E3 2013: 4 Predictions That We Expect To Be True

1. A New Major IP

So I€™ll admit it, this one is a little vague. What I specifically mean by this is a new IP, or maybe a few, that have the potential to turn into big franchises. Watch Dogs and The Last of Us have already been revealed for later this year, yet thinking back to the PS3€™s launch it seems unlikely these will be the only new €˜ns available come the PS4 and Xbox Durango, as last time heralded the likes of Assassin€™s Creed, Heavenly Sword, and Resistance: Fall of Man, while the 360 pumped out great games like Bioshock. That means, if both these console giants are set to release their latest masterpieces this Winter, we€™ll likely be treated to a range of IPs to once again experiment with the consoles€™ new features and see what the audience want. Sony has already shown a few like Knack and those already mentioned, yet their February conference seemed to be holding a lot back (shown by how their console didn€™t actually make an appearance), so it€™s possible a few more exclusives will emerge come E3 given how launch time tends to be the biggest period for the console specific titles. On the other hand, it should be noted how scared the industry is at the minute, with both EA and Square Enix losing their top dogs and developers like THQ collapsing completely, so risk really isn€™t the word of the moment. This means we could just end up with a series of games with 3s or 4s on the end, developers having become increasingly terrified not to be €˜mass market€™ or move on from old franchises that, in some cases, have been squeezed so dry they make the Sahara look moist. It€™s difficult to say what€™ll come up for certain of course. Yes, we will inevitable get trailers that€™ll leave us perplexed and uninformed, long ego-stroking speeches where impossible promises will be made, and countless cinematic clips that€™ll be rammed down our throats by middle-aged men who obviously forgot they were supposed to be making a damn game, but hopefully, somewhere among the tedium, we€™ll be given something truly special. That€™s the purpose of new IPs, to give us hope, to give us something to anticipate, to give us something to crave. Sure I€™d happily remove two of my fingers to see Arkham 3 make an appearance, but nothing compares to seeing something unknown come out of obscurity and blowing you away. It€™s what E3 is all about, and the industry is truly dying if all we get is sequels come June.