Wednesday, 14 June 2017

E3 2017: all the announcements from gaming's biggest show

E3 2017 is arguably the biggest event in the gaming industry calendar and it's under way right now in Los Angeles, California. 

It's day five at the conference where we'll get a chance to check out even more must-see games and take in the packed show floor. Following Microsoft and Sony's mega showcases, yesterday saw Nintendo tease a number of upcoming Switch titles and even a new Metroid for 3DS. 

We've also sat down with Xbox Corporate Vice President Mike Ybarra to get the inside scoop on the all-new Xbox One X and find out what the future holds for consoles. Be sure to check out our full interview.

By far the biggest announcement of E3, at least when it comes to hardware, the Xbox One X is a 4K-ready, insanely powerful console that goes on sale November 7 for the price of $499 (£449 / AU$649). 

If you've missed a video game trailer reveal from E3, don't fret! We've gathered up the best E3 2017 trailers in one place for your watching enjoyment. 

Aside from that, instead of sending you all over the place, we've collected all the biggest announcements, rumors and speculation from this year's show on this page, so read on for our constantly updated guide on this year's show. 

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? The world’s biggest annual gaming expo in Los Angeles
  • When is it? Official E3 dates are June 13 – 15

Here's what Nintendo announced at E3 2017

Nintendo, naturally, put a heavy focus on games during its E3 2017 showcase, teasing a number of titles for Nintendo Switch and a bunch of games we won't see until next year. Yes, we have to wait, but that wait may be well worth it. 

First up is Metroid Prime 4, which is coming to Switch at an undetermined date. This was a true tease as details on just about everything to do with the game were missing from today's presentation, but Metroid fans are likely chomping at the bit to get this in their Joy-Con-holding hands. 

Nintendo didn't stop there as just as the showcase was wrapping up it announced a new special edition Metroid game, this time headed to 3DS. While details are also light, Metroid: Samus Returns looks to return to the franchise's classic 2D roots. Catch this new Metroid game on September 15.

The teases kept coming as a mysterious new mainline Pokemon for Nintendo Switch was confirmed. This is no sideline sequel, but rather a bona fide core title that shuns its predecessors' past and brings full fat Pokemon to Switch. The game could very well be the highly rumored Pokemon Stars given it won't release for more than year. Fingers crossed.

Also served up by Nintendo was a brand-new Super Mario Odyssey trailer and (drum roll, please) a release date of October 27. If you're looking forward to Odyssey, you're not alone: Senior Home Entertainment Editor Nick Pino says this is the game that will convince him to buy a Switch.

We also learned Rocket League is headed to Switch during the holiday season.

Last but not least, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is getting its first big DLC since launch with the "Master Trials" expansion, which arrives June 30. The second piece of the wildly popular game's $19.99 Expansion Pass, The Champions' Ballad, arrives later this year.

Observers will note only a couple of the games Nintendo discussed today are actually releasing in 2017, with most teased for 2018 or beyond. Senior Editor Joe Osborne, an early Switch adopter, expounded on the sentiment Nintendo's E3 presentation didn't live up to its pre-show billing.

Here's what Sony announced at E3 2017

We'll cut to the chase: Sony didn't reveal any new hardware or PS4 price drops, but the tech powerhouse certainly packed its pockets when it came to games. 

Short on time? Then check out the 10 most exciting games Sony showed off at E3 2017 and five good reasons to buy a PlayStation VR headset.

Still with us? Good. One of Sony's more impressive trailers was for God of War. In it, we see Kratos embark on a journey with his son. Yes, there is still bone-crushing violence, but this God of War has a softer side, too. The game also got a fuzzy release date of early 2018.

Are your Spidey senses tingling? That's probably because there's a new gameplay trailer for Spider-Man for PS4. This gave us a great look at our hero in action, slinging webs and acrobatically taking down baddies. You'll have all of New York City as your open-world playground when Spider-Man comes out in 2018.

Call of Duty WWII saw a new multiplayer gameplay trailer make its debut on stage, while it was revealed Destiny 2 on Sony systems will include exclusive strike, ship, weapon and PVP maps.  

Shadow of the Colossus (you remember the original, right?) is on the way to PS4, and there's a new trailer that gives you a glimpse of what to expect when the game releases in 2018.

