#i feel so big brain for predicting this 2 years ago during EA

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #379

Top Ten Things I Want From E3 2019

This list gets harder and harder to do every year. Partly that’s because my gaming interests – certainly as pertains to what’s coming over the horizon – really narrow down to a couple of core franchises/developers and focus almost entirely on the Xbox. It’s also in part down to my diminishing free time, and the fact that I tend to play a lot of older games; not necessarily retro, but games from two or three years ago that I’m just catching up with. At the moment, on the Xbox I’m playing Mass Effect Andromeda, and on PC I’m playing Civilization VI; hopefully soon I’ll get round to Gears of War 4 and Parkitecht (although having said all that, I really like the look of Void Bastards). Also, every year, it feels like more and more companies vacate E3, or choose to announce things outside the conference; companies have even taken to announcing what they’re not announcing, with Rocksteady confirming that they’re not ready to show off their new game yet, puncturing my hopes of a Silver Age Batman title. And the leaks! Leaks out the wazoo! Just this week we had fairly comprehensive details of Fable IV, and whether they come to pass or not, I feel the momentum is behind a Fable reveal at Microsoft’s show tomorrow night.

So with this in mind, I’ve decided to focus instead on things I’d like to see. I’m trying to be realistic here; no free Xbox One Xs for people whose names are anagrams of “Vidad”. Here, then, are ten things that I think would be really, really cool if they were announced over the next week, even if most of them are unlikely.

The New Xbox Looks Amazing: Microsoft announces its new Xbox, which comes in two flavours: “Xbox A” and “Xbox B”. “A” is the all-singing, all-dancing number, with ridiculously high specs which Digital Foundry spends the next fortnight pouring over; “B” is the cut-down version, which doesn’t have a disc drive or HDMI-In, and has a smaller hard drive. Although realistically I think it’s too early for prices, as I’m wishing on a star, “A” is $399 and “B” is £299.

The Old Xbox is Cheaper: as a result of this announcement, MS slashes the prices of the current Xboxes, with the S coming down to £150 and the X to £299. I can’t see this happening, to be honest; not with presumably eighteen months still to go before the new console(s) is/are released. But hey, this is my fantasy, you do yours.

Oh Look, a New Switch Too: in its Nintendo Direct stream, Ninty announces a new souped-up Switch (the Switch On?!), with a larger screen, better battery life, and a touch more oomph, giving existing games a bit of a speed boost without fragmenting the user base. Out at Christmas, it’ll be priced at the Switch’s original RRP, whilst the existing model sees a £100 price cut in time to slot under my kids’ tree.

Nintendo Brings Back the Classics: I think Nintendo will capitalise on the increasing success of the Switch by bringing back some stalwart titles from its DS/Wii glory days. I foolhardily predict announcements of Advance Wars Switch, Brain Training Switch, and Nintendogs & Nintencats Switch. Prove me wrong, Nintendo!

There is Another (Star Wars Game): we already know that Jedi: Fallen Order will be showcased during Microsoft’s show, and I imagine we’ll see a lot of it throughout the conference. But I think EA will surprise us by teasing another Star Wars game, too. My prediction? X-Wing: Resistance, set in-between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. It’ll just be a tease, probably just a CG trailer, but it’ll be there, and the internet will lose its mind.

Project xCloud Shenanigans Ensue: Xbox and Windows Insiders get to download X Cloud and try it free for a number of months later this year, streaming a variety of Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles, before the actual launch of the service, which will either be around Christmas or (my prediction) early in the New Year. Unless, of course, they’ve already announced all of that and I’ve just missed it. Also, I think they’ll officially rename it whilst they’re at it.

Big Game on Switch Shock: it seems to be fashionable now to port very big games from the recent past to the Switch. I reckon something else will get announced. Maybe the Batman Arkham Collection? The Tomb Raider reboot trilogy? The newer Wolfenstein games? I’d like it if they went a bit further back and we got, say, the whole Command & Conquer saga or all four Mass Effect games.

Switch Apps (Finally): not much to say here, but I want them to start announcing video apps for the Switch. BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video… that sort of thing. Also a bespoke media player that will play videos from your SD card. And it’d be great if Microsoft announced an Xbox Companion app for the Switch, as a first step to xCloud streaming!

Semi-Realistic Game Announcements: I hope we see more of the Command & Conquer reboot from EA; there’ll no doubt be a new Forza game from Microsoft; I think we’ll see some new IP from one of their new acquisition studios; there are inklings of a new BioShock and Metroid Prime 4; we pretty much know about Fable IV and WatchDogs Legion and Assassin’s Creed Ragnarok… maybe we’ll see some of Bungie’s new post-Destiny game, or the next Elder Scrolls title, or the first suggestion of what the new Tomb Raider will be (might be a way off that one, mind). Avengers, that’s a cert. I think the Microsoft conference will be bookended by a detailed playthrough of Gears 5 at the start and a long gameplay preview of Halo Infinite at the end. Hopefully oodles of Animal Crossing.

Utterly Ridiculous Game Announcements: Grabbed by the Ghoulies 2. Perfect Dark. Ron Gilbert working on a new Monkey Island for Disney. Spielberg on stage to discuss the Halo TV show. Bungie announces something during the Microsoft conference. Destiny for Switch. Boom Blox for Switch. A brand-new Duke Nukem title. Project Gotham returns. Mario Kart 9. World of Starcraft. Age of Empires for Xbox (and Switch!). Half-Life 3. Microsoft buys Sega. Spider-Man is coming out on the Xbox after all. Someone explains to me exactly what Death Stranding is, and I remember without having to Google whether it’s “Stranding” or “Standing”. Minecraft 2. I mean, come on – some of that lot has to be on the money, right? Right?!

See you on the other side…