E3 2021 Predictions & Wishes

Oh, duh, WARIO WARE!

Day 1 on that one.

Wow, Nintendo really did it. They single-handedly saved E3. Awesome presentation with so many good games coming out. And coming out mostly this year too.

garion333 wrote:

RIP Nintendo Switch Pro

If I recall from a conversation we shared...

Me in my infinite super awesome analytical wisdom wrote:

What do you think regarding tomorrow? Do you think Nintendo would really announce a new upgraded console during a 40 minute Nintendo Direct? I'm expecting that rumors of a Switch Pro at E3 will be a dud, though I do still believe we'll be seeing a new system next year. I'd expect an announcement maybe at Tokyo Games Show and there's going to be a lot of people disappointed by their presentation this year.

Bow down and praise me.

Though honestly, I feel like this year's line-up is proof positive that they're holding back for an upgraded Switch. Everything first-party is "light" when it comes to optimization. Breath of the Wild 2 is the one that would really stress it, and much like revealed titles like Splatoon 3, it's slated for the nebulous future of 2022.

Honestly, the Super Mario Party game looks to me like it could have been DLC, but Nintendo gonna Nintendo.

It really is all about Metroid Dread for me. That's the only announcement to hit me in my excitement nerves like the Elden Ring trailer, only it was a legitimate surprise. I was expecting that Fusion remake, not a brand new game.

Not what I was hoping for, admittedly, but Dread is enough for me to look forward to this holiday. Just... gotta figure out how to get that fan fixed or something...

EDIT:

Whew I was so glad they didn't let Danganronpa die as a franchise.....wtf is Danganronpa? Does anyone care?

The short answer is "yes". The long answer is "Yes, and you're probably too old to know how popular it is". Aside from the Weeb community that enjoys games like it and Phoenix Wright and The Nonary Games and etc., there's a whole bunch of tweens-to-young-adults that love the franchise, cosplay it all the time, create original characters and have their own rules for roleplaying their own versions of the class trials, etc. It's got a pretty big subculture. There'd probably be a fourth game, only the creator and director left Spike Chunsoft with five other guys to form Too Kyo Games, where they've made Death Come True, World's End Club, and are making Tribe Nine. Chances are, Spike Chunsoft is trying to come up with a good fourth game because the games are only growing in popularity as time progresses.

So, yes, people care about Danganronpa, and the game being available on Switch is something that many of its fans or those interested have been asking for.

...I have no clue about whatever that board game thing is, though. I haven't played the second or third games yet.

ccesarano wrote:

Though honestly, I feel like this year's line-up is proof positive that they're holding back for an upgraded Switch. Everything first-party is "light" when it comes to optimization. Breath of the Wild 2 is the one that would really stress it, and much like revealed titles like Splatoon 3, it's slated for the nebulous future of 2022.

That's exactly what it looked like. A 3DS lineup, but in HD.

IMAGE(https://64.media.tumblr.com/5d1c791744dd1856c7f14d8d6a566f90/8d59d1285cd7a9e5-cc/s500x750/1b3de2646fd80ebcd8671a02227c46a879e7f4e5.gifv)

The Treehouse presentation on Metroid felt like borderline parody.

Yes, even for Treehouse.

I wasn't paying attention to what they were saying as I had a buddy of mine in voice chat with me. I noticed they were playing a certain way to show off the EMMI, but as I said elsewhere, I tuned out early because I'm buying that game, no hesitation, and will just not spoil myself further.

Them playing Monster Hunter Stories 2 right now seems like your typical Treehouse stuff. Then again, it also feels like half the staff or more are different from the crew it was a few years ago, so I dunno.

That was a good direct. Not mind-blowing, but probably the best one they've had in a couple years for me. Nintendo thoughts:

  • New 2D Metroid = 2 thumbs up. I'm going to be really interested to see how it stacks up to some of the fantastic ones we've been getting over the last few years like Hollow Knight and Ori.
  • BotW 2 looked great even if the trailer was a little weak. The original reveal for BotW is one of the only trailers I've gone back to revisit on occasion because it was just that good, so my expectations for the new one might have been a bit high. It looks like they are focusing on expanding the world vertically which is a-okay with me.
  • Monster Hunter Stories 2 continues to look visually stunning, like what I wish for modern Pokemon. If they can significantly improve the combat from the first game, that could be a real treat.
  • Mario + Rabbids looks fun. After reading that the combat morphed from XCom clone to more of a real-time approach, ala Divinity Original Sin, I'm even more interested to check it out.
  • I've never tried a Warioware game, but I'm interested now. That was a good trailer.

Overall, Microsoft was the real surprise and winner for me this E3. They reaffirmed that Game Pass is the real deal and will continue to deliver.
IMAGE(https://preview.redd.it/p5o8cfdhr2571.jpg?width=960&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=44e6fdf0eb9fb9623ed38e88f537b34100b8aa91)

Of the 27 Game Pass titles they showed...

