SG Choice: E3 2019 Predictions

EDIT: 12:11 EST. Added AShadowLink’s banner, which we originally neglected to add.

E3 2019 is sure to continue the convention’s long and grand traditions: embarrassing live press conferences, exciting trailers for games that’ll let us down, and exciting trailers for ones that won’t. As always, there’s a lot of hope fans have riding on Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and the bevy of software publishers with their own live or prepared presentations. And alongside questionable rumors about George R.R. Martin collaborating with FromSoftware, an odd looking new Ubisoft IP, or Microsoft showing off a Fable sequel and a new Xbox model, Nintendo is the subject of a miasma of rumors. “Over twenty unannounced games!,” the people chant. “Release dates for Luigi’s Mansion, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and Animal Crossing!,” others follow. “Metroid Prime 4?,” some ask with far less confidence. And, of course, there are all sorts of other games, from collaborative projects like Cadence of Hyrule, to strong indie games like Cadence of Hyrule, to games dramatically dropped into the eShop on the hour of the conference, like – hopefully? – Cadence of Hyrule.

But it’s not just indie darlings or the games Nintendo has already confirmed that may be exciting for Switch owners. Alongside the more expected projects, games like Bayonetta 3, Astral Chain, and Town might be on the table. Footage of players trying out Luigi’s Mansion 3, the Link’s Awakening remake, and Pokémon Sword & Shield is exciting, and the next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter will probably be shown off if history is anything to go by. Plus, Nintendo – who’s also hosting tournaments for Smash, Splatoon 2, and the upcoming Super Mario Maker 2 – certainly isn’t the only company at the one crazy week in June. New hardware (the terrible pre-E3 Google Stadia press conference providing the first glimpse of that), new software, even Netflix is having a panel on turning more of their shows into games. And we’ll be getting more news on Death Stranding!

So, here are some thoughts, hopes, expectations, worries, and bad jokes by the Source Gaming team, for both Nintendo and as a whole. Though if you’d like to join in the speculation game, why not fill out this Bingo card made by our talented Voyager? Add in the Twitter hashtag of your choice, and you’re good to go!

Confirmed Nintendo games for the show floor, and presumably the Direct as well

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake
Luigi’s Mansion 3 [working title]
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: the Black Order
Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield

Games highlighted in Nintendo’s June 8th World Championship Tournament

Super Mario Maker 2 Invitational 11:00 AM PT | 2:00 PM ET
Splatoon 2 World Championship 11:30 AM PT | 2:30 PM ET
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate World Championship, 2:00 PM PT | 5:00 PM ET

Games which may appear in Nintendo’s presentation (pure speculation on our part, and organized alphabetically, not by likelihood or any other metric)

Animal Crossing [working title]
Astral Chain
Daemon X Machina
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age -Definitive Edition-
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighter Pack #2

This year is going to be very mixed for me. Although I don’t own a PS4, knowing Sony isn’t gonna be having a conference already means I’m expecting a lot fewer announcements that would make me happy. I know I’ll watch Microsoft out of courtesy, but I’m expecting another surprise reveal for the anime fans like when they revealed Dragon Ball FighterZ and Jump Force. Outside of that, I know a lot of people are hoping for something Banjo related, but I just can’t see it happening. Square Enix is definitely looking promising this year due to them finally sharing information on the Avengers project and Final Fantasy 7 REMAKE. I’m looking forward mostly to information on Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind DLC, PlatinumGames’ project Babylon’s Fall, and a new trailer for Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age -Definitive Edition-.

Since we’re Source Gaming, Nintendo is what we’re anticipating the most. I’m expecting a lot out of them this time around, I really want an hour long direct. I’m expecting a trailer for Daemon X Machina that shows off its release date, an extra trailer for Fire Emblem: Three Houses, a four minute story trailer for Astral Chain since it comes out in about two months, an Animal Crossing trailer that shows off the title and highlights the major feature of the game, a new trailer for Shin Megami Tensei V, a new DELTARUNE chapter announcement, and finally the next two fighters for the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass.

