Last year E3 was skipped. Things were fine. There were a bunch of smaller events where games were announced, Nintendo took the great idea of waiting until the games were 2 months away from release before even announcing them (by randomly dropping the trailers on their youtube channel with no warning, which is great) which is WAY better than waiting years for any info, and a lot was delayed anyways on all fronts. As a result E3 showed itself to not be something that is needed anymore.

So E3 is coming back this year. Kinda? The ESA is gonna be running… something? On an app? People weirdly don’t know this, but the E3 presentations we watch on the internet aren’t actually E3 (they’re ran in separate buildings that are reserved by the game companies themselves, it just makes sense to have those running at the same time as actual E3 for some fan hype), with the actual E3 being the showfloor where journalists (largely) go down to try the new games/hardware and run interviews and presentations and such with the devs.

I usually post about E3 around a month before it happens, addressing rumors and what will happen there, with some predictions and such. This time it’s a bit of a different post than my usual because… I have no idea what E3 2021 is, and there’s no “real” info. What we have is basically useless.

Let’s see what I’ve got to say about this one!

What is E3 2021 and why is it a thing?

This remains a big question about E3 2021. As we approach June 12, the start date of E3 2021, we’ll probably get a bit of info about what this will actually be, but right now we’re kinda being left in the dark. We don’t REALLY know what E3 2021 is going to be, and the ESA are not telling the public at all.

My big question about E3 2021 is… why? If there’s no big convention showfloor thing that the ESA are hosting, what are they actually providing that the game companies couldn’t just do on their own?

So far I can find that Microsoft, Nintendo, Capcom, Konami, Ubisoft, Square Enix, Take-Two, Sega, Bandai Namco, Xseed, Gearbox and Warner Bros will be part of the thing, amongst others. We don’t know in what form these companies will appear, other than Ubisoft who is doing Ubisoft Forward. There was one of those last year. It sucked, largely because it’s Ubisoft and Ubisoft are an awful company. There’s GamesRadar’s “Future Game Show”, no idea what that is and I don’t think it’s actually related to E3. There’s the PC Gaming Show which is rarely exciting, also not related with E3 itself. EA has a thing later in the month, obviously separate from E3.

We’re under a month away from E3 at this point, and we don’t really know still what is gonna happen “there”. What we know is that an app is being made. There’s gonna be leaderboards and stuff, not sure why. There’s lounges and forums no one will use. There’s “Exhibitor Booths” which are probably just video content that will basically all be on youtube. What I’m thinking about here is value proposition. I mean, Nintendo is definitely gonna be doing a Direct. It’s definitely gonna be streamed on both their youtube and twitch channels. How is their “presence” on the E3 app benefiting them, when that Direct stream will likely get WAY more traffic than whatever is on this app that few people will care to download? They’re definitely paying to be on it, as they were doing to be on the E3 showfloor. So what are they actually getting out of this?

Maybe they figured out something that will be really cool. I don’t know if I believe that, but there’s a chance. If not… at least the summer should have a bunch of announcements, regardless of E3’s actual involvement.

Will I make posts about E3 2021

Yes. Probably. I usually make “live” reaction posts to E3 presentations, which I assume we’re getting a few of. So I’ll be watching everything that pops up, and I’ll make posts about them probably. Maybe I’ll be dumb and review that probably-stupid E3 app. Maybe I’ll even post about some of the non-E3 things. Why not!

It’s such a weird thing for E3 to even exist this year that I find it baffling that I’d have to post about anything.

The big 3 at E3, or not

Microsoft

Microsoft’s E3-time presentations have pretty random quality levels. A small handful have actually been really good, like the year where DMC5 and Sekiro were both revealed (and a couple other things too, it was a good one). A lot of them are extremely boring. The thing with Microsoft is that the Xbox is not a console that gets exclusives, by design. All Xbox games come at least to PC as well, if not more (as Xbox Game Studios have allowed some games to come to Switch, like Ori). So Microsoft presentations largely end up being shows that have something for everyone, rather than Xbox gamers specifically. Which is a net positive.

As far as what I think we’ll see from them, I don’t really have any super solid ideas. There’s some obvious things, like Halo Infinite, and the new Forza which I’m surprised isn’t out yet. We could see some info for the new Perfect Dark, I’m very cautiously optimistic for that one because I wish more FPS were made that follow a structure similar to the original Perfect Dark and Goldeneye. We could see Fable, not sure I have any hype for that. Hellblade 2 may be a big thing for them there, that’s supposed to happen at some point. What Microsoft presentations have been more about recently is 3rd parties who don’t have their own presentations. Or at least their good presentations have had a focus on 3rd party games. So this might be how some pretty big deal games might be revealed. Who knows. And maybe we’ll get an apology for that awful Battletoads reboot, followed by the announcement of a new one that is actually similar to the originals. That would be nice.

