Julius

I think @Dcubed meant with regards to the games' titles and content. Last year's E3 announcement seemed too early to me, and was likely cobbled together only as a reaction to the outcry of fans after that Pokémon Direct which revealed Pokkén Tournament DX and Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon (the week before the E3 Spotlight, iirc?). I do think that last year's E3 announcement sets up the possibility of seeing/hearing more about the games this E3, as opposed to in a Pokémon Direct, because of how accessible the event has become online.

I'm not too sure if it releasing this year would necessarily mean that it was rushed, though I do think it coming this year is decided almost entirely by how much of a departure it is from what we saw in Gen VII. If it is just reusing Gen VII's engine and assets, with the only difference being that is isn't pared back and is a crispy 1080p docked/720p undocked, then I can't fathom why we wouldn't be getting them this year; but, if it's a new engine, then next year would seem more likely. The NX was announced way back in March 2015 if I recall correctly (?), and I have to imagine that Game Freak was one of the earliest developers to get their hands on it, so I'd imagine that they're well into development by now. I do think that Ishihara's statement at E3 last year - which was reiterated with the "2018 or later" window in their financials - offers some hope that we could see the games this year. I do think that Nintendo needs at least one killer single player title at the end of this year to go along with Smash, and I think that Nintendo would much rather be putting Pokémon Switch out into the wild than, say, Animal Crossing. But, of course, if they aren't as far along as I would like to believe or have run into some hiccups along the way, then I completely agree: they should let it cook. As for the Sun & Moon situation, I'm still gutted that Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon were ever actually released, partially because the former games were well on track to be the first game in the series to pass 20m units sold since Gold & Silver, but mainly because I really enjoyed Sun & Moon, and there were more story/character threads and hints than that a third/enhanced version seemed off the table, at least to me.

If we're to learn anything substantial about the game/s prior to the typical E3 news window, this week would seem the most likely week for it to drop, given that Nintendo has an investor's meeting coming up on Thursday. At the very least, it is expected that the "2018 or later" window for the game will be updated.

I know that there’s plenty of room left for Battle Royale games - because it’s still a growing genre with plenty of mind share and is fairly barren when it comes to choice right now - but I can’t imagine how Housemarque are going to be able to work their way into this market. We already know/think that plenty of AAA games will be going this route (such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, etc.), and those publishers/developers will more than likely make their plans clear on the most public stage in gaming: at this year’s E3. As far as I’m aware, they don’t have the funds or resources to compete in such a market at this point - let alone within the next five years. I’m a little worried that this is just one step closer to their doors shutting for good.

Revealed during last year’s Game Awards, In the Valley of Gods is the next game from Campo Santo (Firewatch), with a release window of 2019. However, that’s not the main reason that I started this thread: Valve’s acquisition of Campo Santo is, and I have to admit, it makes me quite nervous.

I have to say, I’ve been a big fan of the trend too, and I think it shows that publishers that follow that route have a lot of confidence in the end product that is being produced. With regards to Death Stranding, I do think that Sony made the right move in showing it off at E3 2016. After everything that happened between Kojima-san and Konami, I think it would have been a bad move on their behalf to either stay quiet (and have it leaked through other means) or limit it to the reveal of their partnership (which I doubt would have excited fans). They got way ahead of the curb on that one, I think. The second half of this year remains virtually empty, and 2019 is much more barren than one might think, so while we’ll probably end up seeing a lot of dates for games that we already knew about, I do think that there’s a good chance that we get a substantial amount of games (officially) revealed for the first time this E3, and released by next year’s event.

Easy Allies’ God of War Spoiler Mode will feature a very special guest...

He’s said that he wants to move into the next thing fast, whether it be a role as sporting director or as manager of another club. I think it would be great to see him manage the French national team, or, adversely, return to Monaco or take over from Emery at PSG, because it feels a bit too soon for the curtain to fall on his career, at least to me.

May I ask where you’re finding it at that price? It’s £46 on Amazon at the moment.

Yeah, I saw that a few hours after I put it up, what they say is literally “different colour” or “recoloured”, right? I have to admit, though, that makes me a little nervous that they’re literally talking about Pokémon that are actually shiny.

Considering how they’ve been phasing in backroom staff in anticipation of his leaving for a few years now, I’d have to assume that they’ve already chosen his replacement. I hope he gets the send off that he deserves, because he’s a great manager, so I hope fans don’t hold the blemish of the last few years against him. Should be an interesting summer in London, what with Conte also reportedly on the verge of leaving.