I want Town. Town, Animal Crossing, and hopefully that George R.R. Martin / FromSoft thing being real (and ideally not entirely Viking themed. Let’s have Cowboy Dark Souls!). But as always, my belief system for E3 is to stress cautious optimism, hoping for good things you both want and, even more so, never even considered. There’s Pokémon; that’s great! We’ll probably see Astral Chain, and even if we don’t get Bayonetta 3 that’s still likely to be a good Platinum game. There’s (probably) going to be a lot more news about how Death Stranding works on a mechanical level. On a more broad note, at least Nintendo is coming in with a bunch of large projects that have – well, “have” in any rate – to be shown, even if Metroid Prime 4 isn’t going to be one of them. And that’s okay! We’re not going to get everything we want, and that’s fine. Town probably won’t show up, and I’m alright with that. I remember Nintendo’s 2015 presentation, a few months before joining the site. People were furious about it, and while it was mostly mediocre, we and Nintendo both moved on. I have a feeling like this one’s going to have a more negative reaction just because it’s after a long year of Smash hype, but I’m sure it’ll be good. And if it’s not, Devolver Digital’s weird nightmare deconstruction of E3 shows is sure to be fun. Maybe Suda will even have a game that doesn’t star an assassin!

Hell, after that Stadia press conference, it’s realistically gotta all be uphill from here.

I have to say that I’m really excited for this E3. I’ll mostly be focusing on the Nintendo side of things. I strongly feel that we may see a lot of new announcements of titles we don’t know about. I was working on a theory video about it and unfortunately won’t be able to finish it, but I strongly believe we’ll be seeing Super Mario Party 2, and maybe even a Paper Mario title. I expect to finally get more info on Luigi’s Mansion 3, Animal Crossing, and the next DLC fighter for Smash Ultimate. Overall, I have a feeling this E3 won’t be as concentrated on a specific game or two as the past few years have been for Nintendo. Truthfully, this could very well mean that it could be considered on the weaker side…but I have high hopes and I think it will still pull through to be exciting. There’s plenty of games we’re still waiting on news for, and I’m certain there will be plenty of exciting new announcements.

I’ve got further predictions in my bingo card, and am always up for discussing predictions!

Here's my E3 2019 Bingo Card! Template by the great @Fire_Voyager at @AllSourceGaming! I may re-arrange specific positions before next Tuesday, but the predictions will remain the same.
Had a lot of fun making this! pic.twitter.com/22FbQXPTFV

— Tris Valbuena ?️‍? (@ToonTris) June 4, 2019

I want the next game directed and dreamed by Kensei Fujinaga, the mastermind behind 2018’s GOTY masterpiece The Quiet Man. Square Enix better deliver.

In all seriousness I just want some Devil May Cry news, anything; I’ll take anything. I know the 5th game just came out but I need some sweet hot motivation in my life. As long as it has nothing to do with Ninja Theory’s abysmal reboot.

Oh, and No More Heroes 3 is a thing in development. Suda’s been teasing it for a while, wonder if we’ll see anything about it at E3.

Here's my new #E3 Bingo card courtesy of @Fire_Voyager and @AllSourceGaming. If I actually get a bingo I'm going to have a stroke pic.twitter.com/C2fQzug1Ih

— Matthew Lovenzka (@AShadowLink) June 5, 2019

I’m honestly not that big on companies outside of Nintendo for the most part. That being said, the game I’m most excited to hear more about this year doesn’t have anything to do with the Big N. I need to see more Borderlands 3. This game’s been a long time coming and I’ve been anxiously waiting. Forget Smash DLC, forget Final Fantasy 7, forget Banjo-Kazooie, forget The Quiet Man, just give me Borderlands. But seriously, I’m expecting Nintendo to give us a lot of coverage on Animal Crossing, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Astral Chain, and hopefully, some info on what makes Link’s Awakening different from the original. I’m also really hoping we finally see the Metroid Prime Trilogy in some form, since I played and loved Samus Returns and am looking forward to what’s next for Metroid. Finally, there’s the Smash DLC. While my biggest hope is a fighter from Mortal Kombat, I think a Square Enix rep like Sora or someone from Dragon Quest is most likely to be revealed here and released some time soon. Of course, there’s my last pipe dream: the reveal of the next Pokémon Mystery Dungeon entry. It’s not likely, but it would make my E3.