Games I'm excited for: Stalker 2, Redfall, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Slime Rancher 2, Eiyuden Chronicle
Games I'm definitely going to check out: Back 4 Blood, Psychonauts 2, The Ascent, Sommerville, Party Animals, Halo Infinite, 12 Minutes, Forza Horizon 5
Games I'm not sure I'll like, but I'll still definitely check out because Game Pass: Starfield, The Outer Worlds 2, Replaced, Age of Empires 4.

And from the image above, I'm also definitely planning to check out Dark Alliance, Sable, and The Gunk.

There was nothing at that show that excited me to the degree of Elden Ring, BotW 2, or Horizon: Forbidden West, but frankly, that's fine. There is nothing Sony, Nintendo, or anyone else is offering that is remotely close to the value of Game Pass, and this presentation showed that gap is only growing larger. Between that presentation and the complete impossibility of getting my hands on a 3000 series card for my PC, it has me reconsidering my Xbox-less existence.

I have been super tempted to get a Switch, but I am really holding out for news about whatever their next console is since the Switch has gotten pretty long in the tooth. I am praying for 100% backward compatibility with current Switch as I plan to spend a good deal of money on older Nintendo hardware over the next year or so and would hope I only have to buy the new hotness instead of both of them.

I was just in conversation with Garion about some late-E3 thoughts (there's technically a Bandai Namco stream tonight, though they've not provided info on what they plan to show. Naturally, people want there to be more Elden Ring footage, but that's wishful thinking. I'm anticipating Scarlet Nexus to get pushed more, anime games like My Hero or Jump Force DLC, and Tales of Arise info). One of the things I mentioned was that The Gunk was a strange no-show, and that graphic reminded me of Scorn, which looks like an interesting atmospheric combination of the original Prey and the original Alien. Everything is organic like in Prey, but it's not an empowering environment. Curious if those are going to be 2022, because if those are 2021, Microsoft could have used more games releasing this year in their presentation.

But I am in agreement. I'm an enemy of anything that foregoes ownership of something just because it's "convenient", since the games industry has proven terrible at games preservation. I dread the all-digital future. However, games like The Medium and Outriders have proven its value in playing games that are alright or not bad but not something I'll love (see: Control and Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order from 2019 for me). But then I'm able to play something like Yakuza Kiwami 2, a game I know I'll love and hope to purchase later when money is a bit more plentiful.

Basically, I'm sold on its value, and Garion also reminded me that Microsoft offers that "pay $30/month for Game Pass and a Series X over a few years" deal and... well... yeah that's a pretty obvious upgrade path to go.

Curious what Bandai Namco will have, if they'll have anything, and if those Steam Pal rumors are true tomorrow.

ccesarano wrote:

Basically, I'm sold on its value, and Garion also reminded me that Microsoft offers that "pay $30/month for Game Pass and a Series X over a few years" deal and... well... yeah that's a pretty obvious upgrade path to go.

Yea this is the best way to get an Xbox in my opinion. Like I could have afforded the $500 right out the gate and then paid for Game Pass Ultimate month-to-month or year-to-year, but it was super nice to be able to just pay it off over the course of a few months instead. I paid it off in like 5 months instead of 24, but it was nice knowing if some unexpected expense had popped up I could have slowed down on paying for it. Paying for my new iPhone in April was pretty rough because I didn't want to get locked to a carrier for two years so I just bought it straight out (though super awesome that just a few years after having to think about every penny I spent I can now do something like that just because the battery in my old phone had gone to crap).

I agree that Mario Party should be DLC. Lame.

I've been a Metroid fan since Metroid, but I didn't like the more realistic art style of the enemies in Dread. I don't know, maybe I'm just not interested in 2D games anymore.

Rykin wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

Basically, I'm sold on its value, and Garion also reminded me that Microsoft offers that "pay $30/month for Game Pass and a Series X over a few years" deal and... well... yeah that's a pretty obvious upgrade path to go.

Yea this is the best way to get an Xbox in my opinion. Like I could have afforded the $500 right out the gate and then paid for Game Pass Ultimate month-to-month or year-to-year, but it was super nice to be able to just pay it off over the course of a few months instead. I paid it off in like 5 months instead of 24, but it was nice knowing if some unexpected expense had popped up I could have slowed down on paying for it. Paying for my new iPhone in April was pretty rough because I didn't want to get locked to a carrier for two years so I just bought it straight out (though super awesome that just a few years after having to think about every penny I spent I can now do something like that just because the battery in my old phone had gone to crap).

If you're really pinching pennies, the Series S All Access plan is slightly more economical than the Series X All Access plan.

Using USD MSRP:

24mo Series X All Access payments: 24 * $34.99 = $839.76
Series X console: $499.99
24mo Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: 24 * $14.99 = $359.76
Net Savings of All Access vs buying individually: $839.76 - $499.99 - $359.76 = $19.99

24mo Series S All Access payments: 24 * $24.99 = $599.76
Series S console: $299.99
24mo Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: 24 * $14.99 = $359.76
Net Savings of All Access vs buying individually: $599.76 - $299.99 - $359.76 = $59.99

Not only do you get deferred payments, but these bundle prices are actually CHEAPER than the buying the components individually (assuming that you would have actually bought 24 months of Game Pass Ultimate). And the S bundle is $40 better than the X bundle.

