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The best part about E3 is the build-up. While the announcements, trailers, and gameplay demos are undeniably exciting when they arrive, it’s that period prior to the big press conferences where the convention truly shines. Message boards are stuffed to the figurative brim with outlandish speculation, while official Twitter accounts are scrutinised by gamers in the search of clues. A large proportion of that pent-up excitement stems from the unknown; it’s the equivalent of looking at a pile of neatly wrapped presents through child-like eyes.

Unlike others, we’re not going to propose to know what’s concealed behind the curtain of this year’s PlayStation press conference, but we have got some predictions regarding what the platform holder might show. As such, in order to feed your anticipation over the next few days, here’s what we think will be announced for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and Vita next week.

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The predictable pre-amble

If there’s one area where Microsoft outperforms Sony every year, it’s in the press conference production values department. Despite being an organisation heavily involved with music and movies, the Japanese giant seems utterly incapable of putting on a show, and so, while we expect the Xbox One maker to kick-off its conference with strobe lights and a show stopper, don’t go anticipating the House of PlayStation to do the same.

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Who’s that man on stage?

This year’s E3 press conference is going to be a strange one for Sony, as ex-SCEA president Jack Tretton will not be around to anchor. After a handful of nervy appearances early on, the affable executive gradually grew into the role, rounding out his tenure with arguably the greatest gaming mic drop that we’ll see for some time. New boss Shawn Layden will probably keep things simple for his first show, but this will be a perfect opportunity for him to familiarise himself to fans. Back in 2004, Nintendo gaffer Reggie Fils-Aime shot straight into the heart of the industry with a fantastic opening speech, so we’d love for the PlayStation maker’s latest head honcho to do the same.

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How many PS4 consoles have been sold?

Once upon a time, sales figures were a pivotal part of the PlayStation press conference – at least, until the PS3 started to fall behind the Xbox 360. Those of you with long memories may recall the pages upon pages of statistics that executives used to recite – a trait which it parodied with LittleBigPlanet’s stage demo back in 2008. We’re not expecting the firm to make a return to those dour days, but we are expecting it to provide an update on the PS4’s install base. At the start of April, the company had sold seven million units, and we expect it to have hit at least eight million by now. That figure’s almost certain to be confirmed during the company’s press conference at some point.

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What’s next for the PS3 and Vita?

Don’t expect the PS3 or Vita to take up a particularly big portion of the platform holder’s press conference. The firm remains committed to these platforms, of course, but outside of the odd token announcement, we don’t think that you’re going to see much for either device. There’s always the possibility of price drops and bundles, of course, so expect something along those lines. Montages are also a popular method employed by the platform holder to show off several titles in a short span of time, so anticipate a couple of those in order to reaffirm that the aforementioned platforms are still very much a part of the organisation’s plans.

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Exclusive action

They may not be the biggest sellers, but exclusive games are massively important when deciding between different machines. First-party titles were arguably Sony’s strongest asset during the PS3 era, but many argue that its network of developers have failed to really get started on the PS4. This criticism is largely down to the manufacturer’s slightly more secretive approach, but can also be attributed to the employee departure turmoil taking place behind the scenes. However, while we expect it to spread its announcements between E3, GamesCom, and the Tokyo Game Show later in the year, we’re still expecting Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida to bring some big bombshells during this portion of the press conference.

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The Naughty Dog difference

It’s only been a year since The Last of Us deployed, but Naughty Dog has easily become the biggest name in Sony’s stable of first-party studios. As such, we expect the developer to show a couple of titles during the PlayStation press conference. The first will be PS4 re-release The Last of Us Remastered, which will almost certainly get a trailer and a release date. Speculation suggests that the enhanced update may deploy hours after the show, but the platform holder has thus far denied that that’s the case. Either way, we expect Uncharted PS4 to put in an appearance, too. It’ll be interesting to see whether this is a trailer or a stage demo, as that will likely indicate how long we’ll have to wait for the game. If it’s the former, don’t expect to be playing the title anytime soon.

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A different kind of Order

In the year or so since The Order: 1886 was announced, we still haven’t really seen a whole lot of the alternate history exclusive. Granted, we’ve been privy to a couple of trailers and some bits-and-bobs of gameplay footage, but with the release due out in early 2015, we’re anticipating a meaty gameplay demo. Parts of the press were recently treated to a shoot out against Rebellion troops, but we’re hoping to see one of the title’s bigger set-pieces. We already know that the title will include an even darker threat – rumoured to be werewolves – so we’d like for that mythical foe to finally be unmasked as well.

