E3 2019 - Predictions
It's that the of year again where we get some of the biggest news in VDGMS. That time of year where we get huge announcements about the future in gaming and what we have to look forward to. It’s the promise of potential the what could be. Maybe the game you never knew you wanted get announced or maybe they remake one of your favorite childhood games. E3 offers the most concentrated chance of this happening. It is also that time when gamers start imagining what will be announced. Which brings us to our list of E3 predictions. These predictions are all over the map from safe to more unpredictable to happening to dreams. Some are based of rumors, off deduction of information and some are just pulled out of thin air. These predictions are in no particular order and I have also given them odds based on my thoughts of them happening.
Virtual Console
The first on the list and probably close to the top for me is bringing the spiritual successor of the virtual console to the Nintendo Switch. This is eventually going to happen as Nintendo has said themselves that there won’t be a Virtual Console in name as we know it but there will be something. I think this is a case of not if but when and the time seems right as ever. Last year we didn’t get a new mini system, the NES offerings on the NSO seem to be less than top tier as of late, and there was that Super Nintendo data mining earlier in the year that featured many of the best titles from that system. There are some great NES games still not on the NSO which makes me think that it is now a resources and licensing issue and I think the lack of resources is due to them funnelling the NSO team to porting over other consoles. The console for sure that will be joining NSO would be the SNES based on the datamining but there is also hope for the GameCube and the N64 as we have seen N64 games on the Virtual Console but haven’t seen GameCube games anywhere else and there are some gems that are trapped on that system.
odds - 70 %
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Saying that the next installment in the Ori series coming out this year wouldn’t be a huge prediction as it has been quite a while since the release of the first game, Ori and The Blind Forest in March of 2015. I expect this game to avoid the crowded fall and winter, which means that I would expect to see this game in the summer sometime soon. The sequel was also first shown off at E3 2017 and then the game looked pretty far along. What is going to be interesting is where will be able to play this Xbox Exclusive comes to. I strongly think that Ori will be making its way to the Switch. With Xbox going all in on a play anywhere mentality as we have recently seen, I think we will get a simultaneous release on Nintendo. I think the porting of Cuphead to the switch was just the start of a Nintendo/Microsoft partnership that will help bring smaller titles to the Switch. The Nintendo platform is such a great way to play some of the best independent games such as Celeste, Dead Cells and Hollow Knight. This would be a win/win for both parties as Nintendo would be able to boast more games and Microsoft would be able to make more money as many smaller developers have said their games sold drastically well on the Nintendo Switch. The sequel to Hollow Knight has only been announced for Switch and PC, whereas the first game in the series was on the other consoles as well. Clearly, Nintendo is the place to play these titles.
odds - 80%
Rockstar
Rockstar has to see the potential of releasing video games on the Switch. Unable to find sales numbers for LA Noire, I assume that it didn’t sell too well but I think this was more of a testing ground for Rockstar. What other reason would they have chosen LA Noire out of all the games in their library to release on the Switch. I expect to see Rockstar finally bring the GTA series to the Nintendo Switch this year. There are two options. We could see the most basic port of GTA V which is a massive success and according to TTWO, the game has sold close to 100 million copies. A large part of the success of GTAV is Online, which Nintendo has just recently figured out online (sort of) last fall. Launching around that time would have been too close to RDR2 and might have taken away some of the conversation and sales around it. Based on polling close gamer colleagues, most own an additional console as well as the Switch, so the theory that it might have eaten into the RDR2 sales is justifiable. With the last Nintendo earning report, it was reported that the system has now passed over 35 million units sold. This now makes the hybrid console a viable option for Rockstar to bring over their cash cow. It has also been long enough since the release of the original and the rerelease on the modern console that you would most likely get some repeat buyers, including myself and how I would buy it for the third time. The main issue with GTAV is the lack of data storage for the Switch with the current install size for the game being around 80GB, and the current size of Switch cartridges being 32GB with rumored 64GB coming this year. This seems like a strong deterrent for GTAV especially when cartridges cost more to produce, let alone the high capacity ones. This leads me to my conclusion that we will get something more akin to Chinatown Wars from the DS and PSP. It will be something of a hybrid 2D and 3D but will also feature a strong online component to bolster recurring revenue. This would be the announcement I expect, however it could still be possible for Rockstar to work its magic and figure out a way to get GTAV on the Switch.
