by Edward Baillargeon
The Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 as it’s commonly referred to, is well-known in the video game industry as the time for developers and publishers to unveil information about the games and hardware they have in development to a large crowd of fans. Think of it as a Comic Con for gamers if you will. For this article, I’m going to be giving a run down of what the publishers having panels will be presenting and even a few possible speculations of what could potentially be revealed. And for the first time in the history of E3, Sony will not be attending this year, probably to keep their next PlayStation console under wraps, so it looks like in the battle of the big three publishers, it will only be between Microsoft and Nintendo. Without further-ado, here is what to expect from E3 2019!
First up is Bethesda Game Studios as they will be hosting their briefing on June 9 at 8:30 PM Eastern time. The only game that they have officially confirmed they will be presenting is Doom Eternal. It also might be possible they could reveal more information about new IPs like Starfield or the upcoming The Elder Scrolls VI. Bethesda Game Studios looks like they are keeping their presentation under wraps until June 9.
Electronic Arts or EA, will not have a formal panel at E3 this year, but they will still be present. Their public EA Play event will be held from June 7 to June 9 at the Hollywood Palladium. They will be presenting multiple live streams for new and current titles on June 8 for games like Anthem, Apex Legends, Battlefield V, FIFA 20, Madden NFL 20, The Sims 4, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Microsoft is one of the big competitors in the gaming market as they will be one of the first to go at E3. They will be holding their press briefing at the Microsoft Theater on June 9 at 4 PM Eastern time. The following day on June 10, they will be demonstrating their games on Inside Xbox.
The next developer up to be presenting is going to be my personal favorite, Nintendo. Now Nintendo has previously announced that a pre-recorded Nintendo Direct for E3 will be broadcast on June 11 at 9 AM Pacific Time, which is 12 PM Eastern Time. They did reveal that they will be hosting competitions for some of their current big titles like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Splatoon 2, as well as a tournament for their upcoming Super Mario Maker 2, the sequel to the hit Wii U title where players can create their own insane Mario levels, which will be happening on June 8. And like years prior, they will be hosting the Treehouse Live during the convention, which has developers and testers from Nintendo of America showcasing some of their forthcoming games. As for what games could be presented, it is very likely that they will showcase new gameplay for Super Mario Maker 2, Pokemon Sword and Shield, and Fire Emblem: Three Houses, as well as potentially announcing release dates for games like The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Luigi’s Mansion 3, and the next title in the Animal Crossing series, all of which for Nintendo Switch. There is a very likely chance that they will also be announcing who the next DLC character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Fighter’s Pass is going to be. There will also be likely some outside developer support for Nintendo from some games like PlatinumGames’ Astral Chain and Koei Tecmo’s Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. And because this is Nintendo, as they are always a wild card when announcing new games out of nowhere and there could be some possibilities. Many speculations have gone around about possibly revealing another title for a series that have not gotten a game in several years if we’re getting another new Mario Kart, Star Fox, Kid Icarus, or F-Zero game anytime soon. We’ll just have to find out what Nintendo’s big plans are on June 11.
Square Enix will be holding its announcement broadcast on June 10 to take Sony’s spot this year. Not much is known of what Square Enix could be showing this year. Maybe they could be showing a bit more about some projects like Final Fantasy VII Remake. But their big attraction at their broadcast will be a complete unveil of a new Marvel’s Avengers game. After all of the massive hype from the biggest film event of the year with Avengers: Endgame, it was a really smart move for Square Enix to unveil Marvel’s Avengers at E3 this year.
E3 2019 will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center starting on June 11 and concluding on June 13.
