Paige FTW: E3 2018: What To Look For
June heralds the start of summer — and of gaming’s biggest event of the year. E3 runs June 12-14 in Los Angeles, and, as usual, it’ll probably be a pretty big deal. Here are some key points to look for ahead of the conference (and of course, we’ll be dissecting the announcements here next week).
The Big Three
Sony will likely follow its usual pattern of finally discussing all the cool, exciting titles that popped up last year (and then haven’t been heard from since): The Last of Us: Part II is a guaranteed player, as is Spider-Man, Days Gone and Ghosts of Tsushima. I would also expect to see Death Stranding in some form or another. Sony has also indicated it will make a few more announcements — but truthfully, it doesn’t need to.
Microsoft is still struggling to catch up with Sony, so it probably will try to whip out some sparkling console exclusives to entice latecomers to this generation. Does this mean Halo? It probably does — how many other, still viable franchises does Microsoft have left? I also suspect we’ll see more third-party “timed exclusivity,” perhaps tied into Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Nintendo doesn’t typically make a lot of noise at E3, so I don’t expect a whole lot of big, new announcements. We will likely see more of Let’s Go! Pikachu and other previously announced projected. Maybe even Super Smash Bros. for Switch — but I’m not holding my breath on that one. It’s more likely Nintendo will hold its flashiest news for one of its future Nintendo Directs.
Big Games
Ubisoft was forced (or so it seems) to announce its ancient Greece-set Assassin’s Creed early, but it’s safe to say we’ll be seeing more of it. I would be stunned if Kingdom Hearts III doesn’t get some kind of release date — or heck, a release window — given that Square-Enix has still been obstinately insisting the game will release this year. I would not hold my breath on seeing the Final Fantasy VII remake, though. Word is that things haven’t been going so well.