The X is only needed if you intend to play on a 4k display, or need/want to use discs. The S is functionally equivalent to an X in every other way (1440p, no DVD drive).

This is not financial or technical advice, do your own research, blah blah.

merphle wrote:

The X is only needed if you intend to play on a 4k display, or need/want to use discs. The S is functionally equivalent to an X in every other way (1440p, no DVD drive).

That's the rub. I was actually looking at the Series S because I don't even have a 4K TV yet, and I'm in a spot where I want to get an affordable 4K TV but I'd rather the OLED, and OLEDs are expensive as things which are priced expensively. So might as well not even think about 4K, right? Buuuuut I want that disc drive.

Also, the Series S is ugly to look at. I finally got to see all three at a Best Buy this weekend, the Series S, X, and the PS5, and the Series X was the least offensive to my sensibilities. Note that I didn't like it, either, but it's at least the one that looks the most like an actual piece of electronics used to play electronic, interactive entertainment.

Anywho, Bandai Namco turned out to be worse than Capcom. All they had was some developer interview on the new Dark Pictures Anthology game. No Tales of Arise, no Scarlet Nexus even, no anime fighting games, no Soul Calibur, nothin'. Just the next Dark Pictures game which was already announced.

Why would they do that? I don't know.

Curious what Steam's gonna be up to tomorrow.

E3 2021: 20 Games Missing From The Show

Agree with these. Lots of stuff I wish we would have seen more of.

Turns out Aliens: Fireteam was hidden away in a GameSpot stream.

farley3k wrote:

E3 2021: 20 Games Missing From The Show

Agree with these. Lots of stuff I wish we would have seen more of.

I hate this kind of crap, it's so rarely researched, and so often is no more valuable than random tweets taken off of Twitter. Let's see if we can come up with reasons certain things are "missing".

Pokemon has largely had its own digital presentations for the past year or more now, and it is doubtful they'll have anything new until both games are closer to release, so of course they're "missing". Elder Scrolls VI was of course not going to be present, as Todd Howard himself said they wouldn't show anything for a long time when they revealed that logo and that Starfield was coming first, and if Starfield isn't out until 2022 (November of 2022 at that) then why would anyone even halfway informed expect to see it? Metroid Prime 4 was, at best, going to be a teaser since development rebooted in the start of 2019, and given that Nintendo acknowledged it, I'd say it's not "missing" since they stated it's not ready. We already know Splatoon 3 is 2022 so unlikely to be showcased when Nintendo wants to focus on this year's releases, while giving Breath of the Wild fans a bone. Microsoft is having an Extended Showcase tomorrow which will have Ninja Theory, and evidently Ninja Theory have said on Twitter that Hellblade 2 will be there. Waluigi in Smash is not missing, it's stupid. Games like Fable, Perfect Dark, and Avowed are likely too early in development to show anything yet. There's a good possibility Forspoken and Final Fantasy XVI will feature in whatever Sony seems to be planning for July, especially with news of them being console exclusive.

The rest I'll concede as "missing", even if I can come up with similar reasoning to the above (Pragmata isn't until 2022, and these days Capcom holds off info on games until they're less than a year out, so I'd anticipate a whole new slew of marketing campaigns once Monster Hunter Stories 2 and Great Ace Attorney release).

Then again, who is the bigger fool? The so called "journalist" whose writings are no more informed than your average Twitter user mashing angrily at the absence of their favorite game? Or the fool that clicked the clickbait and got into a froth about it rather than going about their day?

EDIT: Looks like we got another one. Bright Memory isn't missing, it just seems to have been part of Steam Next Fest, from what I can tell, and just got a new trailer today.

ccesarano wrote:

We already know Splatoon 3 is 2022 so unlikely to be showcased when Nintendo wants to focus on this year's releases, while giving Breath of the Wild fans a bone.

That one was so weird. The first trailer is four months old, and we need to see another one already? A trailer is something like a month-long distraction from making the actual game.

Then again, who is the bigger fool? The so called "journalist" whose writings are no more informed than your average Twitter user mashing angrily at the absence of their favorite game? Or the fool that clicked the clickbait and got into a froth about it rather than going about their day?

Dammit!

So evidently GameSpot has their own "Play 4 All" thing going on (is it still E3? I can't tell) and they've got some interviews and previews going. I don't recall if there is a Soulsborne Catch-All so dropping this Salt & Sacrifice gameplay here for now.

I played Salt & Sanctuary for the first time this year and had mixed feelings. This looks like it has a lot of major improvements already, while also making some changes.

Easy Allies bets on, often very specific, events happening at E3. Here are the results. Good fun.