We have men on the front lines. Men who serve their website with honour. Men about to embark on a mad marathon filled with peril, news, dinosaurs, parties, space marines, booth babes, ninjas, announcements and the undead. The gauntlet known as E3 2011. While our finest soldiers are in the trenches, we here at the Capsule Computers home base thought it would be a good idea to test our psychic abilities and make predictions on what will no doubt, go down in history as a blood-bath of announcements. Care to join us at our mad game? Leave your predictions in a post at the bottom of the page and tell us if you’re think we’re crazy, or some sort of super-mega psychic that can predict the future.
Dustin Spencer | Senior Editor
Unlike last year’s E3, 2011 seems to have been mapped out aside from the big 3, who have all been mysteriously tight-lipped about upcoming reveals. With Nintendo, we know we will finally see Project Cafe. I predict on that front that Nintendo’s new console will of course, have the HD graphics previously promised, but there just has to be something more with it as Nintendo always have to separate themselves from Microsoft and Sony. I can guarantee that backwards compatibility will be utilized with the Wii though, which is strong claim, but considering Majesco have the motion controlled “Zumba 2” set to premiere at the event for both the Wii and Cafe, I really don’t see Nintendo cutting off connectivity between the two systems. A camera of some sort like the Kinect seems a tad likely as well, but then again, Nintendo are not ones to copy other ideas. I do think however, that this new Nintendo system will be online heavy, with a re-designed interface and only one friend code needed per console, like the 3DS. (Possibly an online Zelda game?). Touch screen controllers would allow for 3DS support, so those rumors make sense and could indeed give Nintendo a new technology to toy with for the next generation. As for software, we should see at least one launch title revealed for the Cafe. My money is on Pikmin or Mario with that, but I don’t think Nintendo will shy away from their casual base entirely. For everything else, I would say expect Pokemon, more 3DS news and reveals, and a small helping of Wii & DS offerings.
As for Sony, this is the event of pure retribution and while a console may not be ready yet, I would imagine at least an announcement will be made to set a timetable in place for the future. As for the NGP, my shot in the dark at a price range would have to be around $300.
Microsoft on the other hand should mainly be focusing on software this year. I would expect to see a new Halo title emerge as well as some new games for the Kinect that target a larger audience.
Oddly enough on the publisher’s front, I don’t see too many surprises. Rare have been quiet since releasing the Kinect launch titles, so maybe this will be the year we see a re-launch of a couple franchises. I am praying Ubisoft finally confirm Beyond Good & Evil 2 as well, but it seems Assassin’s Creed Revelations will be at the forefront of their showing. Here’s to hoping though.
Jed Bradshaw | Senior Editor
This year, I predict that E3 will be most jaw dropping E3 of our puny human lives. Why?  Because everybody is announcing so many awesome games and accessories and consoles and console improvements! Although we know of quite a few, there are some that been kept tightly under warps.
I predict that Microsoft will be announcing a media streaming service that focuses on TV. This content will be available for everyone, no matter their ISP. Microsoft will focus on Kinect a lot in their conference and I strongly believe that a few hardcore games will be coming for it. Hopefully, some new IPs and exclusives will be announced by Microsoft.
I also predict that Sony will announce that the NGP has multiple PSN account access. My prediction for the final price of  the NGP is: (drum roll here) $249.99 USD.
As for Nintendo, I predict that they will announce that Project Cafe has 12 motion sensing, 3D enabled screens with full touch and gyroscopic features inside each. It also comes with a couch to lay down on to play it and cybernetic enhancement surgery coupons are also included. Finally, psychosis treatment is available free of charge to anyone who buys it. In all seriousness though, I am very excited to see what Nintendo has in store for their next console.
Jack Joly | Editor
It seems like people say this every year, but again, it’s going to be a huge E3. The big 3 will be revealing plenty of their own handiwork, but many large publishers, as you know, will be showing off some games we know about, as well as some complete surprises we won’t have heard anything about yet.
Swaying to the Xbox 360 side of things, I predict a focus on Kinect because since its November release, we’ve still yet to receive any core games or any controller/Kinect hybrids that we were teased with initially. The Kinect has so much potential and I think everyone realises what has been achieved thus far has only scratched the surface of what you can do with the technology, so we’ll be seeing things like Ghost Recon: Future Soldier’s Kinect support. As well as the new, we should be seeing a wealth of new information/gameplay/trailers for hotly anticipated games like Skyrim, Gears of War 3 and Dead Island as all the companies pack up shop and travel over to Los Angeles to show what they’ve been working on.
