Things to Look for at E3 2013: Part Three

Next-gen

In February, Sony announced the PlayStation 4 and last month Microsoft followed suit with the unveiling of the Xbox One. 

If you feel that none of the games so far revealed are enough to warrant splurging out on one, or both, next-gen consoles you might change your mind after the media briefings today.

Let's start with PS4. Every single one of Sony's first party studios is developing for PS4 and the console's lead system architect, Mark Cerny, has said the platform will have the strongest launch lineup of any PlayStation device. We haven't seen anything for PS4 from Naughty Dog or Sony Santa Monica to name two of the most prolific studios under Sony's banner. 

It's also expected that Guerrilla Games will announce The Order: 1886 for the console, what that is, is anyone's guess but it should make for an interesting change from the Killzone series. Second party Quantic Dream - who presented a tech demo at the PS4's announcement event - have also confirmed that they're developing a game for the console but given that Beyond is set to be released in October it's unlikely we'll see it at E3 this year.

Microsoft meanwhile has 15 first party games in development for Xbox One - the highest ever in production internally at the company. Eight of these will be new IP. It's possible we'll get to see more of Remedy's Quantum Break and Forza 5 today but they may decide to show other titles instead. 

According to rumours Microsoft are set to reveal Halo 5, while that may not come true - especially given that Halo 4 was only released last year - it seems likely that the Xbox One will launch with at least one Halo title, possibly Halo 2: Anniversary. There's been a Halo game every year since 2009 and there's no reason to believe that that will change now. 

Fable 4 is also most likely in the works for Xbox One, which might explain why Fable: Anniversary is an Xbox 360 game. There have also been rumours of a Fable MMO. Rare are also set to unveil an "historic" title at E3 which may be Banjo Kazooie or Perfect Dark. We'll find out later today.

Today we'll also get our first look at the PlayStation 4's design, notably absent in February. Hopefully, we'll also learn the size of the PS4's HDD. Both Microsoft and Sony should announce the price and specific release dates for their consoles today. On that front, analysts predict both consoles will cost less than $400 - substantially cheaper than the $600 entry fee for model PS3s. 

The Xbox One and PS4 are likely to launch between late October and the end of November, both companies have said they plan to release their systems this year. 

You can find part one of my pre-E3 posts here and part two here.