odds - 30%
Blizzard
Rockstar won’t be the only people deciding to make the move to port existing popular franchises to the Nintendo Switch. I expect Blizzard to be porting another one of its existing IP to the Switch. When bringing Diablo 3 to the Switch, which has received glowing reviews across the board for how well it performed, Blizzard did say that it would be feasible to bring other franchises to the Switch. The big question becomes which franchise will be coming next. Overwatch being one of Blizzards most popular games at the moment would make sense but it would require constant online connection and requires higher graphical processing which could be a problem for the hybrid system. A StarCraft 2 port could be a very interesting option as Blizzard is familiar with porting its RTS to Nintendo consoles as the original StarCraft made its way to the N64 with a modified control scheme. As we have seen with Halo Wars 1 & 2, its quite possible to make a viable control scheme for playing RTS on console. The Switch could even take advantage of its touch screen capabilities. This combined with the most recent announcement that Tencent received approval and will soon be selling the Nintendo Switch in China and the Chinese market being a large opportunity for the RTS. Starcraft has always done extremely well in Asia. The other Blizzard game that could make its way to the Switch would be HearthStone. It doesn’t require large graphical processing and it has been used on iOS devices meaning it already has been designed around touchscreen devices makes this game a perfect fit for the Switch. I expect this to be game that Blizzard brings next to the system. Nintendo now has online services leaving the only issue to be cost of the game. Would it still continue to be free to download as it is on mobile devices or based on the small single player campaigns they have been rolling out would it have a small cost or would they be creating a special campaign offline mode just for the Switch. Blizzard wouldn’t be alone in bring a deck building game as Bethesda announced that it would be bringing Elder Scrolls Legends to the Switch along with the other consoles last year, although we have yet to hear anything further.
odds - 50%
Metroid Bluepoint
The E3 Nintendo Direct will have fans at all time fever pitch, thanks in part to the last two Directs getting Pokemon and Mario Maker out of the way. One of the big titles that everyone was looking forward to was Metroid Prime 4, but earlier this year we were met with bad news that the game wasn’t coming along as planned at Bandai Namco Studios. The project was scrapped and it was back to square one at Retro Studios. You have to assume that this puts the release of MP4 most likely 2021 which will be 4 years into the life cycle of the Nintendo Switch. This will leave a massive gap for Samus to make her first appearance on the hybrid console. This E3 Nintendo will announced that the Metroid Prime Trilogy will be released this year and it will be developed by Bluepoint. Bluepoint Studios were co founded by the lead engineer of Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2. The majority of BluePoint’s work has been on remasters or remakes with the most notable being their most recent work on Shadow of The Colossus and The Nathan Drake Collection. Both of those gamers are a master class in how to remake or remaster a game. If memory serves me correct, Bluepoint had stated that their next project was bigger undertaking and a trilogy is for sure a bigger task. The massive fan outcry for Metroid Prime Trilogy combined with the personal connection Bluepoint has to the series and this is a match made in gamer heaven. There have also been leaks showing listings for this game on the internal Best Buy network earlier this year. I expect this to be announced at the Nintendo Direct near E3 and released later this fall.
odds - 85%
Metroid Trilogy Insurance Plan
I would much prefer the Metroid Prime trilogy to be remastered for the Switch. Although there is a good possibility Nintendo is Nintendo and doesn’t give us the most obvious thing that we want. Listed above are all the reasons I think we are going to get the remastered trilogy. In the case that doesnt happen I like to have an insurance plan. If we dont get the remastered trilogy then I fully expect to see a Switch port for Samus returns from the DS. This game was very perplexing from the start. This remake of the Gameboy classic, Metroid 2: Return of Samus came to the DS in September of 2017. This was confusing because the Switch had been available for almost six months at this point. I think the play was to target the biggest install base and its possible Nintendo was taking the conservative approach and putting all their marbles where it made more sense. However it will have been almost 2 years since that game was released which is more than enough time for the Switch install base to grow considerably as it sits around 35 million. It has been enough time that they would have been able to upscale it and make it work for the Switch as well The original game was only in development for 2 years so even if they were to basically start from scratch we should hopefully expect to see it this fall. If I even want to get a little more crazy, maybe we could see something along the lines of the Samus collection that would feature all the 2D Metroid games remastered in the vein of Samus Returns.
