS3. 

A very quick video of LittleBigPlanet, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, MGS4, Guns of the Patriots, Quantum of Solace, SOCOM Confrontation, Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Soul Calibur IV, Resistance 2, The Agency, Naruto Storm, Mirror's Edge, Resident Evil 5, Singstar, Guitar Hero World Tour, NBA09: The Inside, Buzz Quiz TV, Killzone 2

Ok now to the nitty gritty.

A teaser trailer for God of War 3. (looked ok, but no gameplay of course) Gametrailers.com - God of War 3 - E3 2008: Sony Press Conference Debut Trailer

A decent trailer for InFamous.

and the final surprise......

MAG - Massive Action Game.

A 256 player MMO FPS that allows people to work in 8 man teams, rise through the ranks to lead squads and take part in HUGE 256 player battles. All very SOCOM online like.


No motion Control, No Heavy Rain, No new PSP, not a lot of new game stuff.
Seem to concentrate more on the online aspect of the console.


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## Cayal (Jul 15, 2008)

NO damn FFVII remake. That woulda taken the wind outta Microsoft sales (pun intended).


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## Lucien21 (Jul 16, 2008)

Some more of the decent E3 trailers.

*Resident Evil 5  *Gametrailers.com - Resident Evil 5 - E3 2008: Alternate Trailer HD  New trailer looking better and better.

*Resistance 2  *Gametrailers.com - Resistance 2 - E3 2008: Massive Monster Gameplay HD  - Giant monster battle gameplay video.

*Killzone 2* Gametrailers.com - Killzone 2 - E3 2008: Destruction Cam Gameplay HD  - Gameplay

*Dead Space  *Gametrailers.com - Dead Space - E3 2008: Developer Cam Walkthrough HD  - Some more gameplay

*Motorstorm 2  *Gametrailers.com - MotorStorm Pacific Rift - E3 2008: Trailer HD

*Star Wars Force Unleashed* : Gametrailers.com - Star Wars: Force Unleashed - E3 2008: Junk Titan Gameplay HD
Gametrailers.com - Star Wars: Force Unleashed - E3 2008: Rancor Battle Gameplay HD

*FarCry 2 *Gametrailers.com - Far Cry 2 - E3 2008: Trailer HD

*I am Alive* Gametrailers.com - I Am Alive - E3 2008: Debut Trailer HD


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## Commonmind (Jul 17, 2008)

Thanks Luc. And no FFVII remake announcement makes me sad as well. Fingers crossed for TGS in October


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## Cayal (Jul 17, 2008)

TGS is more likely since it is a japanese show.

I am Alive really piques my interest in new games shown.


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## Lucien21 (Jul 17, 2008)

I think a PSP port is more likely than a remake or even another game set in the same universe like Crisis Core.

I really can't see them doing a remake.


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## Cayal (Jul 17, 2008)

If they want to make money they will remake it. (and they have remade 1 - 6)


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## Commonmind (Jul 17, 2008)

Lucien21 said:


> I think a PSP port is more likely than a remake or even another game set in the same universe like Crisis Core.
> 
> I really can't see them doing a remake.



There's also going to be some astounding announcement made during their invite only press event in August.

E3 2008: One More Final Fantasy XIII Interview

As Cayal said, they've already remade each iteration previous to FFVII, and being that it's certainly the most beloved title in the franchise, it wouldn't make sense not to release a revised version of the game, at some point.

We'll have to wait and see.


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## Lucien21 (Jul 17, 2008)

Each previous iteration has been for the DS or PSP so chances are VII will be for the PSP.

It won't be a big budget PS3 game that everyone is talking about.


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## Cayal (Jul 18, 2008)

The rumour isn't about Advent Children Complete - not according to a previous interview - although a FFVII demo with ACC would be nice.

And Lucien, it is coming.


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## Lucien21 (Jul 18, 2008)

Cayal said:


> And Lucien, it is coming.


 
N4G.com : Rumor Killer: FFVII Remake Is NOT Coming


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## Cayal (Jul 18, 2008)

He had no source whatsoever. And even if true it only proves it is not the big announcement that is coming next month.


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## Cayal (Jul 19, 2008)

As for other news, sources say God of War 3 is looking very close to the teaser trailer in terms of graphics.


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## Commonmind (Jul 19, 2008)

Very good news. I'm a huge GoW fan -- I even loved the PSP game -- so I can't wait to see some gameplay footage.


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## Cayal (Jul 19, 2008)

Hope that comes out early 2009 (some say March though no official date)


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## Commonmind (Jul 19, 2008)

I'm really enjoying this new trend of a game being announced or unveiled shortly before its launch. I hope it continues.


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