2017’s Electronic Entertainment Expo kicks off this week, and gamers are hungry to hear the new releases coming to their favorite console. Every year brings new content to make your purchase more worthwhile, as well as the announcement of brand new IPs and followups to your favorite games and series. As with years past, before the show fully kicks off let’s make some predictions for what we’d love to see come out of this year’s show.
10. The Revival of the Platformer
With the recent release of Playtonic’s Yooka-Laylee as well as the upcoming release of the Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy, it seems the platformer genre is making a comeback. Not to be left out, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo all swoop in to get on that obvious cash cow. The Xbox One will see the release of an actual Banjo Kazooie game and not a single motor vehicle will be in sight. Sony taps into Sucker Punch after they’re done with Spider-Man to bring the world yet another Sly Cooper. And Nintendo looks back to their vast history of the genre and pulls out none other than … well shoot, what IPs do they still own that aren’t Mario? Hmm, Star Fox Adventures 2 I guess?
9. Keiji Inafune Releases the Real Mighty No. 9
Mighty No. 9 was supposed to be the game that revitalized the Mega Man style of gameplay. Hell, it was even being developed by the mega man himself, Keiji Inafune! But the colossal disappointment that was 2016’s Mighty No. 9 will all be retconned when Inafune, Comcept, and Inti Creates come out with Mighty No. 9 Redux, and completely modified and updated version of the original game. Gone are the poor voice actors, bland backgrounds, and boring gameplay. Back are the run and gun stages, dangerous pitfalls, and awesome music and bosses that made the source Mega Man games so great! Also, and perhaps the best part, the update is a free update to those who already purchased the game!
8. Nintendo Announces a New F-Zero, for Mobile Devices
Continuing their tradition of tempting gamers with what they want but dangling what they really want just out of reach, Nintendo lays out their future plan for games on iOS, Android, and mobile devices. Leading the pack is Captain Falcon himself with the newest release of the beloved F-Zero racing series. Mobile gamers can log in each day to earn one race credit, which they can spend on a single race that day against others online. For more races they’ll have to purchase Falcon Coins, which cannot be earned any other way. Nintendo is hoping this method of gameplay will sour everyone’s perception of the F-Zero series, meaning they could stop having fans clamor for it and not feel guilty for not making any more games in the series.
7. Sonic the Hedgehog: VR
Virtual reality is all the rage in games these days, and Sega has noticed how most franchises are putting out VR games in some way. Not wanting to get pushed even further into obscurity, Sega announces Sonic the Hedgehog: VR. With gameplay akin to the Sonic games of old, you’ll jump, run, and dash your way through platforming stages with loop-de-loops, robotic enemies, and speed gates to accelerate the blue blur to insane speeds, all the while seeing everything from Sonic’s perspective! And yes, that includes the nauseating rotations while in spinball form, as well as the stomach turning spins, rotations, and loops in every level. Keep your trash can close!
6. Eternal Champions 2 by NetherRealm Studios
NetherRealm Stuidos seems to do no wrong, bringing us wonderful fighting games in the revived Mortal Kombat series as well as the wonderfully received Injustice and Injustice 2. Hoping to complete a trifecta of fighters, Ed Boon’s development house will bring back one of the often forgotten fighters from the Genesis/Mega-Drive era, Eternal Champions. At the time of its release, Eternal Champions had similar gameplay to Mortal Kombat, with brutal finishers, bizarre characters, and 1v1 combat. This new game brings back all the fan favorites, but adds all kinds of new content, and even crosses over with the MK universe by introducing Raiden as the games first preorder bonus DLC character!
5. Sony One Ups Microsoft and Gives Full PlayStation Backwards Compability
With a lot of buzz circulating around Microsoft announcing the Xbox One getting backwards compatibility to the original Xbox as well as even more Xbox 360 games, Sony does the unthinkable and straight up allows all PlayStation format games to run on PS4. With a hefty software update, the PS4 can now play any original PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 game disc. Now, where did I leave that original Spyro the Dragon?
4. The Nintendo 4DS
The Nintendo 3DS has been the go-to handheld gaming platform for many years now, much to the dismay of loyal Sony fans. And the recent announcement of a 3D-less New Nintendo 2DS, many Nintendo fans are wondering what might be next for the house of N in terms of handheld games. The answer? The Nintendo 4DS. Not only can it play games in 2D and 3D with the slider function, it can also play games in any dimension of time. Want to see what games the system can play next year? Just turn the slider on the back to 2018 and you’re there. Or perhaps you want to go to a simpler time and relive your childhood gaming days. Just flick it on over to 1994 and enjoy some original Game Boy action! This time hop will only set you back $399 somehow, so get them while they’re hot!
3. Dance Dance Revolution on Switch, with amiibo Support
Needing new games desperately, Nintendo partners with Konami to bring the dance craze DDR to the Switch. Using a brand new game engine, you no longer need the iconic DDR dance pad to play, but instead just hold the Joy Con controllers in your hand and move to the music and arrows on the screen. Speaking of arrows, if you play the game in the off-TV switch mode, you can use the newly introduced DDR amiibo to help you out through a trick section. Just tap one of the amiibo modeled after the game’s iconic arrow designs (A four-pack amiibo set includes the up, right, down, and left arrows) on the Switch when you would normally tap said direction screen and you can enjoy a whole new type of dance for your fingertips! Be fast though, some of those harder songs will have you tapping arrow amiibo multiple times per second! Groove is in the house, indeed!
2. Square Enix Releases Kingdom Hearts 4
In a complete shocker, RPG juggernaut Square Enix announces Kingdom Hearts 4 will be coming out before Kingdom Hearts 3. Fans of the series don’t even care at this point that they’re still missing a game teased to them a decade ago, and are just happy to lap up anything else with Sora, Mickey, and crew in it. KH4 will take place directly after KH3, and has major ties to that previous game. Game director Tetsuya Nomura feels like Kingdom Hearts 4 need to come out before Kingdom Hearts 3 in order to make the series more understandable for newcomers. He thinks not knowing the events that make up the plot of the new game will be fun for players to discover. For those seeking Kingdom Hearts 3, the expected release date was pushed back to 2020, likely after the release of Kingdom Hearts III.875 HD Remix: Final Augment -Limited- comes out for PlayStation 5.
1. Power Stone 3
Capcom realizes how effective the Nintendo Switch can be at bridging the gap between at home gaming and playing on the go, and decides to bring back their greatest, often forgotten fighting franchise, Power Stone. The quirky fighter has a large roster of colorful and fun characters to brawl as at home or on the go, and with the Switch’s ability to go anywhere and play anywhere, what better way to experience this gem than with a friend? The simple controls and easy to learn, hard to master gameplay lend themselves perfectly to long hour sessions, or short gaming bursts. While the idea of a third Power Stone was always in the books for Capcom, it wasn’t until 2017 that the company decided to bless the world with this new game.
So there we have it. Another year of predictions before another E3. These are all silly suggestions obviously, but last year I got the closest I ever have before to having predictions come true! Not only did Pokemon Go come out and take the world by storm, but Sega did kind of announce (albeit much later than E3) a new, good looking Sonic game in the form of Sonic Mania. It’s always fun to look back and see these predictions year after year! That being said check out the previous years’ lists below!
Top Ten Dream E3 2016 Predictions
Top Ten Dream E3 2015 Predictions
Top Ten Dream E3 2014 Predictions
Top Ten Dream E3 2013 Predictions
Top Ten Dream E3 2012 Predictions
Laters,
Jsick
