E3 Rumors: The Big Three Have Things Up Their Sleeves

Here we go again, the proverbial rumor mill is a turning, as we're about a month away from this year's E3. Tons of talk are around the industry's big hitters; Sony, Microsoft, & Nintendo. Let's throw out some tidbits that we know of presently.

First up, SONY will be revealing their iteration of their PS4 platform, a PS4.5 or PS4K* ,*as unofficially coined by Kyle Bosman of The Final Bosman of Gametrailers fame, This PS4.5 will boast a beefier inside to tackle 4K gaming and most likely accompany their Playstation VR, launching in the fall.

Secondly, as in any arms race, the competition will also compete so MICROSOFT has also been rumored to be revealing a more powerful Xbox One. Rumors are swirling if this new iteration to the Xbox platform will also help with introducing people to Augmented Reality games with the Hololens.

Lastly, but not at all least, NINTENDO is working on their own newest iteration of console codenamed the NX. Nintendo's NX is said to be on pair with current Xbox One and PS4 specs. This will be Nintendo's answer for their Wii U mishap. Will the NX have some gimmick just like the WIi U did, and the Wii before that?

My impressions, while yes I and everyone else will be waiting anxiously for Nintendo's newest console to play the breath taking Legend of Zelda title that's in the development, - although it has been revealed that there will be a Wii U version as well - more importantly the introduction of a new console this early in on their respective console generations makes Sony and Microsoft will be breaching new territory. I personally loved PC gaming but I hated the constant upgrading and keeping-up-with-the-Joneses to play the latest titles at the settings that I wanted. With the newest systems that will allow newer gamers to experience the best gaming possible, up to that point anyways, I really hope it doesn't send tidal waves throughout the industry. Will there be many other gamers left out due to their current hardware? If anything, this year's E3 is the big highlight of what's going on, what's going to happen and what everyone is going to be complaining about in a few months. lol

Console's Showdown: Strengths/Weaknesses & E3 Approaching

Sony's PS4

Currently has

• Strong emphasis on Gaming, slick interface, Indies, Netflix & other apps don't need PS+, 1st Party Exclusives & 3rd Party Support

Current Good Exclusives: Infamous: Second Son, Killzone: Shadowfall, flower, Resogun, Towerfall: Ascension, Don't Starve

​Needs work with

• 1st Party Games
• Robust Features
• Robust Online system

Future Exclusives to Look Forward To: The Order: 1886, Drive Club, The Last of Us Remastered, future Uncharted title in dev

Microsoft's Xbox One

Currently has

• Strong emphasis on entertainment, slick interface, Live & TV services, 1st Party Exclusives & 3rd Party Support

Current Good Exclusives: Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, +Titanfall, Killer Instinct, Powerstar Golf, Zoo Tycoon, Xbox Fitness, *Peggle 2, *Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare *Timed Exclusive, +Microsoft Exclusive

Needs work with

• Games
• Price
• Indie support
• Robust Features

Future Exclusives to Look Forward To: Kinect Sports Rivals, Halo 2 Anv., Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive, Halo 5, Fable Legends, future Gears of War title in dev, rumored Halo 3 & 4 HD ports/Forza Horizon's sequel/Crackdown 3

Nintendo's Wii U

Currently has

• Strong emphasis on Gaming, 1st Party Games

Current Good Exclusives: Super Mario 3D World, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD, Pikmin 3, New Super Mario Bros. U, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, The Wonderful 101, Nintendo Land

​Needs work with

• Games
• 3rd Party Support
• Robust Features
• Robust Online system

Future Exclusives to Look Forward To: Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros Wii U, Bayonetta 2, Hyrule Warriors, X, Zelda HD title in dev

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Current Good Multiplatform Games: Battlefield 4, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, NBA 2K14, Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare, Call of Duty: Ghosts, FIFA 14, Rayman Legends, NFS: Rivals, Strider, Lego Marvel Super Heroes

Future Multiplatform Games, most spill into PC too, To Look Forward To: Child of Light, Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Elder Scrolls Online, Watch Dogs, Destiny, Evolve, The Evil Within, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Alien: Isolation, Dying Light, The Crew, Project Cars, Mad Max, Mirror's Edge, Batman: Arkham Knight, Tom Clancy's The Division, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Looking forward to E3, it's coming up pretty soon. What will we see there, what's going to be announced and what is going to send ripples in the current console showdown? Games, lots of games since last E3 was all about the hardware, this year's E3 is all about the games!

Weekend Gaming, ready set GO!

It's Friday and all that means is start the weekend, what game or games are you playing this weekend?! For me I'm going to continue to blaze through the tricky streets and cliff adjacent tracks in Codemaster's GRiD 2. There's so many things that can go wrong while racing; an opponent runs into you, you oversteer right into a cliff face, you mess up that last corner before the finish line, mess up a corner on a perfect lap, etc etc. Good thing there's flashback, a feature that Codemaster's introduced into the racing genre with the first GRiD five years ago. Yeah, it's kind of a staple in the racing genre now as other competing games allow you to undo that horrific crash which has probably lessened many frustrated gamers out there - I know it's helped me out. I might pick up and play some Halo 4 matches as it seems 343 Studios has tweaked the weapons to feel a bit more competitive. It's nice that that community is still staying strong. Yes community, flashbacks, weekend, I'm getting at E3 and you'll soon see why.