Where Nintendo are concerned, the curtain will be lifted on their Project Cafe system. For my sake, I hope the ludicrous leaked information and speculation of late is false, otherwise Nintendo may be headed in a direction I’m reluctant to follow; 6 inch touch screens on the controllers – who wants that?! As if controllers weren’t expensive enough already. On top of the reveal of Project Cafe, Nintendo will be keen to reveal some 3DS software at E3 that they’ve been working on.
I predict Sony will have announcements with respect to their NGP system, and I also think they will deliver some surprise large announcements to recover from the recent facade of the hack of their PSN service which saw huge numbers of people lose their personal details. I think they have to if they want to regain any respect from disgruntled gamers, some of which decided that Sony weren’t worth the effort and jumped ship over to Microsoft and the Xbox 360.
Roger Ma | Editor
Alright everyone, as much as I would like to see a Halo 4 or the fabled ‘Halo HD remake‘ I really hope at this year’s E3, something totally new will come along and challenge what ‘gaming’ means to this current generation. Speaking of HD remakes, I’m gonna go ahead and say it (or at least predict) that Sega will finally announce a slew of Dreamcast remakes that will make their way on to the XBLA/PSN or on to a retail release. They have already released the Sega Dreamcast Collection for Xbox 360 and PC earlier this year, and there has been much speculation and rumor over Jet Grind Radio and other Dreamcast-era Sega games, So why not? It seams plausible, right?
Aside of wishful thinking, plenty of awesome game developers are set to announced their biggest games so ‘fingers cross’ Rockstar will announce Grand Theft Auto 5 set in San Andreas. Again, this might just be wishful thinking….but GTA 4 and it’s expansion games were very successful, and its been quite some time since Liberty City. So what better place to announce the next game than at this years E3? In terms of consoles, we will definitely hear some news on what Nintendo has to offer and hopefully Sony’s NGP will get a release date and price.
However, deep down I really hope for some embarrassing press conferences – Anyone remember Sony’s back in E3 2006 (FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE DOLLARS US DOLLAZ!)? Ha ha, still gets me everytime. Well anyway, whatever happens, we’ll be able to play some awesome games in the near future.
Ben Webb | Editor
Firstly, Nintendo will unveil their new awesome console of awesomeness and a lot of people will clap. Then they’ll show off a multi-minute trailer/teaser of a game and give us a release date. After that, we learn that it’s been pushed back for ‘balance’, where we learn in a gaming convention further down the track that it will also be appearing on the new Nintendo console as a launch title.
Outside of Nintendo, there will be lots of boobies! And they will come attached to booth-babes. I predict that MasterAbbott will be getting a plethora of photos with these ladies (and possibly men) for us to enjoy at some point. I further predict that us editors here on Capsule; will be overworked and underfed during the event to try and get as much news out as possible.
Next will be a new trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic. It will be awesome and people will be wanting to get the game as soon as possible. I know that I want that game already!
Kelly Teng | Editor
The one thing I really have been trying to predict is Nintendo’s Project Cafe. The fact that the Wii’s successor won’t feature hands free motion gaming has been pretty questionable in my mind, and I really think Nintendo will have to do a lot to make up for the fact that gamers will still have to use remotes. I definitely predict HD, however the possibility of 3D gaming and Blu-ray is unlikely just because Nintendo have always targeted the casual gamers who want an affordable console (and both 3D and blu-ray are not affordable when a console first comes out). With that being said, people were willing to fork out $349 for the 3DS, so maybe Nintendo is trying to bring out the big guns and make a console that can truly compete with the 360 and PS3. Also, the NGP is an interesting one to look at: Sony may have to do better than touch screens on the front and the back, so I predict the NGP may take elements from the Playstation Phone and the PSPGO! and bring a handheld that can compete with the iPhone…I’m thinking Android may be on the agenda, because that’s what their S1 and S2 tablets will be running. I’m also crossing my fingers that Square will bring Final Fantasy back into the glorious days of VII and X, and learn from FFXIII’s mistakes. If Square bring out yet another X-2, that’s it…I’ve officially lost hope in the franchise.