odds if trilogy is announced - 10%
odds if trilogy isn’t announced - 75%
odds of trilogy and Samus - 5%
Splinter Cell
During the Inside Xbox show in April, Microsoft announced a few new titles that would be coming to backwards compatibility. This didnt get much traction as I thought it would but its interesting to note that three games from Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell got the special treatment. Included games were Blacklist, Conviction and Double Agent with all of them also getting enhancements for Xbox One X. I find the timing of the backwards compatibility to be very coincidental with E3 just around the corner and Xbox being the place where Sam Fisher got his digital beginning. When Yves Guillemot was questioned on Unflitered by Ryan McCaffrey of IGN about the status of Splinter Cell he said “at one point you will see something but he can’t say more than that” with a large smile on his face. There isn’t much time left for Splinter Cell to make an appearance on the current generation of consoles as more than likely we are looking at fall 2020 which leaves a little over a year. The last game released in the series was Blacklist in 2013 on the 360 and PS3. The only thorn in the side of this reveal is that the latest Ghost Recon just got announced. It could be so that Splinter Cell would get all the attention as Ubisoft does have their own press conference at E3. The other factor that is adds up to a Splinter Cell reveal is that the creative director of The Division 2 tweeted out something along the lines that he was working on Splinter Cell and can’t wait for E3. Ubisoft followed up very prompt by saying that he was obviously kidding and they have nothing to announce at this time.
odds - 70%
Wave Race Switch
It has been almost two decades since the last Wave Race came to a Nintendo console. That game was Wave Race: Blue Storm and it came to the GameCube in 2001. It was only the third game in the series following the. success of Wave Race for the Gameboy and Wave Race 64 for the N64. The strange thing is that the game was critically well received with an 80 on Metacritic and it was also a commercial success as it was one of the few games available at launch of the system which helped push more units as people need software. The big question is why did this series go away and why does a reboot now make sense. For starters the processing power that we have today can generate some of the most realistic wave physics we have seen to date. If you look at Sea of Theives as an example the wave physics alone in that game were enough to keep me playing at launch even though it was fairly bare on content when it was released. Just sailing the open seas with the wave physics was absolutely mesmerizing. The explosion of online gameplay since the release of Blue Storm would basically justify it existence. If you added online to all the existing modes that where in Blue Storm, like single player, stunt mode, offline split screen and free roam then I think that would be enough. Even a free roam mode with the size of todays maps that we have seen lately from games like Breath of The Wild would be gorgeous to splash through. I think both this series and Fzero are due for a return but I give the edge to wave race since Fzero could be seen as a similar game to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
odds - 5%
Apex Legends
Obviously at EA play we are going to hear a lot more news about season 2 for Apex including the map changes, new weapons, new characters and new rewards. In fact at the time of recording some of these features have already been revealed. Another thing that I think we might hear is that Apex Legends will be coming to the Switch. Coming from their most recent earnings report, EA stated that the future of Apex looks bright by bringing the game to Mobile and to other territories. If they are porting or creating a new version for mobile then it makes sense that they will release a switch version hopefully featuring cross play with the other consoles similar to how Fortnite works on the Switch. Considering in the earnings call that Apex was one of the few bright spots, with over 35 million systems sold the Switch is a very viable platform.
odds - 40%
BAD COMPANY
The other big thing to happen at EA Play will be the announcement of their fall shooter. Based on the schedule they have just released i’m not sure when but the big question is what series will it be from. We can assume it won’t be mainline Battlefield since we just got BFV in 2018 which leaves the option for Battlefront 3, which makes a lot of sense when you look at the release date for Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker. The amount of hype and publicity this movie will get will get people excited for anything Star Wars and having the ability to tie in some DLC to the movie would seem smart. However, there is one big factor working against it and it goes by the name Jedi:Fallen Order. This is the Star Wars game that Respawn is making. Respawn has said that Fallen Order will be single player only and won’t feature any mulitplayer, which would leave the door open for a multiplayer only Battlefront 3. Business and history should teach EA that this won’t make sense and it won’t work as in the past EA released Titanfall 2 right in between the latest COD and BF1 stating that they are different audiences and that they wouldn’t affect each other. That turned out to be wrong as not all gamers can afford to buy every game and as a result the critically acclaimed TitanFall 2 suffered commercially. It doesn’t make sense to release two Star Wars games at the same time. If its not going to be Battlefront and its not going to be a mainline Battlefield game then the most logical option other than a brand new direction, like hardline took, is to bring back Bad Company. Bad Company had all the gorgeous graphics that most battlefields have but it also imbued a sense of camaraderie, humor and thoughtfulness that the mainline games just dont have. Considering the first two games in the series came out in 2008, 2010 and that they have become some sort of cult classic among gamers is more than enough reason for EA to bring back this series. If EA is looking to make positive headlines it has three series it could revive including Bad Company, Skate, and Dead Space. The current climate of the world and the political situation in America at the moment could make the campaign of Bad Company very effective.
