Next week the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) takes place in Los Angeles, showcasing the latest videogames and gaming technology.
This year, Microsoft and Sony both have new consoles to show off, which will hopefully mean a particularly spectacular E3.
The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have both already had announcement events. While both consoles have impressive tech specs, both announcements were in some ways disappointing.
The PlayStation 4 announcement was very long-winded and didn't show what the console itself actually looks like; the Xbox One announcement focused on using the console to watch television, and spent little time on the actual games themselves.
Various other factors around the Xbox One have caused suspicion and concern, including having a Kinect camera with facial recognition technology that must always be on, no backwards compatibility, an anti-secondhand market stance and disallowing self-publishing on the new Xbox Live.
The PlayStation 4, on the other hand, has gained considerable traction since its announcement and for many is thus far winning the next-generation PR war.
While the new technology is exciting, it is the games themselves that are what most gamers are especially excited to see at E3, and this year there are some big titles to look forward to.
The current generation of consoles has been dominated by the Call of Duty franchise, which releases a game every year. The first-person shooter brand has been the top-selling game every year since 2007, breaking records with every major release.
Call of Duty: Ghosts is the next chapter in the franchise and the first to be released on next-generation consoles. Will it continue to satisfy fans and break records? We'll have a better idea next week when it is shown off at E3.
Last year Halo 4 received critical acclaim and solid sales figures for the Xbox 360 console. The 343 Industries-developed Halo title was announced as the first in a trilogy, and fans are hoping Halo 5 will be announced at E3.
Creators of the Halo franchise, Bungie, have an ambitious new title at E3 entitled Destiny. The massively anticipated sci-fi shooter will be released on all consoles, next and current generation, and is expected to get a huge amount of attention.
Other shooters expected to be big titles at the expo include PlayStation exclusive Killzone: Shadow Fall and EA's Battlefield 4.
Skylanders rival Disney Infinity is expected to be a huge title for the family/children gaming market, and upcoming MMO The Elder Scrolls Online will be looking to further increase anticipation for its upcoming launch.
Last year's E3 was dominated by Watch_Dogs which will no doubt be very popular again this year. New Assassin's Creed and Batman games along with a Thief reboot all also have a large amount of hype leading up to the expo.
For racing game fans, 2013 is a big year. There's a new Forza and a new Gran Turismo on the way, along with PlayStaion 4 exclusive Driveclub. Early looks at these titles will no doubt excite the motorhead sector of the gaming community present at E3.
Recently I spoke to NZGamer.com editor Alan Bell about to discuss further what to expect from this year's E3.
"I suspect that many of the games people will be talking about as the event unfolds - and for ages afterwards - are titles that we haven't heard about yet," he says. "Exclusives for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will certainly debut, and they'll likely be very impressive too."
Indeed, Microsoft and Sony will have unannounced titles that could steal the show, but they are not the only console producers on the market. Nintendo are returning to E3 to showcase their upcoming titles in a bid to turn around the disappointing sales figures of the Wii U.
"Nintendo's systems, while less powerful than their competitors, are also likely to have announcements around them that impress that sector of the audience," says Bell.
"In particular, more detail is expected about the Zelda franchise, a new game is anticipated from Retro Studios (the Metroid Prime team), a new 3D Mario game for the Wii U will debut, and in general, Nintendo are expected to significantly increase their support for the struggling Wii U system itself.
"The Wii U is very much on life support, and everyone's looking to see what Nintendo will do to improve its outlook."
As Bell indicates, it's very possible that the biggest games of this year's E3 are brand new properties we currently know nothing about.
Moving in to a new generation of consoles is tremendously exciting for gamers. Characters like Mario, Master Chief, Kratos and Sonic are cultural icons for millions of people and the idea of new ones being established in the near future is thrilling.
Will E3 be where we first catch a glimpse of these new cultural icons? We'll find out next week.
3 News
source: newshub archive