And in case you forgot about PSVR, what with the Oculus Rifts and HTC Vives of the world, Sony hopes you remember with a host of games for its virtual reality headset. Leading the charge is Elder Scrolls V Skyrim, and it's joined by Star Child, The Inpatient and Bravo Team, among others. 

Sony PlayLink is a new collection of smartphone-controlled games designed to entertain the whole family, including those who might not usually play games. Titles include That's You!, Hidden Agenda, Frantics, Knowledge is Power and SingStar Celebration.

While some trailers were truly eye-catching, Staff Writer Emma Boyle aptly notes Sony's presentation relied too heavily on cinematic spectacles, many of games we've seen before, and didn't offer enough substance. We'll likely have to get our fill during its PSX event later this year.

Here's what Ubisoft announced at E3 2017

We don't think anyone was prepared for just how impressive Ubisoft's E3 2017 press conference turned out.

Yes, there was another Just Dance, but we also got two killer (pun intended) new looks at Far Cry 5. They're... gory. Skull & Bones was also introduced as the game maker's 'ultimate pirate experience' and we learned Assassin's Creed Origins is releasing on October 27.

But these weren't even the biggest surprises. Kicking off the show was an entrance by none other than veteran Nintendo developer Shigeru Miyamoto and news that Mario is coming to Rabbids Kingdom Battle. The Nintendo Switch exclusive looks weird, but we kind of like it. Keep an eye out for the crossover on August 29.

The event wrapped with an even bigger announcement: Beyond Good and Evil 2 is finally happening, nearly 15 years after the original release. There's a new cinematic trailer for the cult classic, and it looks awesome. When this title, no longer stuck in development hell, releases is anyone's guess, but when it does, we're sure long-suffering fans will gobble it up.

Here's what was announced at the PC Gaming Show 2017

This year's PC Gaming Show, put on by our friends at PC Gamer, was the event's biggest yet.

Here we got word the original Age of Empires is coming to modern-day PCs. This isn't just a port, but rather a spiritual revival complete with all-new visuals. Will this mix of old and new satiate fans of the original RTS? We'll find out when the game lands this summer. 

Also on tap for PC gamers is Forza Motorsport 7. You'll be able to play the racer at 60fps in HDR Ultra 4K as well as on an ultra-wide 21:9 monitor. You can pick your jaw off the floor now. 

Fans of Cliff Bleszinski take note as the Gears of War creator is releasing a brand-new arena shooter called LawBreakers that's break through on August 8. 

And for more PC games headed your way soon, check out our round up of the 10 most exciting games spotted at the the PC Gaming Show. Game on!

Here's what Bethesda announced at E3 2017

Bethesda didn't come to E3 2017 empty-handed, that's for sure. The gaming house brought a few exciting new titles - and support for the first time ever of a Nintendo console - to Los Angeles. 

Let's start with the latter: Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is coming to Nintendo Switch. This isn't just a straight port, or so it would appear, with Bethesda and Nintendo seemingly working together on a unique title. In a demo, it was shown how a user could use Joy-Con and Amiibo to control Link in a game. We didn't get full details or a release date, but this glimpse is enticing. 

The other big hitter was Wolfenstein II. Set in a US where the Nazi regime has taken over, you play a character leading a rising resistance. It's eerie, surreal and likely not a game to miss.

Fans of Fallout 4 and DOOM will soon have an entirely new way to play the games thanks to virtual reality. Both Fallout 4 VR and DOOM VFR are set to release this year. The titles will bring you up close and personal with your demons (and mutants) when they arrive on HTC Vive.

Bethesda's Creation Club was revealed as a service that sells 'premium' mods for Fallout 4 and Skyrim. There's a fair amount of negativity among users as some say this creates a two-tier system, forcing them to pay for mods that were once free. 

Finally, in addition to a new character for Quake Champions, we also got a frightening first look at The Evil Within 2. Set to release on October 13 (of course), the game's first trailer will give you chills. 

Here's what Microsoft announced at E3 2017

Phew! Microsoft's E3 press conference was a jam-packed event as the industry giant showed off 42 games in total on the keynote stage, 22 of them Xbox exclusives. 

But the biggest show stopper of them all was this: Xbox One X was unveiled as the official name of Project Scorpio. The 4K-ready console launches on November 7 and will cost $499.

