A year ago Microsoft created uproar amongst the gaming community at their E3 Press Conference, announcing that Final Fantasy XIII would be released on the Xbox 360. Nintendo disappointed with what many consider to be the worst press conference since Sony '06. And Sony itself had a rather lukewarm conference, showing off many already announced games.
Alas that won't stop industry insiders and some lucky enthusiasts from flocking to the gaming equivalent of the Superbowl, The Electronic Entertainment Expo, aka E3. E3 2009 will take place June 2,3, and 4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
This year Microsoft is shaping up to once again steal the show. The biggest rumor going around is that Microsoft will be announcing an Xbox 360 motion-sensing camera, currently codenamed "The Xbox Z-cam."
Microsoft has long been rumored to have a motion controlled controller in the works to compete with Nintendo's Wiimote and Sony's Sixaxis controller. Early prototypes suggest that the Z-cam will track player body movement, and will be capable of tracking both big movements and tiny gestures.
Another thing to look forward to is that Microsoft is possibly working on a new handheld device that would seek to counter the success of the Nintendo DS, Apple iPod Touch/ iphone and the Sony PSP.
The product is currently codenamed ZuneX, which suggests that it provides a middle ground between the Xbox and Zune. According to technology blog Gizmodo, leaked spec details state that the ZuneX will have a 32GB flash storage, 4 analog buttons, 2 shoulder buttons, an analog stick attachment, have support for Xbox Live arcade games, and will be OnLive ready. Of course It's entirely possible the ZuneX will be something completely different
From the Sony camp, are two major rumors. The first is that Sony will announce a PS3 redesign coupled with a $100 Price cut. While a redesign at this point in the consoles life cycle seems highly unlikely, a price drop is badly needed for Sony if they plan to compete with the much cheaper Wii and 360.
Following its older brother, the PSP is also expected to receive a redesign announcement. Codenamed the PSP Go!, this model will allegedly drop the UMD disc drive, in favor of internal storage. It is also expected to have a larger screen. The new PSP model has all but been confirmed as the gaming site 1UP has published an article stating the UMD-less hardware will ship this Fall in Japan and North America, with Sony bringing 100 PSP titles to the PlayStation Store.
While Sony and Microsoft tend to save their major announcements for E3, Nintendo isn't exactly known for their show-stopping press conferences. Typically, they hold out their announcements until the Tokyo Games Show. As such, there isn't much speculation regarding Nintendo's E3 showing this year. I'm going to throw out that we will see the reveal of a new Zelda game and a new Mario game. Don't get your hopes up though, as the Mario game will likely be a sequel to one of the many Mario spin-off games, such as Mario Party. Also, I expect Nintendo to make a big deal out of the Pokemon Gold and Silver remakes. Just to throw in a wild E3 rumor like everyone else, I'm going to say : Nintendo to announce Wii Hard drive at E3.
Overall, this year's E3 is shaping up to be a major improvement over the last couple of years, when you take into account the expected announcements from third part publishers such as EA and Activision, as well as the attendance cap being raised to around 50,000, it's possible E3 will once again be seen in the same importance it used to be.
