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E3 2017 keynotes: Predictions and wishlists

At the end of next week the videogames industry will descend en masse on the LA Convention Centre for this year’s E3 expo. This year it’s open to the public for the first time, so moving through the shop floor should be like traversing a sea of treacle.

Okay, fine! We’re as jealous as anyone else who’s not going. Thanks to the wonder of the internet, however, no one need miss out on the keynotes and the information they’ll contain. Here’s a breakdown of what one can expect – and what we’d like to see happen.

Electronic Arts E3 Keynote

Predictions: EA is first out of the gate and, with the exception of Activision (who isn’t even hosting a keynote), this publisher’s E3 line-up is probably the easiest to predict. Expect a new Fifa. Expect a new Madden. Expect Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and a lot of news about future Star Wars projects. Expect a new Need For Speed since Ghost Games revealed one was on its way last month.

Does that about wrap up the trip? Well, we also predict a smash-cut of EA Sports’s porfolio, CEO Andrew Wilson speaking in soundbytes and possibly – but unlikely – some news and maybe some footage of BioWare’s as-yet-unnamed forthcoming IP 

Wishlist: Once upon a time EA pumped out new IPs. Sounds crazy but it happened – this is the publisher that gave the world Bulletstorm, Shadows Of The Damned and Brutal Legend. There’s no chance of any those games getting a sequel, but how about a new Bad Company or a Dead Space without the micro-transactions? Just a thought.

Tune in: EA’s keynote takes place in LA at midnight on Saturday June 10th. That means locally you can watch on Sunday June 11th at 9am.

Microsoft E3 Keynote

Predictions: The Xbox One briefing last year pretty much stole E3 with Microsoft unveiling both the Xbox One S and Project Scorpio alongside a boatload of games. With the XBOS out the gate, we’re expecting (and hankering for) some details about Project Scorpio; the specs are out in the wild, but there’s no word yet on how much it costs and when it’s coming out. We also don’t know if, like Project Natal, what it’ll even be called at launch.

In the software department, the Xbox One is in dire need of more exclusives. We predict that the likes of State Of Decay 2, Crackdown and Sea Of Thieves may get an outing. We also expect to see a couple of third-party titles – the latest Call Of Duty usually makes an appearance – and possibly a new Forza. Since Halo 5: Guardians came out a couple of years ago, a new teaser featuring Master Chief may not be beyond the realm  of possibility

Wishlist: Where the hell is Cup Head? Or Crackdown? Or Sea Of Thieves? These three games have been doing the rounds for three years now. Isn’t it time they saw the light of day? Oh, and don’t think we’ve forgiven Microsoft for cancelling Scalebound. We want more exclusives dammit. The new hardware looks really pretty, but we’d like a robust line-up of Triple A knockouts to justify investing in it.

Tune in: Microsoft’s keynote kicks off on Sunday June 11th at 2pm PST. That’s June 11th, 11pm if you’re in South Africa.

Bethesda E3 Keynote

Predictions: The Maryland publisher’s line-up is unknown at this moment, but let’s have a crack anyway, eh? It’s probably best to start with what probably won’t be in the briefing and work our way back.

The Elder Scrolls: Online expansion Morrowind saw release recently so that game may be off the menu. On top of that, The Elder Scrolls: Legends is pretty quiet, so it’s unlikely to take centre stage. DOOM’s multiplayer expansions aren’t exactly setting the world alight and Quake is in open beta. We’d love to see some new story DLC for the former and it’s likely we’ll see a couple of new details about the latter. Oh and then there’s the little matter of VR for both DOOM and Fallout 4.

Wishlist: So where does that leave us? Well, The Evil Within 2 was outed as a going concern a couple of months ago and, seeing as we haven’t seen a new Wolfenstein entry in a while, it’s possible we could see one at this year’s E3. It’s unlikely we’ll see a new Fallout this year, since Fallout 4 is only a couple of years old. How about a new single player entry in The Elder Scrolls franchise, Bethesda? Or hell, how about a new IP?

Tune in: Bethesda’s keynote is scheduled for June 11th at 8:30pm PST. That means it’ll kick off on June 12th at 05:30am locally. Set your alarms and brew some strong coffee.

Ubisoft E3 Keynote

Predictions: This is another easy one since, at the time of writing, Ubisoft has pretty much already shot its bolt. We know Far Cry 5 is in the pipeline for next year and we know that it’s set in contemporary USA with the player ranged against a religious cult (a fact that has really aggravated some sensitive snowflakes out there).

Thanks to a fiscal earnings call earlier this year, we also know The Crew 2 and a new Assassin’s Creed game will see release before March 2018, and South Park: The Fractured But Whole is also on its way. All of the above will likely make and appearance at Ubisoft’s E3 keynote and those that don’t become news stories thanks to their absence. We may see one or two casual titles too.

Wishlist: It’d be nice to know whether anything’s happening with Beyond Good & Evil 2 (ahahahaha, right!) and we wouldn’t say no to a new Splinter Cell or Rayman game. In the past, though, Ubisoft has sprung one or two surprises at E3 in the form of new IPs (Watch Dogs, For Honor and Steep for example). It may be hoping for too much but hey, this is a wishlist dammit!

Tune in: Ubisoft’s keynote takes place on June 12th at 10pm local time.

Sony E3 Keynote

Predictions: Sony now has three consoles in the market so the notion that it’ll unveil another one is pretty remote. Instead, we expect new games and more information – possibly release dates on a lot of the titles the PS4 has in the pipeline.

Last year’s Sony keynote unveiled a host of new first party titles – Days Gone, Death Stranding, Detroit: Become Human, God of War, The Last of Us 2 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy among them. We expect more details on these – such as release dates – and some new IPs wouldn’t be remiss either. Oh, and VR. Lots and lots of VR.

Wishlist: To be frank this is the one keynote where expectations and wishes line up. Some new titles are always welcome, but to be honest, release dates are most of what we’re after at this stage.

Tune in: Sony’s keynote is on Monday June 12th at 6pm PST, which is 3am local time on June 13th. How badly do you want to watch it?

Nintendo E3 Keynote

Predictions: Nintendo will be doing an online reveal this year, as it has every year since it vacated the Nokia Theatre in 2012. This year there are two presentations – Nintendo Spotlight and Nintendo Treehouse. The first is essentially a gussied up Nintendo Direct presentation while the second is a more in-depth look at the announcements made in Spotlight.

We expect some news on Super Mario Odyssey (naturally) and a look at the Arms and Splatoon 2 invitationals.

Wishlist: New games please. The Nintendo Switch is a fantastic console but it needs more first party heavy hitters in order to make it feel more worth investing in.

So did we miss anything out? What are you looking forward to from this year’s expo? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter.

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