Electronic Entertainment Expo 2013 (E3)

[King Ellis]

All in all you're just another brick in the wall

When?

Monday 10th June

Microsoft - 9.30 AM (PDT) 12.30 PM (EST) 5.30 PM (GMT)

Electronic Arts - 1 PM (PDT) 4 PM (EST) 9 PM (GMT)

Ubisoft - 3 PM (PST) 6 PM (EST) 11 PM (GMT)
Sony - 6 PM (PST) 9 PM (EST) 2 AM (GMT)

Tuesday 11th June

Nintendo Direct - 7 AM (PDT) 10 AM (EST) 3PM (GMT)

Square 'The future of Final Fantasy' - 9 AM (PDT) 12 PM (EST) 5PM (GMT) (Apparently not streamable)

Where?

Nintendo @ Nintendo.com
Sony @ Playstation.com
E3 @ Xbox.com

Gametrailers
IGN
Gamespot
E3 on Youtube

In North America you can watch on your TV via Spike. You can also stream Microsoft's show via your 360 and Sony's show via Playstation Home.

E3 on Twitch.TV

Over on Twitch.tv/Twitch, developers/publishers will be showing off there wares and there's a huge list of titles on show. Times are probably PDT, work it out from there yourselves.

Tuesday,June 11th

• 12:00pm – Saints Row 4 (Volition Inc./Deep Silver)
• 12:20pm – Dungeon Defenders 2 (Trendy Entertainment)
• 12:40pm – The Bureau: XCOM Declassified (2K Games)
• 1:00pm – Charlie Murder (Microsoft Studios)
• 1:15pm – Ascend (Microsoft Studios)
• 1:30pm – THIEF (Square Enix)
• 1:45pm – MURDERED: SOUL SUSPECT (Square Enix)
• 2:15pm – Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist (Ubisoft)
• 2:30pm – TBA new content for GoW: Ascension (Sony PlayStation/Santa Monica Studio)
• 3:00pm – Fantasia: Music Evolved! (Harmonix Music)
• 3:15pm – TBA (Adult Swim Games)
• 3:30pm – Borderlands 2: Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon’s Keep DLC (2K Games)
• 4:00pm – Super TIME Force (Microsoft Studios)
• 4:15pm – Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)
• 4:30pm – Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (ScrewAttack)
• 5:00pm – TBA (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
• 5:30pm – E3 Day Wrap Up w/Dennis Fong, CEO of Raptr

Wednesday, June 12th

• 10:30am – Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision)
• 10:45am – Destiny (Bungie/Activision)
• 11:00am – TBA (Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts)
• 11:35am – DuckTales Remastered (CAPCOM)
• 12:00pm – TBA (PopCap/Electronic Arts)
• 1:00pm – TBA (Microsoft Studios)
• 1:30pm – LEGO Marvel Heroes (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
• 1:45pm – Quantum Break (Remedy Entertainment)
• 2:00pm – TBA (Ubisoft)
• 2:15pm – TBA (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
• 2:30pm – Batman: Arkham Origins (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
• 3:00pm – The Wolf Among Us (Telltale Games)
• 3:15pm – Skylanders Swap Force (Activision)
• 3:45pm – YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z (Tecmo Koei)
• 4:00pm – TBA (Microsoft Studios)
• 4:30pm – Black Gold Online (Snail Games)
• 5:00pm – Defiance (Trion Worlds)
• 5:30pm – E3 Day Wrap Up