Michael Marr | Editor
I PREDICT that gamers will be mostly shown off the line-up for the last November releases this year. I can guarantee there will be no shortages of “woofs” from the COD:MW community. From working at a games retailer myself, I’m pretty well aware that the major titles are scheduled for release before Christmas to capitalise on that “holiday spirit” :P… But I digress. Sony will no doubt be attempting to show off their new handheld, while at the same time attempting to justify the price (Come on, it’s happened the last 3 times with Sony consoles. I’m not expecting a difference). And they’ll no-doubt find a way to turn their recent hacking issues into a “This has made the company stronger” speech. What I HOPE to see is perhaps the release of some new firmware that will FINALLY allow some PS3’s to play PS2 games in some respect. Additionally, the specifics of Uncharted, and details on the multi-platform release of Metal Gear Solid: Rising.
As for Nintendo and the already fan-labelled Wii2, I predict we’ll see some remakes of old classic titles redone in HD graphics. Perhaps an announcement will also follow outlining the new Zelda: Skyward Sword appearing on both Wii1 and Wii2. The same thing happened on the show off of Twilight Princess. Also, am I the only one that thinks the next logical step after calling your console the “Wii” is to call the next one a “Puu”? No? Just me? Moving on then… What I HOPE to see will include a line-up of future titles for the 3DS system, including some more 3D remakes of Nintendo 64 games (Particularly Majora’s Mask or Conker’s Bad Fur Day). But I wont beat around the bush any longer. What I REALLY REALLY REEEEAAAAALLLLY hope to see is an announcement of Golden Sun 4. Because Dark Dawn really left us on a cliffhanger. I’ve been waiting 3 whole games, and I still haven’t gotten the chance to kick Alex’s ass! That aside, I’m still curious regarding Isaac’s fate at the end of Dark Dawn, plus I’d really like to see Felix and Piers back in action. Piers is likely because he doesn’t age. 🙂
Microsoft… I PREDICT that Kinect news will be all the rage. Given that its appeal so far has only really been aimed at the casual demographic, I’d like to see some effort in the release of hardcore titles. Perhaps a new Force Unleashed game adapted for Kinect use? But I, like many people, will expect to see some progress on that little leaked “Halo 5” project that Microsoft accidentally let slip a while back. What I HOPE to see is some more news regarding upcoming Valve projects, such as new DLC content for Left 4 Dead 2, and also a goddamned announcement on Half Life 3. But even more-so, the main thing I’m looking out for is concrete details of The Old Republic and a release date.
So in short, the main games I’m hoping to see displayed include: Golden Sun Dark Dawn, a new Fire Emblem, Halo 5, Mass Effect 3, Left 4 Dead 2 DLC, Duke, Assassins Creed: Revelations, Old Republic and MGS: Rising.
Alexis Ayala | Editor
Nintendo is showing off their Project Cafe, or NEScafe as I prefer. This one is a bit tricky. All the rumours have been talking about this crazy touch display on the controller. The thing is, Nintendo never operates at a loss. They make money on every device sold so I’m not sure how cost effective that would be. Maybe a lower resolution screen similar to the old DS if anything. It’ll certainly be HD and I doubt it’ll be a powerhouse. I’d say they’ll surpass the current generation graphically in a marginal way but that’s it. Just enough to stay competitive for the time being. I’d hope they show off something like a new Mario game for it, but that may be wishful thinking. Also the NEScafe will cater to both casual and hardcore demographics with some movement based controls and a traditional control out of the box and have an online network which will be much better than previous efforts with possibly some inventive ideas but ultimately still be far from what they need to stay competitive with Microsoft and (to a lesser extent) Sony.
Microsoft will definitely be very Kinect focused. You don’t sell a bajillion units of that thing and not come out the gate swinging. I expect to see some Kinect titles really geared toward the hardcore. I’m guessing some controller/Kinect hybrid games. I’d also expect them to show off something to do with their Live service. There’ll be some new feature that will be very forward thinking and make the competition seem like they still have to play catch-up.
Sony has some apologising to do. They’ll touch on the subject of their downed network for just a moment and reassure us that everything is secure. They wont dwell on it obviously. Sony will also announce some heavy hitter first party titles. I would LOVE to see another Jak & Daxter, but again, this may be wishful thinking. Sony will also be showing off their NGP. If it’s not called PSVita then they’ll have a new name as NGP can’t be what they’re actually calling it. That’s just silly.
Sony says the NGP will be affordable. I’m going to assume that what Sony thinks is affordable is different to what the average consumer thinks. I’m betting it’ll go for no less than USD $299.99.