Well or you could drive too close to a cliff.

It's the weekend yet all I can think about is next week. It's funny, it seems the days before E3 always go slower while E3 rushes by in one quicker than normal week. On Monday we're going to see keynote events from Microsoft which will show off their Xbox One intended games, Sony which will show the games - oh man I can't wait to see some Destiny gameplay - and more importantly their system, and the next day Nintendo will have their Nintendo Direct - the first year Nintendo will not actually have a press event - which people will be able to download on Nintendo products. You wonder if after all three go ahead and show their stuff - don't forget EA & Ubisoft will show as well - if anyone company would be willing to use a flashback to undo what they just did. I'm predicting this will be Microsoft as they've just revealed some astounding limitations that their Xbox One will have in regards to its consumer (the paying one too).

Of course the second to best thing about E3 is the gaming community that follows after it. The discussions while it's taking place, the viral videos many will link, and of course the aftermath where everyone talks about who won E3. We have a competitive nature towards everything, it's not just racing. Someone has to win it, someone has to be the one to cross the finish line before everyone else. It's always fun to see who's going to bring the goods at these things. I'm hoping we'll see some real innovation here, this year it's all about the consoles entering the market. Not only will there be the Xbox One, Sony PS4 but also the Ouya, possibility of a Steambox reveal and we just learned Mad Catz wants in on the console market with the project M.O.J.O.. That's a bit severe in my mind, this happened last time when the Sega Saturn tried to join the mix with the N64 and PS1 and it didn't go well for an overcrowded market.

E3 is fast approaching!

If you ask anyone who plays games, probably a majority of them will say yeah they get excited when E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, rolls around every year. To the hardcore gamers this is like the Superbowl of the video game industry. To many of the mass audience that plays games but doesn't wade through gaming forums E3 is a week of gaming news and trailers that help define what's coming. Well E3 is less than a week away and many sites already have "This is what I want to see at E3" so I'll just cover it in general.

This year's E3 should be a good one specifically due to the big two Sony and Microsoft going to show off their very new next-gen consoles to a global audience. Everyone is watching, even people that don't focus heavily on games, let's be honest these consoles are two computers that let you do about anything on them. Surf the internet, - check - watch streaming TV and movies, - check - keep in contact with your friends -check. Microsoft caught a lot of flak targeting their first - as they claim their big press event & console reveal is segmented into two parts - segment on all of what the general public is probably interested in. Now at E3 we're supposed to get the second segment, the games!

Oh man and they've promised a lot with 15 titles upcoming for the Xbox One with 8 of which are new IPs. There will be many many games shown off at E3 this year but many are interested to see what one two punch Microsoft comes out with swinging. Why should people be bothered to upgrade their gaming console if they're quite content with what they have right now. The main thing it looks like that will influence this decision is the ever connected gaming world where players will experience persistent worlds. Many people on the PC front are already putting up their arms in shrugging fashion noting they can do that already on their computers. True, but I think it's now going to become a global invasion to every player on this planet. As the years go by and we all get more connected we're going to find ourselves immersed in a social gaming environment which I feel will only strengthen this beloved hobby of many.

The Used Games War

News broke that a next gen system unofficially termed the Xbox 720 - not pictured above - will not allow people with used games to access them. An activation code will be used initially when the consumer puts it into the system and thus eliminating the ability of a second hand exchange since the game's activation code will have already been used. Of course in order to verify this code your system will have to be connected online.

Many however are wondering if this will be a similar concept to DRM techniques seen on the PC market. With this part of the market piracy is rampant due to almost all PCs sold having a burning disc drive device. To contradict this piracy strict DRM has been put in place where the common denominator is you have to be connected online in order to play said game. Often times being thrown back to the main menu when a connection to the authorization server has been lost and initially, when this concept was first used -as it appears to be learned via the mass complaining of gamers that ironically conveyed this outrage through an online connection-, loosing all your progress since your last save.

Rumors about Sony doing something similar with their next gen system unofficially termed the PS4 -again not pictured above - have also arose due to Sony patents found online that talk about a system the tags games for this similar process. See the gist of things here is the system will read the game's tag, similar to the activation codes that Microsoft will implement with their 720, allegedly, but instead not require an online connection as the authorization process is done via the hardware as opposed to an online server. However similarly this will cut the used games market out as a game that's already been tagged with a specific system will not work on another. That's the whole point of this DRM technique.

I modded my original Xbox way back in the day because it didn't allow me to watch movies without going out and buying a remote for movie playback, while this feature was do-able right out of the box as per modders discoveries. If I feel like a company is putting restrictions on the product I purchased then I feel you as a consumer have a right to complain. These companies want to dictate what you can and can not do with their product and will often ban you from live if you're found to be a "cheater". Now obviously this doesn't go so far that you have to get authorities involved because of illegal actions being carried out. Still the ability to play used games, and thus either try out a game you're not sure about -or to save money picking up a used copy, on a console is paramount to many many consumers out there that enjoy the video game industry. Online passes and DLC have been put in place to deter consumers from pawning off their unused games for a little cash or bonuses towards the latest and greatest.

Oh I also highly bet that, just like the online pass, that you'll be able to buy another code with the gracious action of handing over your credit card. I really hope that does not happen, publishers are already getting their cake and eating it too, as the saying goes.