Thursday, June 13th

• 10:30am – FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn (Square Enix)
• 10:45am – Rayman Legends (Ubisoft)
• 11:00am – The Elder Scrolls Online (Bethesda)
• 11:15am – Wolfenstein: The New Order (Bethesda)
• 11:30am – The Evil Within (Bethesda)
• 11:45am – Assassins Creed 4 (Ubisoft)
• 12:00pm – Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate (Tecmo Koei)
• 12:15pm – Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
• 12:30pm – Dragon’s Prophet (Sony Online Entertainment)
• 1:00pm – Warframe (Digital Extremes)
• 1:15pm – Need for Speed (Electronic Arts)
• 1:30pm – Dust 514 (CCP)
• 2:00pm – Solstice Arena (Zynga)
• 2:45pm – Magic 2014: Duels of the Planeswalkers (Wizards of the Coast)
• 3:00pm – TBA (Microsoft Studios)
• 4:00pm – Breach & Clear (Gun Media)
• 4:30pm – E3 Show Wrap Up

E3 2013 - Looking to the future

The cat is well and truly out of the bag now following Sony and Microsoft holding their own hardware reveal shows in the past few months to showcase their PS4 and Xbox One consoles. With those on the horizon and with Wii U already on the market, it's time to look toward the next gen. Of course, many people would argue with you on the Wii U's status as 'next gen' but that's a different matter.

Microsoft

Microsoft, just weeks ago, had a very polarizing reveal of their new Xbox system, with many fans critical of it's heavy focus on 'entertainment' and asking 'Just where are the games?!'. Well, Microsoft is promising a very different show this time around with the focus entirely on the software. Perhaps a peek at some of those supposed 15 titles due for Xbox One or the 8 new IPs? A supposed leak this week has pointed towards a new Banjo, Halo 5, Dead Rising 3 and Fable 4. Plus, during the Xbox One reveal there was a brief shot of a Crackdown agility orb on the system's dashboard so some familiar favourites might be in store.

In the past few days we've also had some further clarification on their used games policy and whether the One would need a constant connection to the internet. This has done little to halt the flood of criticism directed at them but a feature allowing the sharing of games between yourself and up to 9 of your friends is somewhat intriguing.

The 360 is far from dead though, with Microsoft keen to put it's own spin on the lack of backwards compatibility on the One by suggesting that customers keep their 360's around whilst they offer continued support. Indeed, just this week we've seen the reveal of a HD version of Fable and it's expansion pack, The Lost Chapters. And whilst there is a new Halo of sorts on the way in Halo: Spartan Assault, a twin-stick shooter due on Windows 8 phones, tablets and PCs, could there be room for one more Halo on the 360 before it's takes the leap to Xbox One?

I would suggest to keep in mind that, even despite their 'nothing but games' assurance, there's still something that's going to slip through and probably a fair share of Kinect demonstrations. But, I think people might be past the whole 'WHERE ARE THE GAMES, M$?!' thing now and have already condemned the One.

Sony

In comparison, Sony drew a much more reserved reaction following the PS4 reveal, despite many scoffing at it's focus on social features such as live streaming gameplay, PVR-esque recording of the last 15 minutes of gameplay which can be saved/shared online and remote access to allow a friend to take control of your game in order to help you past a difficult section.

Following the Xbox One announcement, the PS4 seemed to become the lesser of two evils, even after some confusion over it's own policy on used games led to a huge social media outcry in #PS4noDRM and some Sony developers magnificently trolling the community. Many are still slightly hesitant about the system since not everything about it is fully out in the open but with enough new titles on show, a frank statement on their own policies regarding used games etc and the first reveal of the system itself, Sony could find itself onto a winner come day one.

Especially if The Last Guardian ever gets released on the damn thing but at the rate it's going, that thing probably wont show up till the PS5.

Nintendo

It seems Nintendo's body is not ready for another conference, instead choosing to stick with their Nintendo Direct presentation since they no longer have any big hardware reveals to show off. Plus, if you're a resident of the US or Canada, you can probably pop along to your local Best Buy and check out some of their featured games in the relative comfort of your hometown instead of having to make the trip to the convention floor.

Like Microsoft, Nintendo finds itself under pressure to showcase some games, with the Wii U landscape looking rather barren at present. We should be seeing more on the next Smash Bros though. Plus, will Mario be making a third trip to the Galaxy? Also, with Link getting a new lick of paint in Wind Waker HD and a somewhat mind boggling Link to the Past sequel on 3DS, will there be room for a tease of the next step in the Zelda franchise?

