E3 is two weeks away! Shall we speculate?

Sony: Sony seems to be the company this year with the most to gain. They've been on the ground and have been kicked to goo since last year's meltdown disaster of a Sony conference. After shitting on the stage last year and telling us that we'd buy it and like it simply because they said so, Sony needs to learn from Nintendo's show last year and just have games, games and more games to be announced and played. No more pre-rendered shit and no more ridiculous claims on how shit we've played before is now earth shattering because of the extra $600 investment. Put the games out there and let US decide that they're worth looking forward to, don't tell us they are. As far as the big rumors are concerned, I do NOT think there will be a price drop announced (a 360 drop could force this though) and I do not think a new PSP is coming out (yet). The "will be rumored until it happens" Final Fantasy VII Remake could possibly turn some heads, but if it's happening (and I don't think it's likely), it's probably just as far off as Final Fantasy XIII, meaning at least two or three years. Their lineup needs desperate work but if they can get a good balance of American and Japanese styles game as they did with the PS2, they could eventually build some steam on Microsoft's gun and car bloated system.

Microsoft : Microsoft is pretty neutral this year, in my opinion. Their best bet is to just continue to convince people to buy their system over a PS3. They've been out long enough that a price drop would do wonders for this. However, price drops aren't usually announced at E3, but right before the drop is supposed to hit (who would buy a 360 now if they had confirmation that it would be $100 cheaper in a few months, right?). So unless they're going out of E3 cheaper, I wouldn't expect this until closer to the holiday season. Either are just as likely. I'm also willing to bet that they probably have stolen another previously Sony exclusive.. and while at this point EVERY non-Sony-published title in under scrutiny, the biggest blow would be taking Metal Gear Solid 4 from them.. and unless Konami is getting a huge nut from Sony, it'd be foolish for them to not go cross platform considering the (assumed) cost of the game's development and the current market share of the 360. Microsoft could still use a little bit of Japanese flair on their system and I'm not talking about Japanese developed games made for Westerners (Dead Rising, Lost Planet, etc.). Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata are both colorful RPGs but neither seem to stand out quite enough to convince many fans that don't already have the system to jump.

Nintendo: Nintendo is on such an up right now that they could suffer a huge fall this year. Their showing last year was surprisingly incredible and the Wii has become an insane success considering the risk. They need to show at E3 that they're going to be able to balance both the Wii Sports gamer and the Legend of Zelda gamer on the system for the coming years.. and it's going to take solid efforts from third parties to truly accomplish this. The problem is that nobody expected the system to take off, so the solid "epic" titles are just getting started in their development and taking quite a bit longer to put out than some of the more casual fare (or ports with Wii controls). Nintendo's first party efforts should hold that end for the coming holiday season but the third parties need to show that they have stuff coming.. in playable form. They've also got to be concerned with the eventual Xbox 360 price drop to show that the Wii's uniqueness can hold its own once the price gap narrows (see: DS vs. PSP for how to do this correctly). The DS doesn't have much to lose on the other hand and while a third design is rumored, it seems a bit ridiculous. The original design had room for improvement, another version will just be "different" and with the DS Lite still selling as nuts as it is, they don't really need the slight kick another design will get them. New colors are more likely (as are colorful Wii remotes). As a personal wish, I'd like to see a wireless Classic Controller with rumble. Yeah, it's weak sauce to scrap what they've already put on the market but it never hurt Sony when they did it three or four times on the PS1, it won't hurt them when they do it on the PS3 and it didn't hurt Microsoft when they killed "The Duke." Just quietly phase out the old controller with the new one.

Just want to post an early warning to keep this thread out of the flame zone - no console bashing please.

Had i just read rumors or hasn't MG4 already been said to be coming to the 360 at some point?

I had never heard anything about a new DS design.... other than making a more powerful system what is really left to change or upgrade on the Lite?

Only thing that the DS Lite is missing imo is sensible wireless security. It needs something better than WEP and if that means putting 802.11g in there, so be it.

I look forward to whatever Nintendo has to announce from Wii games to channels to features (DS-Wii interactivity). Give me Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros release dates. Show me new shit. Give me Phantom Hourglass release date. Show me a new 2D Mario and/or Metroid.

-i hope that we see something from Ninja Gaiden 2 PLEASE.

-we'll see some Halo 3 campaign footage hopefully

-we'll see ACTUAL gameplay footage from the infamous Killzone 2

-we'll see somemore footage from GTA 4

Konami is still insisting that Metal Gear Solid 4 is a PS3 exclusive (as is Square-Enix on Final Fantasy XIII). There's also never been anything to say otherwise except for the number of titles becoming cross platform and the slower-than-expected sales of the PS3. Both of those factors along with the rampart PS3-hate that's built up over the last year are just getting people assuming (or desperately hoping). Much like Microsoft is paying for exclusive GTAIV content, you can bet your ass that Sony knows which third-party titles they need on their system alone and they've got dollars lining the pockets of those making them.

The third DS is supposed to have slightly larger screens for "older players." That's just what I've read.. most sites reporting on that seem to point out similar to what I've posted about it just not making much sense at the moment. I don't think the GBA Micro took off as they had hoped (especially in the US) so another third design is less likely.. and the actual successor to the system is at least two or three years away.

wlj, Halo 3, Killzone 2 and GTAIV are safe bets. I don't think Ninja Gaiden 2 is likely though.