We already know about a whole lot of upcoming games so I’m not expecting too much on the new announcements side, but it’s probably safe to expect plenty of in-depth looks at titles that will be out within in the year. A good look at Luigi’s Mansion 3, Fire Emblem, and maybe even Animal Crossing would be great. I’m curious if Nintendo or Square Enix will put much effort into hyping up the Dragon Quest XI definitive edition for Switch that’s on its way. Dragon Quest XI was a smash hit with fans and media so it would be nice to see a marketing push behind the title’s second shot in the west.

I am really curious as to what Square Enix is up to. They have Sony’s old coveted time spot so you know they have to have some info bombs on hand. I look forward to seeing more Final Fantasy VII and to also learn more about their super secretive Avengers game. More than that, though, I am obviously excited about Nintendo in general and Smash DLC in particular. I know it won’t be a big part of their Direct, but getting another DLC reveal will really help clarify the DLC path moving forward. And yeah, I need more on Animal Crossing and the Link’s Awakening remake. Both are things I need in my life. Oh, and I almost forgot…Microsoft seems to be ramping up for some big reveals as well. Maybe we’ll even see more of their supposed team up with Nintendo.

For Nintendo specifically it is going to be interesting to see what they reveal and focus on. Nintendo has quite a hefty second half of the year with Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, Link’s Awakening, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Super Mario Maker 2 , Pokémon Sword & Shield and Astral Chain just to name a few. Undoubtedly all will get a showing here (in fact Astral Chain might even be the focus game considering how frequently Nintendo reminds us of its existence on social media) but Nintendo needs some new titles as well and what those are is a mystery.

A Mario spinoff seems safe (like Mario Golf) and Retro’s new title seems like a given at this point. A new Super Smash Bros. character or two, and maybe a new Kirby for 2020 are possible. Also amiibo and more Wii U ports feel like a given, although they will probably be on the minimal side this year.

As for everyone else, I am quite excited about Microsoft. Obviously I want to see more Rare IPs come back, but I am curious about their next-generation hardware and what new IP they have on the horizon. Also I want to see more DOOOOOOOOOOOOM Eternal and any details we can on the Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC. Will we get new Disney Worlds or will it simply be additional modes and weapons? I hope they give us something.

Apart from the obvious Nintendo and everything they have in store for the next six months (Smash DLC, Three Houses, Daemon, and other smaller releases), Microsoft has my attention this year, surprisingly, despite the fact I don’t own an XB1. Though that’s only due to their very open partnership with Nintendo and all the rumors which have spawned from it. Halo on Switch is one of those rumored things which I would 100% get. Square’s also of interest since the Avengers project is confirmed for E3, and it’s something I’m excited for on account of the recent Endgame rocking the MCU.

I’m not one that gets extremely hyped over events like these, so I’m hoping that E3 2019 can legitimately surprise me in some way.

As for predictions, it’s a hard question besides the obvious mention of the games that are scheduled to release this year. But if you ask me to put on my betting hat, I always go for the revival of a retro franchise, and even that is set to be possible with the upcoming Battletoads game on the Xbox side of the presentations.

On the Nintendo side, I can’t wait for the reveal of the newest Smash challenger, and if I can push for one surprise, don’t sleep on my boy Qbby! He could not be the biggest name on the prediction circuit, but he could be a cool companion to a “not that well received” third party character. A sweet palate cleanser to be sure.