This has put a smile on my face. Can’t think of a group more deserving of this, they’re absolutely some of the best in the business. I’m now so much more excited for E3.

Victoria Mahoney has been announced as the film’s second unit director (responsible for things like establishing shots), notably making her both the first black and the first female director of the galaxy far, far away.

Nintendo, Creatures Inc. and Game Freak have registered a trademark for ‘Ultra Shiny’. I’m curious as to what this could mean. A rare type of shiny, differing to the shiny colour palettes we already have? A shiny distribution of an Ultra Beast being inbound? Or perhaps an Ultra Shiny keyring? Regardless of what it is, it’s inevitably going to be blown out of proportion by Pokémon YouTubers, which is a bit of a shame. At the same time, it just makes me even more hopeful that we hear some official news about the game this year: I can hardly stand the wait as it is, but the increasing lunacy and manic of the fan base regarding this game makes it almost unbearable. Fingers crossed for some news this E3/some time this year.

I think it’s a cool idea, and it certainly makes sense. If I recall correctly, the Avengers Tower and a Wakandan Embassy are also present in Spider-Man’s New York, so they’re certainly teasing. I wonder how something like that would work, though. From a gameplay perspective, if this is the best Spider-Man has ever felt to handle in a game - which seems increasingly likely - I’d want him to feel that way in the S-E’s Avengers, and I’d want the same for other characters (I don’t care much for Anthem because of EA’s involvement, but it does make me hungry for an Iron Man game). And then it becomes an issue of tone, camera perspective, etc., carrying over, which seems a fairly difficult undertaking in the video game space, but certainly isn’t impossible. We’re supposed to be hearing more about it this year, so perhaps E3’s the time?

You are right in thinking that; it was due for release in December of last year. Though, I do think that it’s important to remember that, while I’m sure work had already begun prior to that on the game, it was/is a Kickstarter, and so the two and a half year window they originally stated from reveal to launch was always going to be on the optimistic side. I also think that fans are willing to be a bit more forgiving with that game, as they’d already waited so long, with many of them having already lost hope. I personally take much more issue with Final Fantasy VII Remake, because it’s Square Enix - once again - coming out and showing off their plans way too far out. The game has already changed hands during its development (because for some silly reason it wasn’t being worked on primarily by an internal team), and we have absolutely no idea where it’s at in its development cycle right now, and whilst I’m sure that the wait won’t be a repeat of Final Fantasy XIII Versus to Final Fantasy XV, the concept of it now being a multi-game release (because the game’s going to be too big?) has only irked fans even more. They haven’t learned from their past mistakes. However, on the flip side, PlayStation 4, I’m sure that having some games announced way before its actual launch is a great way to garner long term interest in the platform. I’m sure that, for those yet to purchase a PS4, the promise of games, such as those that mentioned above, coming to the platform has and will entice gamers of all sorts to come to the platform; invariably, all of the games that they announced way too early (a perspective that I agree with) are system sellers. Compare that to Xbox, which I’m sure has Forza Horizon 4, Halo 6, etc., on the horizon, but outside of their core IP, don’t have the range of system selling games that PlayStation have had this generation (though I hope that’s something that they go some way towards resolving this E3). With regards to Death Stranding in particular, though, @Ronnie, Sony Interactive have gone on record that they’ve never seen a game like this developed at such an extraordinary pace, and Kojima-san has teased that he plans to announce something that will surprise everybody (surely a release date?) this year (possibly at E3, but more probably with Keighley at TGAs). The game’s official Twitter has also teased that the game will release before the events of Akira (which was set in 2019). With that game in particular, I also think that the early reveal was very important, not just to fans of Kojima-san who were craving to see what he had in store next, but also for those working at his studio to have something of an external pressure on them to get the game out.

Here

Did you try turning it off and on again?

I like your thinking, but no, it's definitely three consecutive days (just checked the trophy guide to make sure). I'm fairly sure showering that with three PS4s at the same time is the only way to get a strong PSN connection.

Yes, but only if you pray to Kaz Hirai immediately after the third shower for three consecutive days will you earn the platinum trophy.

charlieINTEL is reporting that the game’s multiplayer will be similar to that of Overwatch.

We’ve got E3 leaks! ...

If you haven’t recently, maybe it’s time for a clean?