E3 2016: What One Gamer is Wishing For

June is an exciting time for gamers. Every year at E3, game developers show off their new creations and prime our brains for the excitement of the Holiday season.

For the last few years, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have been live streaming their E3 presentations. 

At 1pm EST next Monday, I’ll be sitting on my couch to see what games I have to look forward to.

The rumor mill is already churning online about what we can expect to see. New consoles from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are expected. VR is believed by some to be at the forefront of the conference this year.

I love technology and I’m intrigued to see where VR goes in the future, but I’m watching E3 2016 for the games.

Here is what I expect we’ll see on Monday.

Virtual Reality

There aren’t many people who can claim they had a friend who had a Virtual Boy–I did.

Technology has grown over the last 30 years and some of the VR out there today is far more engrossing than the vomit inducing green lines of the Virtual Boy.

According to rumors online, there will be a lot of talk about VR.

Microsoft may show off their tech, Sony is expected to demo theirs, and who knows what Nintendo will do.

I like the idea of VR, but I’m skeptical.

E3 2016

A few years ago, motion gaming was all the rage. With the Wii’s popularity, both Sony and Microsoft released their motion control devices. Neither one became a true success.

For the PS4, Sony ditched their motion controller. While Microsoft forced us all to get a Kinect 2.0 with the Xbox One. Then released no games that supported the device and let it die in silence.

Early Xbox One adopters, like myself, now have a device that functions as a dust collector.

This is why I’m skeptical about VR.

If developers don’t get behind it, if it’s released with a HUGE price point and no one can afford it, will gamers even care?

New Hardware

The PS2 lasted ten years. Xbox 360 had a similar life cycle.

Both Sony and Microsoft have confirmed they are working on new hardware. And may be showing these off at E3 2016.

Sony

Sony’s isn’t a whole new PS4 but an updated more powerful version of the current hardware. What fans have dubbed PS4.5.

Then again, there are rumors of a new system codenamed “Neo” that Sony plans to release in 2017.

According to Polygon, though, it looks like Sony plans to have both the PS4 and “Neo” working in collaboration within their ecosystem.

Microsoft

Microsoft, according to rumors, will be launching a few different pieces of hardware. As they did with the Slim 360, they plan on releasing a slim version of the current Xbox One.

Beyond a slimmer X1, Microsoft is set to release their version of Chromecast. You’ll be able to use Windows 10 Apps, stream TV or Netflix, play casual games, and stream Xbox One titles. This would mean there wouldn’t be a need for households to have more than one Xbox One.

Microsoft may have a whole new console, codenamed Scorpio, lined up for release next year.

The Xbox One hasn’t performed as well in the sales department versus the PS4. They shot themselves in the foot at E3 in 2013 and it’s taken a few years to recover. Plus the X1 is still less powerful than the PS4. Microsoft is hoping a new console, that’s supposedly 6x as powerful as the X1, will shake up the gaming world and bring people to their console.

Nintendo

Nintendo has confirmed their new console will release in March of 2017. Codenamed “NX,” no one is even sure what the hell this thing can do.

Rumors have flown around that it’s based on Android and that it’s a hybrid system that will come with handheld devices and a home unit. The latter makes sense. Because in my opinion it seemed like they tried to do that with the WiiU pad, but failed to go all the way with their concept.

What Needs to Happen

By the second year of the Xbox 360, we had new and exciting IPs like Mass Effect, Bioshock, Assassins Creed, and more.

Two years into this cycle, all we’ve seen from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo is remastered versions of games from the past.

  • The Last of Us
  • Gears of War
  • Windwaker
  • Majora’s Mask
  • Twilight Princess
  • Final Fantasy 7
  • Resident Evil
  • Uncharted
  • Castle Crashers
  • Halo
  • and more

Where are the new games? The ones that get your dick so hard your logical brain stops working and you order a new console on Amazon without a second thought. Where the hell are those games?

I consider the last generation one of the greatest generations of games ever. Video games showed us on the Xbox 360 and PS3 that they could be more than saving a princess from a castle. They delivered engaging and moving stories.

Are companies that hard up on creativity and money that they can only “remaster” an already beautiful game and ask us to pay $60 for it again?

No Man’s Sky is the only reason I want a PS4. So far, it’s the only mind-blowing concept for a video game this generation.

E3 2016

Microsoft hasn’t shown me a single game that sends the blood rushing to my neither regions.

We know we’re getting a new Call of Duty, a new Battlefield, and more than likely a new Assassins Creed. Those titles are more of a guarantee than Kayne making an ass of himself.

It’s possible we get a trailer or tease for the next Halo, gameplay footage of Gears of War 4, the supposed Viking version of God of War, and maybe a release date and gameplay for Mass Effect Andromeda?

These franchise games are great but we need more than the same games we’ve been playing for the last decade. Give me something bold and new.

What I Want for Christmas

There are a ton of games that have been in development for awhile, that we haven’t heard from in a couple of years. My hope is that E3 2016 blows my freaking mind.

I’d love for all the games on my wishlist below to be released this fall, but if not, I’d love to see at most a gameplay trailer:

E3 2016: Give Me the New

I hope this is the year that Nintendo steps forward and throws some major punches at Sony and Microsoft. They’ve already confirmed via Twitter, that much of E3 2016 will be focused on the new Legend of Zelda game. The WiiU wasn’t the failure that the Virtual Boy was, but it’s cost the company a lot over the last couple of years.

Hopefully, VR doesn’t take center stage. I’m intrigued to see where they go with the technology, but my hope is that the current consoles aren’t sacrificed on the altar of progress.

As long as we have a ton of new and exciting games coming, I’ll be happy.

Next Monday, I’ll be on social live-tweeting my reactions, so make sure to follow me on Twitter.

Follow me on Facebook as well for a recap of what happened and see if either of these companies sent visual Viagra into my brain and warmed my loins.

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