There’s no question: this year’s E3 is going to be an important one for publishers, developers and, most of all, gamers. With sales forecasts drooping and profits being slashed across the board, pretty much every entity in the industry needs to step up their game if they want to stay even close to the top (I’m eyeballing you, Nintendo).
There’s been a lot of hype for the games we know will be showcased–Halo 5, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare are certain to rear their popular heads–but, as always, the element of surprise is what makes E3 truly interesting. Here’s our list of E3 2014 predictions–some of the most oft-rumored games and the chances we’ll see them at E3.
[promo title=”Beyond Good & Evil 2 – 60%”][/promo]
I admit it: I was one of the many who skipped over the original Beyond Good & Evil when it released in 2003 (in my defense, I was 10 years old and didn’t really have a budget for new games). Now that I’ve had the chance to play it, I want a sequel as badly as any longtime fan.
BG&E director Michael Ancel confirmed that Ubisoft is shooting for a release on new-gen consoles, stating in 2011 that the sequel was “far into development” and that the studio “can’t go back now.” Let’s hope they haven’t; with the current console generation hitting its stride, the time is nigh for an official unveiling.
The last we heard of it:
In May 2012, Ancel said that the game had entered an “active creation stage” (as opposed to what type of creation, exactly?). If Ubisoft was picking up the pace in 2012 in anticipation for a next-gen release, we think the odds are in the fans’ favor for this gem to finally come to light at this year’s E3.
[promo title=”The Last Guardian – 40%”][/promo]
A sequel to another series I only recently played, The Last Guardian might be the only game on this list truly stuck in development hell. Its development has been an on-again, off-again affair since its unveiling in 2007, whereupon it had a PlayStation 3 release date of 2011. Given that the last gen is, well, last gen, its belabored development history (including the departure of series creator Fumito Ueda as a full-time Sony employee) has given rise to rumors that Sony switched The Last Guardian‘s release platform to PlayStation 4.
The last we heard of it:
Earlier this year, Sony’s Scott Rohde commented on the game long enough to say that it is, in fact, still in development, reiterating the importance of quality versus expedition. Said Rohde, “We would not want to ship [The Last Guardian] if we don’t think it’s great.” The public hasn’t lost interest. Sony hasn’t lost interest. Let’s get this ball rolling.
[promo title=”The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D – 10%”][/promo]
Majora’s Mask 3D is one of those games that we all know is coming someday–after the successful release of Ocarina of Time 3D, it’s really a no-brainer. The Nintendo 64 original Majora’s Mask has become something of a Zelda cult favorite, introducing a much darker atmosphere to the series and giving the story some serious emotional gravitas. With the OoT3D engine already developed, a remake is definitely within the realm of possibility, if not certainty. But Nintendo’s still got one or two other Zelda games in development–either of which could be the WiiU’s saving grace–so we’re putting this one pretty low on their priority list. We’d be really surprised to see this one come up at E3.
The last we heard of it:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds director Hiromasa Shikata pointed out that Majora’s Mask is, in fact, hanging on a wall at Link’s house in the game. He said that putting the mask in the game “was a special request from [longtime Zelda producer Eiji] Aonuma’s production team. Now why would they ask us to do that?” In addition, Majora’s Mask antagonist Skull Kid has been revealed as an assist trophy in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for WiiU and 3DS. Both are teases, but why would they mention it if it wasn’t planned somewhere down the road?
[promo title=”The next Red Dead game – 30%”][/promo]
Another game that’s obviously going to happen, the Red Dead Redemption sequel–which will be the third in the Red Dead series–hasn’t been confirmed or even mentioned by Rockstar officials. But as for current projects, it’s really between this, Bully 2 and a new-gen Grand Theft Auto V port–Rockstar’s got a few lucrative franchises from which to pick.
The last we heard of it:
Rockstar CEO Strauss Zelnick recently said that “We’re excited about what [Rockstar] have in store for the new generation of systems this fiscal year.” (Note: the 2014 fiscal year extends into March 2015.) While that statement is nothing like a confirmation of Red Dead Redemption 2, we think it’s about time we got more Red Dead. Sure, Bully fans have been waiting longer, but the combined 13.9 million worldwide sales of Red Dead Redemption–versus Bully‘s combined >3 million–is a hard number to ignore when deciding where Rockstar should concentrate their efforts.