The Informed Pixel Media Group will be attending this year’s E3, marking the third time that our group has been to the event, but the first time that we have identified under the Informed Pixel brand – making for an exciting trip.
Rumors have been growing rampant in the last couple of weeks regarding the new consoles – The codenamed Xbox Scorpio and Playstation Neo. It’s not like the rumors were a ‘he said – she said’ either, with details coming right down to the specifications of the consoles. With all of the rumors pointing to new consoles, and with the Nintendo NX just around the corner, we may potentially see the reveal of a new console generation unravel itself at this year’s E3.
Let’s talk about that though; a new console generation. With Virtual Reality and 4K entertainment making its way into homes in the months leading up to 2017, we believe these consoles will be upgrades, something shy of a new generation. For descriptive purposes, we will call this the “Half-Generation” with new consoles consisting of upgrades of current platforms, to help make 4K Gaming and VR technology viable. We really do believe that the new consoles will be for consumers wanting that premium experience in their homes, who want more out of their entertainment platforms. While it may obsolete what we know as the Xbox One and Playstation 4 consoles, I believe the consoles will remain relevant gaming options for gamers wanting an entry level experience. I don’t think we will start seeing titles be exclusive to one or the other, but rather, using the same game libraries, you will be able to enjoy your games in crisp 4K resolution and with VR compatibility with the newer consoles.
You can think of it like this. Do you want 1080p gaming at 30 frames per second? Get yourself an Xbox One or a Playstation 4. How about those gamers wishing for their games to be playable in 4K resolution with the potential of VR compatibility? Pick up the codenamed Xbox Scorpio or Playstation Neo. All 4 consoles will consist of the same game libraries, with the newer generation capable of pumping out those games in serious 4K definition. That is how we believe Sony and Microsoft will market their new consoles if they reveal them, next week.
Speaking of VR, E3 will present a great opportunity for companies like Sony to debut their new VR Software lineup for the Playstation VR, scheduled to launch in October. Sony’s press conference will have a strong focus on VR technology this year, with them showcasing and overwhelming amount of titles which will built for VR technology. This will also be a great time to hear from Sony about pre-existing games which will support VR post-launch.
We are expecting to hear about Microsoft’s VR plans as well – and with that, like we said in our What We Want From Microsoft For 2016 article – Microsoft will announce Oculus support for the Xbox brand in some form. Whether or not that is a separate Oculus sku branded towards the Xbox at an affordable price is up in the air, but Microsoft will want to take advantage of the VR platform as that is the latest trend in the industry right now.
Of course, we are mostly interested in what type of software will be in our hands by the end of 2017. According to miscellaneous reports, we should see Rockstar Games make an appearance at a press conference next week to announce something Red Dead Redemption related. We believe that Rockstar would make a marketing deal with either Microsoft or Sony to market the new Red Dead Redemption title, whether that title be Red Dead Redemption 2 or the recently rumored Red Dead Redemption Remastered Edition, set to launch later this year. Other titles such as Borderlands 3, The Evil Within 2 and Dead Rising 4 are heavily rumored to be revealed next week, which we believe is all true… nothing surprising here.
One thing we believe will happen is a very, very brief glimpse and announcement of the next entry into the Master Chief’s story-line. Of course, I’m talking about Halo 6. We won’t get any story details, we won’t even get a formal announcement, but we will likely see a teaser trailer, similar to the way they showed off Halo 4 back in 2011.
Bethesda should also make a big splash at this year’s E3. By holding their 2nd annual Bethesda Press Conference this year, Bethesda has to be coming to the show with a fully loaded hype-gun of announcements – Starting out with Fallout 4, a game which has received nothing but praise and attention since its launch last year. Bethesda will definitely talk about the upcoming downloadable content, including a fairly massive Fallout 4 expansion, which will add a whole new side of Fallout 4 which we have yet to explore.
Very unlikely, but still probable news, we think a new entry in the Elder Scrolls franchise might be announced, especially with the announcement of the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Remastered Edition. The only reason I put this in the maybe pile is that Bethesda already has a full cannon of announcements waiting to happen – and a massive announcement like a new Elder Scrolls game would likely overshadow every other announcement during this time. This is something that the Informed Pixel team has talked about for months now leading up to today and our final thought is that the announcement won’t roll out, simply to the amount of titles already in Bethesda’s holster. However, the possibility is there.
What won’t happen next week? Well, we just reported on a rumor that Halo 5: Guardians will be announced for Windows 10 at E3. Fat chance. With Halo 5’s Forge Mode coming to Windows PC already, a reveal of Halo 5: Guardians would make Halo 5’s Forge Mode completely null, and we believe Microsoft is smart enough to know that.
What also won’t happen is any reveal or talk about the Nintendo NX – Nintendo’s next console launching in March of 2017. A lot of people are speculating that the Nintendo NX will be hinted about, with some folks even believing Nintendo will have the NX behind closed doors at E3 this year. This, will likely not, in any capacity, be talked about during E3 as Nintendo’s main focus is keeping The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon Sun & Moon as their highlights for the Nintendo Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS.
Do you agree with our predictions? Is something a little bit off that you disagree with? Please let us know in the comments below as we would love to discuss our thoughts further!