Microsoft also means Bethesda, not sure if they’ll do something separate or not. Bethesda sucks, their only actual value anymore is publishing other companies’ games, as their own games have been crap since 2008, and just progressively getting worse. Like DOOM. DOOM has been amazing, and I prefer not to blame Bethesda for it. I think we can expect to hear about Starfield a bit though that game is probably a year or 2 away. I don’t think we’ll hear anything about ES6.

I overall don’t have real expectations for Microsoft “at” “E3”, their performance is really random. They’ve had great presentations, they’ve had bad ones… who knows. This is also why my Microsoft segment of this post is so short compared to the other 2.

Sony

Why am I even talking about Sony? They’re not “going” to “E3” after all… Well probably because they’re probably gonna be doing something soon regardless (proving definitely that E3 isn’t needed). They have State of Play now, they don’t need E3, and have skipped the 2019 one. Not like State of Play has been a big thing yet, they squander the potential every single time (the last one literally had: a game we knew about, Among Us, and footage for a game about to come out… useless). Their  lack of participating in E3 is proof that E3 shouldn’t exist.

The PS5 is in a crap place with now. It’s a piece of garbage that’s not worth owning, and Sony are in no hurry of making it worth owning. We know they don’t need to because people will buy Playstations regardless of if they have anything to play (evidence: the PS4). During June it’ll get its first big game (and Ratchet does seem like it’ll be pretty great), but who knows beyond that. God of War is supposed to come out this year, there’s a good chance it’ll be pushed back. Horizon 2 is coming, but it’s also coming to PS4 so it’s not like you need the PS5 to play it (and it’ll likely come to PC too), and there’s a non-zero chance it’s gonna be pushed back. The only other PS5-only game even announced is Gran Turismo… which is just Gran Turismo, so it’s hardly worth mentioning. I’m thinking one of these will come out this year, the rest will be delayed to next year, and that’s all for the PS5 for 2021. It’s really a shame because Sony has a huge fucking library of franchises they could make games for, instead they settle on making crap. I’d love to see a new Wild Arms and people have been SCREAMING for a new Legend of Dragoon. Or Ape Escape.

I certainly wish I’m wrong about 2021 being pretty much nothing for the PS5, I want every console to be worth owning, but I gotta call ’em as I see ’em. PS5 is a crap box with no games, Xbox is a crap box with no games (but that’s by design, so it’s easy to just ignore it)… Build a PC (or, right now, get a prebuilt, at least for the graphic card, and upgrade that to your needs… the market for anything electronic right now is pretty bad, there’s a reason the PS5 and Series X are not on store shelves).

I’m happy Sony’s not at E3.

Nintendo

Nintendo’s been having some rumors. Multiple people threw out info that there’s a 2D Donkey Kong game coming from Nintendo EPD. This is coming from more than one person so it seems possible. The usual “big” leaker, Zippo (who has gotten plenty wrong and plenty right, so he’s basically just to be used for speculation rather than actual info), is additionally throwing around 2D Metroid rumors (that has been a thing for years, some sources told me about that being “for sure coming” last year, that turned out well), as well as a new Fire Emblem and a new Mario Party. Yeah I could’ve “leaked” those too.

For this E3 Nintendo is likely doing a Direct, and maybe they’ll do something similar to previous E3s with the treehouse staff to show games a bit more in-depth. Usually there’s a Pokemon direct in May before E3, we’re running out of time for it though so it might not happen.