Smash Bros., Mario Galaxy and Zelda: PH dates are happening. I think New Super Mario Bros. sold way too well for them not to be working on a follow-up and while I'd cream for a new 2D Metroid (with 2D graphics, none of this 3D is 2D crap) it seems like a big question mark. It was confirmed that one was, at some point, in development for the DS. Rumored cancled, then rumored just too early to show.. if it doesn't show up this year I think it's probably safe to forget about it.

we can all hope though

I'm really hoping we see some Conan footage and hear about a MMORPG for Live. Personally i want one that won't require monthly fees (other than the Live service) so something like Guild Wars on Live would be kind of cool.

I'm also looking forward to hearing about that PS3 game that is a CCG using the camera. I don't have a PS3 but that game seems really interesting and is a unique idea.

Otherwise I want to see some Fullmetal Alchemist CCG on the DS as well as that new vocabulary building game that I think Ubisoft is doing for the DS. Something like those cooking carts they have in Japan would also be sweet.

On the home console front:

Wii: several mini-game announcements, no surprises, maybe some concrete dates for anticipated titles.

Xbox360: more former PS3 exclusives will now be coming to this console.

PS3: price drop, focus on what exclusives they have left

All 3 consoles need more originals, I'm honestly sick of all the sequels

Will Duke Nukem announce the release date this time? Or they have new excuse to delay it?

I'm predicting that we'll see a ton about rockband and GH3. It's unlikely that we'll see anything about Halo Universe (Halo Wars and such) other than Halo 3.

I thought E3 was going to be no more? Or is that some other convention.... CES?

the industry is way too lucrative to just axe the expo

Can't argue with anything you've stated Pixy.

Sony: has no where to go but up. If they are promising 140 new games by March(which averages to 16 a month), then by that count we should probably be seeing 70+ of those at E3. Looks like more broken promises to me and starting to fit the mold of last years E3.

Microsoft: definitely is the workhorse of the video game world. They just keep chugging along putting out quality stuff, snagging exclusives and maintaining a healthy lead on Sony. Problem is they haven't been able to kick it up a notch to put themselves out of reach. While not known for their surprises, I'd love to see them pull an Apple and announce a price drop that goes into effect the day of the announcement. Sure they don't technically need one with Halo and GTAIV on the horizon, but I think it would definitely give them that extra oomph to relegate Sony to playing catch up the entire generation. They also need to fix the never ending problem with the hardware.

Nintendo: definitely has the most to prove as well as most to lose. I doubt we will see any big surprises. They've kept Metroid, Mario and SSB under wraps so long that they will easily be the focus of Nintendo's show and any big news would detract from those. Not to mention there are still plenty of other announced titles that we know next-to-nothing about like Wii Health, Orchestra, Project HAMMER and some others. They have a full slate to begin with. Might here something on Neo-Geo games on the VC.

Some things I would personally like to see:
Microsoft: Rare oh Rare have you gone? Other than Banjo Threeie, what is in the works?
- Kameo 2
- Viva Pinata: DS
- Viva Pinata: DLC or sequel
- Blast Corps on XBLA... PLEASE!!!!

Nintendo:
- Wireless nunchuck and Classic Controller
- External hard drive or storage option. Allow VC games to run off SD
- Pikmin
- F-Zero
- Waverace
- Mario Kart

I think Sony will just be talking about: games, games and more games. Possibly a trade in promotion where you mail in your SIXAXIS controller and they mail you back one with rumble to possibly show the consumers they care. Announce more online features that will all be free and the online market place for music/movies for the PSP and PS3 online stores. I think sony is going to really kick butt. As others have said, they have nowhere to go but UP.

Nintendo, they have everything to lose at this point. Other then casual gamers, hardcore gamers are not into the Wii with crappy ports and games that get old in less then 15 minutes other then party games with lots of people. I think they need something to tell the hardcore gamers, you can sit down and play with the Wii for hours on end and have a good time. Im curious to see what they will announce. I had a Wii shortly after launch and sold it after being disappointed with it. I rented pretty much everything cept for the kiddie titles, just didnt like what i was seeing.

Microsoft.. I loved my 360, till i had to replace it more times then i could count, so i am out of the 360 game and a happy PS3 owner. If they could say when the new hardware is coming, and hopefully make it RELIABLE, i might buy another 360. The 360 controller rocks. Right now, 360 sales have been on a decline for 2 months strait. They are now down to 150k/month, down from 210k 2 months earlier. When they banned all those hacked consoles, sales for the 360 plummeted. I think rough times are ahead for the 360, although more Western RPG's and FPS games will be announced like usual for the MS game system. There will be a few racing games thrown in of course. If gears of war came out on the PC, i'd never even think about owning another 360, to be 100% honest.

I expect E3 will be great and looking VERY forward to it all!

Putting a Wii external storage on the market is going to be tricky, I think. It'll obviously be for original Virtual Console content.. but a lot of people are going to add its cost to the system as a requirement even if it's wholly optional. The cost and ease of the Wii are very strong points going for it, so they'll need to release external storage in line with that. Maybe I'm overanalyzing that one..

Would this even be possible, considering it was originally an N64 game? I'm not sure where the rights reside on this title.

This game would be a welcome addition to either XBLA or VC. Also welcome: a current-gen sequel.

I don't see the need for anything fancy, just let us play off the SD card. Although I don't know what the USB ports are for if not external storage or a webcam for a WiiPhone channel.

I hope God of War 3 is shown off. I also want to see more of Heavenly Sword. Those are the only two games that would actually make me go out and buy a PS3 at the $600 price point.

For the 360, I want to see Condemned 2, Ninja Gaiden 2, and Too Human.

You fucking lie.

Sorry, still speculating.