EA

ALL THE SPORTS will be at the forefront again for E3 with their latest attempt at re-animating the corpse of it's NBA Live franchise and their acquisition of the UFC liscence. Outside of SPORTS, there's the likes of Battlefield 4 and a new Need for Speed. Rumours are also abound after the listing of Mirrors Edge 2 on the German Amazon or some such.

Bizarrely, a number of pictures emerged in the past few weeks of Popcap's Plants vs Zombies 'merged' with other EA titles such as Dead Space and Mass Effect. Whilst it appeared to be nothing more than a humourous way to market the upcoming sequel, there are now rumblings that a Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare title could be on the way, some sort of gritty FPS?

With the recent ditching of their 'online pass' service, EA could be turning over a new leaf but cynics would you have you believe this was only done in order to usher in an even greater evil like an EA branded Death Star or some such.

Ubisoft

Ubisoft's event will once more be fronted by #GirlWood herself, Aisha Tyler. Whilst much mockery is made of the shenanigans on show, Ubisoft scored a huge hit last year with it's revelation of Watch Dogs and in many eyes, 'won' E3. With more Watch Dogs likely to be seen, along with the likes of pirate-em-up Assasins Creed 4 and their newest recruit, South Park: The Stick of Truth, could Ubisoft be onto another winner?

Konami

PES 2014...Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2...Metal Gear Solid 5! Patient stumbling down a hallway...exploding whales...Kiefer Sutherland is now voicing Big Boss. A lot of people look pissed.

Best of the rest

As decorations for the show began to go up, banners for Dark Souls II were spotted bearing a 'Coming 2014' message. Is the sequel to the notoriously brutal hack and slash RPG going next gen?

After spending a decade at Microsoft working on the Halo franchise, Bungie flew the next and settled in at Activision with grand designs on an MMO-FPS hybrid named Destiny that would last another ten years, spanning numerous releases.

The Evil Within, from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, promises to bring back the true survival horror experience, no doubt he can't be happy with his creations descent into more of an all out action game.

Speaking of Bethesda, Fallout 4 or the next Elder Scrolls game? There'll be info on the Elder Scrolls MMO to make do with at least.

Does Square have anything up it's sleeve in regards to the next Final Fantasy? After the bizarre tease at the PS4 reveal that amounted to just 'be excited for E3', is this Final Fantasy XV, proof that Versus XIII isn't dead yet, or just more on the next XIII sequel and XIV resurrection?

lol, EWB

And now for a quick look back at our reactions to last years show. Just how well did some of those things turn out?

South Park ‏@SouthPark It's official "South Park: The Stick of Truth", hits stores on MARCH 5th, 2013! Watch the exclusive trailer! http://cart.mn/spsot

Too far!

If only 2012 Ruki knew he'd have to wait even longer than March 5th!

Now THIS [sim City] is a game I will buy on release day.

Ah, but did you get to play it on release day? BAZINGA!

That's the final nail for THQ, surely.

It's actually going to help save them. The reason they're in the mess they're in is wasting money on licenses and rubbish peripherals (uDraw). If I remember correctly, some of the guys at the top have now gone, and they're refocusing on core gamers and less on expensive licensed tat.

I hope you didn't buy shares in them.

*Insert about 10 posts of us all probably sat, jaws dropped, at the unfolding Watch Dogs trailer*

"We're all about games!"

*spend first ten minutes barely talking about games*

And here I was thinking my suggestion of Nintendo facing a barrage of 'GET TO DA GAMZ!' was new.

[During Nintendo conference[

Colonial Marines! And for 10 seconds, I was excited.

How did that work out for you?