I think we’ll see several things. Of course there’s gonna be a Smash character, and it’ll be a big third-party one for the occasion of E3, more than likely. I want it to be someone cool like Doomguy and not someone lame like Crash Bandicoot. Breath of the Wild 2 is vaguely possible for this year (though I’m expecting next year TBH), we’re seeing it either way and probably getting a March 2022 release date. Bayonetta 3 could happen, finally. That was revealed in 2017, so we need info (and, speaking of Platinum, we need details for Project GG and Babylon’s Fall too… just sayin’). SMT5 is supposed to be out this year worldwide, I NEED a date. From 2022 games, we could get info for Metroid Prime 4 finally, but I think we’ll see it until later, in September. I don’t expect it here. Pokemon Legends could make an appearance if there’s no Pokemon Direct. Splatoon 3 could show up. Project Triangle Strategy is 2022, but I doubt we’ll see it here (maybe at whatever Squeenix is doing). And yeah there’s gonna be highlights for all the upcoming Switch exclusives for this year (SMTV, Rune Factory 5, Disgaea 6, Mario Golf, NMH3, Pokemon DP remasters, Yokai Watch 4 (this is totally a prediction, btw… game’s been out a while in Japan after all, a localization could still technically happen), and whatever the fuck else I’m forgetting), no new info for any of them, just a reminder that they’re coming. And yes, Nintendo has been pretty big for some third-parties too recently, so maybe a few announcements from some of them will pop up too.

As far as new announcements, those rumors are definitely a bit interesting. A new Fire Emblem is definitely being made, whether it’s ready to come out this year, or even be announced, is another matter entirely. The DK rumor is definitely one I wouldn’t mind seeing but I doubt the validity of it right now. The 2D Metroid rumor is one I think is pretty possible, given MercurySteam haven’t done anything since Samus Returns and this has been rumored for so long. Super Mario Party 2 makes sense, maybe that online update for the first one is a beta run for 2’s online mode. People still think there’s gonna be something big for Zelda’s 35th anniversary (outside of BOTW2). I think it could happen, I assume it won’t be particularly interesting if it does, probably something really lame like a Wind Waker HD+Twilight Princess HD collection for Switch. Lots of people think Mario Kart 9 is for sure this year… I’d absolutely agree with that if 8DX wasn’t at/near the top of sales list every month since 2017. That game is doing so well that, in Nintendo’s perspective, it’s probably worth waiting until the next console to release 9. But I could be wrong. 9 is being made, for sure, but release is another story. Pikmin 4 is another one that Nintendo have said was in development a long time ago… maybe it’s time for it to get shown.

Outside of the rumors… they’re Nintendo, they have a wealth of franchises to pick from for sequels (or just make new franchises which they do sometimes). They recently revived Famicom Detective Club, of all things, so we could see more revivals. More Punch-Out would be great (the Wii one was awesome). StarTropics would be so fun to see. A new Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (For the Frog the Bell Tolls) would be a huge surprise. F-Zero. Star Fox (but try to not much it suck this time). Rhythm Heaven. WarioWare. Wario Land. Ouendan. PilotWings. Fatal Frame. Kid Icarus. Wars. Nintendo has so much stuff that, much like Sony, they just refuse to make. They just have substantially more of it. I’d love for them to throw a curve ball. Either way I’m expecting at least 2 new announcements for this year, maybe one or 2 for next year.

Maybe Nintendo will be good this E3. There’s a chance. I’d rather not be positive here though. You know, just in case.

Other rumors

Lots of people talking about GTA6 as if it was real. I have no idea where this is even coming from. Yes I saw the maps, they mean nothing. GTA is a pretty ass series but it sells quadrillions of copies so people will certainly be hyped for it if it’s true. Plus we’ll get more funny Miko streams.

There’s a rumor for a “PS5 and PC exclusive” (which is not a real thing, either a game is exclusive or it’s not, in this case it wouldn’t be) Final Fantasy game “similar to Souls” made by Team Ninja which could be fun. The rumor notes that it’s based on FF1. This rumors sometimes also includes an FF collection for Switch.

There were “leaks” for Starfield. It’s nothing to go by beyond “it’s a multiplat for PC and Xbox” which… duh. I saw a few images too, they could really be anything.

Not a lot of rumors really circulating beyond these and the Nintendo stuff. The only “rumors” I’m finding are stupid “X developer is gonna be announcing a game at some point”, which doesn’t count as actual rumor because, yes, every developer is working on some game.

Overall

So this long rambly fairly-pointless post was here to ask the very simple question for E3 2021: WHY? They’ve already shown themselves to not be needed, and with this app it doesn’t seem to me like they’re making a compelling argument for their existence. I’ll get the app, I’ll watch as much as I can, then we can come to a proper conclusion after the fact… but right now I just don’t know why E3 needs to still be a thing. Companies should just make Direct-style presentations. Sony is already doing it. Poorly, but they’re doing it. And there’s a bunch of other platforms like the Summer Game Fest (and several others), and even the awful, stupid, ridiculous VGAs where games are announced now which is making E3 seem… deprecated (though VGA reveals have been shit recently so… eh).