odds - 55%
Fire Sale on FireStorm
Firestorm has had a tough development to say the least. It was supposed to launch alongside BFV and be another entrant to the Battle Royale genre in the fall that could have put some pressure on Blackout. Instead it was pushed back into spring 2019 and released with little to no fanfare. The people that played it were happy enough that it felt like a modern optimized PUBG but it was missing some major things that make Battle Royales click. First it was only 64 players which isn’t anything unknown for Battlefield as they have been doing 64 player modes since the beginning of the series and the looting system needed a big rework as it was a confusing mess to sort through loot in the heat of battle. As of today on Twitch the whole BFV channel has around 1K viewers whereas the top games on twitch are pulling in close to 200k during the day. BFV needs to get a insurgence of players back into the game and what better way to do that then at EA PLAY to announce that Firestorm will be released as a stand alone free to play.
odds - 60%
Netflix and Switch
Nothing overly crazy here but with a few of the latest Netflix originals being interactive such as Bandersnatch, Man Vs Wild and Minecraft Story mode it might be the right time to bring Netflix back to Nintendo. Netflix was part of the WiiU ecosystem so why haven’t we seen it on the Switch yet. It makes sense for Netflix as this would hopefully generate more subscribers and for Nintendo it would help fill out their ecosystem. Since launch the Switch has slowly added video content apps to the system such as YouTube and then Hulu. With Netflix taking part in E3 this year to take about their crossover into gaming as well as a few other announcements. According to a tweet from Netflix it will feature “upcoming plans in the gaming space”. This could be more centred around actual gaming announcements regarding some of their Netflix originals but I think there will be the surprise announcement that Netflix will be available on Switch at the time of the announcement.
odds - 75%
Konami and Metal Gear.
Although things didn’t end well between Hideo Kojima and Konami, the company still understands the value it has with the IP. This is clear based on the attempt to use the license for the last game in the series after Kojima departed; Metal Gear Survive. Konami also clearly understands how to make money as based on their most recent fiscal year earnings report they announced the 5th straight year of record profit. The company has done this by focusing on mobile gaming, their more Eurocentric titles as well as focusing on their back catalog. This year we are seeing 3 different collections from Konami make their way to the Switch. The first is Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection, then the Castlevania Anniversary Collection and then Contra Anniversary Collection. All three of these collections are due to be released by the end of summer with the first one already being out late April. Combine these three factors and it seems to make a lot of sense and dollars for Konami to make a Metal Gear Anniversary Collection for all consoles similar to the HD Collection released on the PS3 and Xbox 360. It clear that Konami isn’t embarrassed or ashamed of how things ended with Kojima, and although fans side with Kojima, people have a short memory. I would also go out on a limb and say that Kojima still will get some type of royalties from the sales of the Metal Gear series. Im not sure what games would be included in the collection especially considering how they are not including all the Castlevania games in that collection. Technically the collection could feature all the games including MGSV as it was released on the last generation of systems as well and if it can run on the Xbox 360 or the PS3 then it can run on the Switch. Although, I would expect to see more of the first half of the series released in the initial offering as it would cost Konami less to slightly remaster the older games in the series for a Switch collection. Basically all they would need to do would be polish the HD Collection, Add some artwork, and a few other things to make it an attractive package. It would also be a good way for them to test the market before fully committing to remastering the modern games in the series.
odds - 30%
Capcom
I fully expect to hear something regarding the next project from Capcom in the Resident Evil series or even possibly the rumored Dino Crisis reboot. The Dino Crisis remake checks a lot of boxes that would make it a viable option. It has been a long time since the release of the last game in that series. I think that Capcom would be smart to do a similar method to how they have treated the resident evil series with a spiritual reboot with RE7 which did quite well critically and commercially. As well as the most recent remake of RE2, which was a masterclass in how to properly take care of your existing IP and remake for current gen. They used the most recent engine that they developed initially for RE7 called the RE Engine which has been used for a bunch of other games including RE2 remake and Devil May Cry 5. The sequels to Dino Crisis got away from the initial reason the game was a hit and that was because it was similar to RE. Its clear that the team at Capcom likes what they have with the RE Engine and will be able to take it into next generation of consoles they said. Now that the team is familiar with the tool set of the engine we shouldn’t have to wait long for the next remake. After the success of RE2 remake, which at the time of this sits at the 5th best selling game of the year, it would only make sense for Capcom to revisit another game with the same treatment. The two options are Dino Crisis or RE3. Capcom has made some posts on social media that would hint to it being RE3 but my gut says that they already have the RE series back in gear and its smart not to focus entirely on one IP. If they remade Dino Crisis in the same vein as RE2 then it would pave the way for a full Dino Crisis reboot in the same vein as RE7. Long story short they are going to use the RE engine and they are going to use one of their existing IP’s mentioned.
odds - 90%