And, whilst not a quote, I did laugh when I got to the part of the Ubisoft show where they were talking about eSports and that little team based shooter thing. I had completely forgotten about that and I can't remember anything ever coming of it. I assume it went the way of Nintendo's Vitality Sensor and Ubisoft's own Lazer Tag.

[TKz]

Awesome, I had no idea this was all tomorrow. I'll be able to watch the Sony conference live, despite how late it is. Any idea when the Square and Konami things are happening, Ellis?

[King Ellis]

Konami was last Thursday. It's a little half hour show that I've listed a link to under the 'Where' bit. Not sure there's much to it outside that little summary I put under there section, I think there's some sort of casual game that they're doing in collaboration with Zyanga so that's obviously going to be great. Then I think there's some Mega 64 skit about Castlevania LoS2 and some footage of Kiefer getting mo-capped.

Square, outside of the spot they have on Twitch for XIV, I imagine will pop up again during Sony. That and the 'Future of FF' thing which is apparently at 5pm GMT on Tuesday. I'll add that to the list. The stuff I'm just reading about it says it's a Q&A with SE senior vice president Shinji Hashimoto, so I imagine they'll just be further commenting on stuff revealed the day before, maybe with a new trailer or two.

[deli]

Awesome. Can't wait for this. Everyone is almost guaranteed to bring tons of games to the table. I'll just try not to lose it at the MS reveal like I did last year...

[Ant]

Cannot wait for this..i hope a new Dead Space game is revealed for next gen.

[Ruki]

I thought this started Tuesday! :0 but yay!

[Owen]

I might watch Monday's festivities, although it's not exactly the best idea considering I have 2 and three quarter hours of exams the day after...

[Your Mom]

I am getting nothing done tomorrow thats for sure

[Cactus Drags]

I wasn't wrong, dickhead. It just didn't help as much as they needed it to.

I need a fucking date and price for these consoles or I'm going to tear someone's throat out. Sick to death of getting asked about it. I've even been accused of withholding pricing information in an effort to rope people in.

[Herr Matzat]

Last Guardian better be on the agenda as a ps3 release.

[rocksta]

Excellent thread Ellis well formatted.

[TKz]

I wasn't wrong, dickhead. It just didn't help as much as they needed it to.

I need a fucking date and price for these consoles or I'm going to tear someone's throat out. Sick to death of getting asked about it. I've even been accused of withholding pricing information in an effort to rope people in.

I'd really like if they'd reveal it soon, I'm sure I'm not the only one that needs to know when to start saving and how much I'll need to save.

[Crybaby Bunting]

If neither company is revealing information about the price then it's pretty obvious that it's going to be expensive, maybe even double the price of a last gen console.

[jase12881]

E3 Drinking Game:

1. Everytime someone says that a (probably minor) innovation is a 'game changer' or will 'revolutionize the way you play' or any other kind of exaggeration of the importance of some minor upgrade, take a shot.

2. Anytime someone shows a game but no actual gameplay footage, take a shot.

3. Anytime Microsoft or Sony brag about an 'exclusive' which actually is just them getting some kind of DLC a month early, or some minor DLC content exclusively, take a shot.

4. Make sure you dvr it so you can watch it back later if you survive, and would like to actually remember what's being shown.

Seriously though, I watch every year because I love games, and I enjoy seeing everything that's coming out, but man the corporate-speak gets really old really quick. I guess that's the price for watching and seeing what's new.

[King Ellis]

Drink everytime someone at Microsoft says 'content' or 'experience' and you'll be dead within half an hour.

[Your Mom]

I saw that there is going to be Dragon Age 3 news at the EA event. SO EXCITED!

[Summers]

Best way to watch this on my phone on youtube?

[LL!]

Well, at least I'll be able to watch Ubisoft and Sony.

[deli]

There is a pre-show happening on Gametrailers right now.

[Benji]

Drink everytime someone at Microsoft says 'content' or 'experience' and you'll be dead within half an hour.

I'd be content to experience that.