With some truly remarkable specs - like a 6 TFlop GPU, 12GB GDDR5 memory, and 326GB/s memory bandwidth - plus support for original Xbox games thanks to backwards compatibility, the Xbox One X is sure to be one of the holiday's most sought-after gifts. 

We got a chance to see the Xbox One X in action ourselves, and you can read our early hands on impressions right here.

Of course, there has to be games to go with all that processing power, and Microsoft didn't disappoint on that front, either. The company gave us a heart-racing first look at Forza 7 in 4K and unveiled ancient Egypt as the setting for the (highly leaked) Assassin's Creed Origins.

The 4K fun didn't stop there as Sea of Thieves got a full high-resolution gameplay walkthrough, and Crackdown 3, out November 7, showed its stuff in an action-packed official 4K trailer.

Microsoft gave us an even more detailed look at Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Anthem, one of the biggest surprises of E3 so far. It also revealed Cuphead is finally releasing on September 29, and Minecraft is getting a free 4K upgrade later this year (you know, as a nod to the Xbox One X).

We've also rounded up the 10 most exciting Xbox One game announcements of E3 and 40 games that will make you want to buy an Xbox One X, so be sure to check them out! 

Here's what EA announced at E3 2017

EA kicked things off with its EA Play event on Saturday, June 10, and, boy, was it full of great gameplay footage. We were treated to tantalizing looks at FIFA 18 and Need for Speed Payback with wicked gameplay trailers, and got a big dose of multiplayer action in Star Wars Battlefront 2. 

We also learned Madden 18 is shaking up the franchise with its first-ever playable story mode. You play a young prospect as he struggles to make it into the NFL. Called Longshot, the mode's trailer will give you goosebumps.

Finally, a new IP called Anthem was revealed, though we had to wait until Microsoft's big press conference to learn more about it (Microsoft did not disappoint).

...and the rest 

Of course, there's lots more news coming out of E3 2017. Here's the latest:

Xbox

Xbox owners in the UK might be pleased to learn the customize-your-controller Xbox Design Lab is now available in the region as well as France and Germany. More countries in Europe will be added later in the summer, and even more customization options are going global.

Seagate is releasing an 8TB Game Drive Hub hard drive that offers enough space for just about every Xbox game you've ever owned. Plus, one accessory maker is bringing back the design of the original 'Duke' Xbox controller... for better or worse.

We've had time mull the Xbox One X, and yes, we've got opinions. TechRadar Global Editor-in-Chief Patrick Goss notes that as a lapsed PC gamer, the new console is genuinely exciting. 

However, for Computing Editor Matt Hanson, a PC gamer, the Xbox One X is lacking an X factor. Contributor Dom Reseigh-Lincoln also writes the Xbox One X could be its own worst enemy in the coming console war.

Opinions are certainly divided, which can only mean the rest of 2017 will be an interesting one for the gaming world.

PS4

Seagate is also releasing a smaller 2TB Game Drive for PS4. The smaller size should still be enough to support your digital game library, and it comes at a cost of $89.99 (about £70 / AU$120) compared to the 8TB's $199.99 (about £160 / AU$265) price tag. 

Razer is serving up super sharp sound for the PS4 as well as Xbox One X and Xbox Onewith the Thresher Ultimate wireless headset. Promising to deliver Dolby 7.1 surround sound, the headset comes with a price tag of $249 (about £200, AU$330) and is available for pre-order now.

HTC Vive

HTC Vive has a quiet yet notable presence at this year's show in the form of new games and now, new hardware. Thanks to Intel, HTC Vive has a wireless solution in the works that cuts the cables and allows you to roam free in VR. 

Based on Intel's DisplayLink XR tech, a little pack in the back of the headset allows the headset to render games with no stutter or lag. Only a prototype is being shown at E3, but it's a promising sign for VR's future.  

Intel

Intel also touted news its high-core count Core X-series processors go up for pre-order on June 19. These Kaby Lake Core X-series are serious CPU upgrades, though we don't know how much they cost just yet.

The computing powerhouse is also getting into eSports with the formation of a new league called VR Challenger League. As you may have guessed, this will focus on VR eSports, and is a collaborative effort with eSports giant ESL and Oculus. The first tourney gets under way next month.

Atari

Atari has everyone guessing with its mysterious Ataribox. While we're fairly confident this is a console from the retro gaming firm, we're not sure when the Ataribox will see the light of day.

