E3 2013 doesn"t officially begin until Tuesday, but Microsoft, Sony, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Alienware are all holding pre-E3 press conferences on Monday. Thanks to the upcoming launches of the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 consoles later this year, this could turn out to be the biggest E3 trade show in the past decade.
Today, we give our humble predictions on what might, and what might not be revealed, during the course of E3. Some of these predictions are pretty obvious ones, but we have thrown in a couple that are a little out of left field.
Prediction #1: Sony will show what the PS4 console will actually look like at its pre-E3 press conference.
Sony failed to show the console itself back in February at the PS4 reveal, but it"s a no-brainer that Sony will use E3 to finally show the actual console hardware on stage and in action.
Prediction #2: Neither Sony nor Microsoft will talk about launch prices for the Xbox One and PS4 at E3.
Remember when Sony revealed the price of the two launch versions of the PS3 at E3 2006 at $499 and $599? Remember how that quick revelation was all that anyone could talk about afterwards, and not in a good way? We don"t think Microsoft or Sony will take the risk of alienating their gamer audience with talk about prices at E3. They will wait until later this year for that piece of news.
Prediction #3: Microsoft will reveal an Xbox One Halo game at E3
It may not be a launch title for the next console, but we don"t think Microsoft will waste E3 2013 without showing off a teaser trailer for the first Xbox One game in the Halo franchise.
Prediction #4: Nintendo will go on the offensive and speak against the used game sales limits for the Xbox One.
Nintendo may not be holding a big press conference at E3 2013 this year but it is holding a Nintendo Direct online event on the first day of E3. We think that Nintendo will use the opportunity to show that Wii U games can still be traded, shared and used by gamers going after Microsoft"s restrictions in this area with the Xbox One.
Prediction #5: There will be a lot less booth babes this year at E3.
While some publishers will still have models wearing costumes at their booths this year at E3, we think that this long time trend is on its way out at the trade show, at least on an official basis.
Prediction #6: Nintendo will show the Wii U Zelda game at E3, but it won"t impress
Nintendo needs something to boost sales of its 2012 console and we think that Nintendo will show off a demo of a new Zelda Wii U game as part of E3. However, we don"t think it will look all that impressive next to the next gen graphics for PS4 and Xbox One games.