We haven’t been there yet, but we looked deep into our COG crystal ball and conjured these headlines from next week. How did we do? Should we bail on journalism in favour of divination? Stay tuned for our coverage straight from the show floor starting this Sunday!
HD Remasters!
In a deluge that surprises no one, yet shocks everyone, developers everywhere continue to put old games into new boxes. Several of these, including Gears of War Redux and Fallout Collection are being called HD remasters despite having been released on systems that were themselves HD. These 60 dollar releases sell like ice cold lemonade, but provide dubious value for those who have played them previously.
Status: Count on it.
Bonus: Xbox One remasters struggle to hit 1080p/60FPS
Amiibos Take Over The World, Functions Still Unclear
Amidst worldwide overnight lineups outside stores on Amiibo shipment dates, Nintendo – who themselves are shocked at the popularity of their figurines of mediocre quality and questionable in-game value – doubles down on Amiibo. New figures from all franchises are announced, and the program is expanded to include Amiibo enabled cards. Cards for all 700+ Pokemon lead the charge while exclusive E3 Amiibos suddenly flood eBay.
Status: Likely.
Bonus: Gotta catch ‘em all fever – specific Pokemon available only via Amiibo in newly announced Pokemon Sun & Pokemon Moon
Furious 4’s
- Fallout 4
- Uncharted 4
- Mass Effect 4
- Gears of War 4
- Rock Band 4
- Doom 4
All are dated, demoed, and absolutely brilliant. The linear greys and browns of last-gen are replaced with vibrant, choice-fueled worlds that have attendees literally drooling on demo stations. While some demos are more impressive than others, all conclusively prove that there is plenty of headroom remaining on current gen hardware. Rock Band and Fallout hit in the fall, Uncharted and Mass Effect land in Spring 2016, while Doom and Gears of War strike next holiday season.
Status: Likely.
Bonus: The multiplayer modes in Mass Effect, Uncharted, and Gears of War are damn near identical.
Morpheus Has Real Games
No more rollercoasters and atmospheric BS – Morpheus has real games, and they provide immersion on an epic scale. Sony’s new Move inspired Morpheus control scheme works like a charm, and makes everything from piloting a plane to sneaking through back alleys feel totally natural.
Status: Maybe.
Bonus: Morpheus releasing this Holiday, $299 alone, $599 bundled with PS4.
The Division is What You Wanted Destiny To Be
Keep delaying all you need Ubi – The Division provides what you really wanted out of Destiny. Squad based exploration and post apocalyptic shenanigans, with a hella shiny coat of next gen paint. A persistent world that feels tense and dangerous and avoids unnecessary instancing provides a rock solid backbone. Developers point to the ‘door-closing’ animation as an example of insane level of detail on tap.
Status: Hopeful.
Bonus: Bungie devs are spotted at the Ubisoft booth furiously scribbling in Destiny 2 notebooks.
MGS5 is Konami’s Swan Song
Despite being one of the most impressive and vast games of the show, MGS5’s publisher is essentially non-existent on the show floor. Announcements are limited to free-to-play mobile titles, making Konami the poster child for shrinking interest in big budget titles from Japanese developers.
Status: Likely.
Bonus: Employees are publically beaten for mentioning Hideo Kojima.
The Last Guardian is Real, Amazing
You knew this had to be here. After an incredulously long development Sony finally shows off The Last Guardian on PS4, and it’s exactly what we’ve been waiting for as a spiritual successor to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Gorgeous visual style and a moody atmosphere are an immediate draw, but storytelling that eschews verbal communication in favor of more emotional, non-verbal environmental cues raises eyebrows further still.
Status: Not bloody likely.
Bonus: None. This is unlikely enough as it is!
Sony Stands Pat at $399
While Microsoft continues to stuff more games into their retail boxes and shave dollars off their price line, Sony is content to stick at $399. Their huge sales lead and Sony’s other flaccid decisions drive the decision, but a new 1TB SKU at the same price is a nice value add heading into the holiday season.
Status: Count on it.
Bonus: 6 month PS Plus memberships are included with new 1TB PS4 models.
Reboots Galore
- Need For Speed
- Battlefront
- Metroid
- Battletoads
Removing subtitles is the hottest new game titling trend with many games rebooting with simple titles. Alongside the truncated titles, gameplay harkens back to a simpler time when tight control and player immersion were more important than bullet points on the back of a box. A refreshing simplicity of gameplay drives rave reviews from industry professionals.
Status: Probable, except Metroid.
Bonus: The game that should be “Metroid” is called “NEW Metroid U 3D Ultimate”.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Finally Happening
Square Enix answered all the questions about what they could possibly be showing to require their own press event. 2 hours of Deus Ex? Nay, it’s the FF7 reboot the masses have been clamouring for for nearly 20 years. Fully 3D, voice acted, and with a boatload of new content in the world of FF7.
Status: HAHAHAHA. Yeah right.
Bonus: The title is announced by a person with spiky purple hair and shovel strapped to their back.
Microsoft Drops The Mic With Jaw Dropping Unannounced Title
Rumblings around the industry of something earth shaking coming from MS prove to be true, as they close their press event with a killer new IP demo that wins the show according to many publications.
Status: Maybe.
Bonus: Phil Spencer physically drops a mic.
There you have it. Have other ideas? What do you want to see at E3 2015? What do you want to see us cover at the show? Fire us a tweet @COGconnected!