Questions for E3 2008

Written by Charles Husemann on 7/10/2008 for

With E3 less than a week away it's time to give my annual prognostications of what we'll see at the show this year.  Before we get into this years prognostications it's a good idea to look back at last year's article and see how I did.  Here's a list of the predictions from last year.
By my count I got six of nine correct for a 67% accuracy rate which puts me soundly in Michael Pachter territory.  If any Wall Street analysts want to e-mail me about a job my e-mail address is at the top of the page and we can work something out.  With that out of the way let's get into the fun stuff.


Will Sony matches the Xbox 360 price cut?  - With an Xbox 360 price cut all but officially confirmed there is now some pressure on Sony to match the price cut.  But will Sony announce a price cut at E3 or wait until later this year?  I'm still surprised Microsoft is cutting the price so far in advance of the holiday season as it seems a bit desperate but we'll see if Sony feels a need to trim prices now or not.  They still have the value add of the Blu Ray player but I'm not sure that's much of a motivator anymore with Blu Ray movie sales failing to set the world on fire.  I get the feeling that they want to hold the line on the price of the PS3 but they will probably make the cut to stay even with Microsoft from a perception point.

What will go on at the Activision event? - When we broke the news that Activision wasn't going to be at E3 this year and that they were no longer a member of the ESRB I started wondering what Activision was going to do to get the word about their upcoming games.  It turns out that Activision is having a press event and coincidentally enough the event is being held in LA the same week as E3 (how convenient).  With the Activision/Vivendi merger going through this week it's unclear if this event will only be Activision titles or if they will be showing off Vivendi/Sierra titles as well.  I'm guessing this will strictly be an Activision event but I'm hoping we'll get to see (and play) some of the titles from the other companies likes Ghostbusters and Prototype.


Can Sony build on their momentum? - Sony rebounded nicely from a horrible, horrible show in 2006 with a lot of great games and a strong outlook for the future.  This year they've got an even stronger lineup and some of the most creative games in their pocket (Pixel Junk Eden, Little Big Planet).  I'm hoping we get a date for Home, a long look at Killzone 3, Resistance Fall of Man 2, and a nice long look at God of War 3.

Does Microsoft have anything new to roll-out? - There are rumors on the Internet that Microsoft has something big planned for E3 and the words "game changing" have even been bandied about. Unfortunately, it is hard not to be jaded after the megaton buildup for the Pac-Man Championship Edition game but I think Microsoft might actually be able to pull something off this year.  Rumors of motion controls, a dashboard update, and a new Halo game lead some credence to Microsoft being able to pull a win off but  after last year's mediocre show.  I'm also guessing we'll get stuck with yet another Xbox 360 SKU as Microsoft can't leave well enough alone.  Personally I'm hoping we get some guidance on not only what Microsoft is releasing this year but what they have planned for next years show.  Oh, and something on Alan Wake would be nice.What does Nintendo have up their sleeve? - We know roughly what we'll see from Microsoft (Fable 2, Halo Wars, Too Human) and Sony (Resistance 2, Little Big Planet, Killzone 2) but I have no clue what we'll see from Nintendo.  Outside of a lot of self-congratulatory slides I think we'll get the Kid Icarus game that's making the rumor rounds and another iteration from a classic Nintendo franchise  (although I pray for a new IP).


Will "core" gamers get thrown a bone this year?  - Last year was dominated by "casual" games and while I guess we'll have that phrase beaten into our skulls this year I'm starting to wonder if the gaming companies are going to remember the fans that got them where they are today.  Nintendo is supposed to have a few bones for their core fans and I'm hoping that we'll get some depth this year instead of wave after wave of mini-game collections.

Can Dead Space impress in person? - I've warmed up to Dead Space over the last few months as the game looks like it's going to be a winner.  Outside of the fantastic visuals and atmosphere the game's "selective dismemberment" is a nice twist on the standard third person shooter genre.  I'm booked to check out the game at E3 and I'm hoping this game doesn't let me down.

Will Little Big Planet continue to win praise? -  "That's soo cute" was the reaction from my girlfriend (very non-gamer) had to the new PlayStation 3 ad with the Little Big Planet footage.  OK, maybe I re-wound the ad and watched it again for her benefit but the appeal of the game is hard to ignore but with the hype meter for the game pegged I'm hoping that there's not a backlash against the title as it's starting to hit that point of hype critical mass.

Is PC Gaming going to be represented at all? - With Microsoft deciding to punt on Games for Windows at E3 this year (they held a smaller event a few weeks ago for select press) who will be showing off PC games at E3 this year?  Toshiba is showing off their fancy new gaming laptop and EA has a new Crysis game to demo but outside of that and a few stragglers here and there the show is once again going to be dominated by consoles.  I'm holding out hope that I've overlooked a few games but I'm not holding my breath.

Will Fallout 3 and Resistance 2 live up to expectations? - Outside of Little Big Planet, the two games I'm most interested in seeing at E3 are Fallout 3 and Resistance: Fall of Man 2.  John and I were blown away at last year's show and with the game close to release I'm guessing we'll see even more of the game than last year.  I've been geeked on Resistance 2 since the details on the game were announced a last year.  How can you beat the 60 person multi-player, 8 person co-op, and all the great weapons?  I'm not sure and I don't think Gears of War 2 is going to have the answer either.


Is this the best E3 for total number of quality games?- I'm not sure I can remember an E3 when there were so many great games to check out.  Gears of War 2, Resistance Fall of Man 2, Street Fighter IV, Mercenaries 2, Killzone 2, Little Big Planet, Dead Space, Resident Evil 5, and whatever Nintendo announces will all be on display and I know I'm missing a host of other great games. We've had good years before but this may be the zenith for the industry in terms of the overall number of high quality games.

Will there be any big announcements or is this the last gasp of E3? - As far as big announcements go last year's E3 was a bit of a let down.  Sure there were a few good announcements (Wii Fit) but nothing really earth shattering.  This year should be different as Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are all rumored to have big announcements.  That said this could be the last hurrah for E3 as we could see more companies leaving the ESA after the show is over and the event, while important, doesn't carry the weight it used to.  It's also worth noting that PAX features almost twice as many exhibitors as E3 does this year and the convention is much better organized and run.