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From Japan Studio with love

Rumours regarding a hypothetical Demon’s Souls 2 have been rampant for years, and we finally got our first glimpse at the release courtesy of the Project Beast leak. This next-gen game will almost certainly be revealed during the platform holder’s press conference, and is likely to be one of the manufacturer’s tentpole reveals. Expect a full trailer, and, potentially, a gameplay demo of the From Software title, with confirmation of a vague release window, too. Sony seems eager to elevate the status of Japan Studio under the leadership of former Sony Santa Monica head Allan Becker, so don’t be surprised if the outfit makes a couple of other announcements at the show. Dare we say that it may also be time for The Last Guardian to rise like a phoenix from its burnt out flames?

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The co-marketing collection

Third-party titles tend to get dismissed during E3 press conferences, but they’re arguably more important than the first-party games these days. Partnering with titles like Watch Dogs has given the PS4 a massive amount of mindshare among more mainstream consumers, and that’s prompted the sandbox release to perform best on Sony’s machine. We suspect that with Adam Boyes now in charge of this department, it’ll continue to push hard in this area. Don’t be surprised if this section of the press conference is the longest of them all.

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Fulfil your Destiny

Arguably the one true certainty for Sony’s press conference this year is the appearance of Destiny. The platform holder has been pushing the Bungie developed first-person shooter like it’s an exclusive game for months now, and we don’t expect that to end anytime soon. With the title struggling to impress in recent unveilings, Activision will be desperate for some decent exposure, so we reckon that you’re going to see trailers, gameplay demos, and various other initiatives like hardware bundles during this part of the show. Also, don’t be surprised if the beta gets dated at some point, which will debut on Sony’s machine.

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Ubiquitous software

Ubisoft has been a frequent fixture at Sony press conferences for as long as we can remember, and we don’t expect that to change anytime soon. With its own show set to conclude shortly before the Japanese giant’s starts, expect it to turn up with extended demos for Assassin’s Creed: Unity and Far Cry 4. As has been customary for these franchises for some time, it’s likely that the titles will include additional content exclusive to Sony’s machines. Don’t be surprised if the manufacturer doesn’t announce hardware bundles for these releases to boot.

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Warner go faster?

The third firm that Sony appears to have strong ties with at the minute is Warner Bros, so don’t be surprised if Batman: Arkham Knight and Mortal Kombat X appear during Sony’s show. We expect that, much like the above titles, both releases will get short gameplay demos, as well as exclusive content on Sony’s machine. We’re certainly not expecting NetherRealm Studios to create a unique character for its forthcoming fighter like it did with the previous entry in the franchise, but a couple of additional costumes should underline the partnership between the two firms.

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Indies don’t count

Following the Indie Nine at last year’s E3 press conference, Adam Boyes has talked candidly about wanting to top that demonstration this time around. We’ve actually very little idea of what the company could have in mind, but we’d be surprised if it didn’t take the opportunity to strengthen its ties with a selection of smaller studios during this part of the press conference. While there’s a practically limitless number of titles that could potentially debut during the platform holder’s show, we reckon that hot releases like No Man’s Sky and DayZ would be gigantic coups for the organisation – especially if they come attached with some kind of timed exclusivity.

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The other initiatives

While we’re expecting a fairly software focused show from Sony, there’s no doubt that it will also spend time talking about some of the other initiatives that it’s got going on. Group president Andy House is likely to take the stage for these more outlandish parts of the press conference, as these are certain to be the parts of the show that consume the most column inches in the mainstream media.

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Give it to me Now

Sony’s been quietly beta testing PlayStation Now for some time, er, now, with the muted feedback from users being generally quite positive. The firm originally said that it plans to roll out the streaming service in North America this summer, and we’ve heard very little to refute that target since. As such, we’re fully expecting the platform holder to outline the initiative during its press conference, with a release date, pricing information, and a software lineup officially confirmed.

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Mighty morphin’

After heavy speculation, Sony revealed its virtual reality headset Project Morpheus at the Game Developers Conference earlier in the year. However, it made it sound like the device is still some way off. Since then, a lot of attention has been pointed at the space following Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus Rift. As such, we fully expect the manufacturer to provide an update on its futuristic peripheral, perhaps even taking the time to tease some new projects. We doubt that you’ll be hearing release date information or pricing plans at this time, but the manufacturer will definitely want to remind the media that it’s active in this area.

Which of the above predictions most excite you? Is there anything in particular that you think that we’ve missed out? Hop aboard the hype train in the comments section below.

How good do you think PlayStation’s E3 2014 press conference will be? (55 votes)

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  4. Poor4%
  5. Very poor4%

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