Logitech and Alienware

Logitech announced two brand-new gaming mice, the Logitech G703 and G903, and the first-ever wireless charging mouse mat, the Powerplay. 

Alienware joined the fun with its new Alienware 51 gaming PC, featuring an otherworldly 16-core AMD CPU, as well as the company's first monitor, one that's perfect for gaming.

Razer

The Razer Blade Stealth just got a significant upgrade, transforming our favorite 12.5-inch Ultrabook into a 13.3-inch laptop. That means a jump in display, a small tick up in weight, and a starting price of $1,399 (about £1,100, AU$1,860). You can buy one from the company's online store as well as Best Buy, Amazon and the Microsoft Store starting June 14.

Games, games and more games

One of the stand-out games of E3 so far has been EA's A Way Out. Our impressions are that the co-op only game, built by a small independent team and holding true to a 1970s prison-break aesthetic, may be one of the biggest surprises and most exciting games of the show period. 

We've also had a chance to go hands on with Assassin's Creed Origins (on the Xbox One X, no less) and we've picked out six new features in the game you might have missed. Don't miss this story (sorry).

Another surprise of the show is a prequel to the Life is Strange franchise called Life is Strange: Before the Storm. Staff Writer Emma Boyle chatted with the game's lead writer and got the inside story of how the original developers played - and gave their blessing - to the prequel. 

Last but not least, if strategy games are your cup of tea, check out five you can't miss straight from the show halls. 

Turn to page two for all of our pre-E3 predictions and news!

Here's everything we've heard about E3 and all of our predictions before the big show!

E3 is the world’s biggest gaming show. Every June, the video game development community and press gather in Los Angeles to learn about what the next year has in store for the world of video games. This year 15,000 members of the public will be joining the party too. 

It’s an exciting show. The big players in the industry, from Sony to Microsoft and Nintendo to Ubisoft, all compete to get the biggest headlines by saving their biggest announcements for the show.

In previous years we’ve seen the announcement of new consoles and new games, and with two new consoles being released this year (the Nintendo Switch and Microsoft’s Project Scorpio), we’re expecting the major publishers to have something big lined up for the show.

But what exactly is coming? Read on for our top predictions for this year’s show, and if you’re interested in reading about what went down at E3s past, check out our pages on E3 2016 and E3 2015.

Nintendo

  • Nintendo's livestream will take place at 9am PT on June 13.

It’s a big year for Nintendo and according to Nintendo of America's president Reggie Fils-Aime the company is planning a "big" E3 to reflect this.

But apparently it's not quite a big enough year for Nintendo to host a traditional on-stage press conference. Nintendo hasn't had one of these since 2012, instead reaching out to fans directly with Nintendo Direct-style videos and Treehouse livestreams. 

This year will be no different. Nintendo's E3 show will kick off with a livestream at 9am (PT) on Tuesday June 13th which will apparently focus on Super Mario Odyssey, but will also include details about this year's other Nintendo Switch games. 

This will be followed by another more long-form 'Nintendo Treehouse' livestream. Last year this focussed overwhelmingly on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but this year Nintendo hasn't yet announced which games in particular it will be streaming. Super Mario Odyssey, ARMS and Splatoon 2 seem like safe bets, but we've got our fingers crossed for a surprise Pokemon Stars reveal. 

On the show floor (which opens at noon PT on June 13) Super Mario Odyssey will be playable as well as "other games for Nintendo Switch." There's a lot we don't yet know about Nintendo's presentation this year, but Nintendo has said that its planning on revealing more closer to the event. 

It's been confirmed that there'll be a Splatoon 2 tournament at the Nintendo booth this year. Though it's not certain what form the tournament will take it's highly likely that it'll be somewhat similar to the Super Smash Bros tournament that was held at E3 in 2014. 

With lots to be confirmed about Nintendo's lineup, we have a pretty long wish-list of games we'd like to see Nintendo announce. 

Every year we cross our fingers and hope that Retro Studios will be allowed to make another Metroid Prime game, or that Nintendo might see fit to resurrect F-Zero for another outing, but it's probably more likely that the company will be hoping to launch a couple of all new franchises with its new console.

Sony

  • Sony's press conference will take place at 6pm PT on June 13. You'll be able to watch the stream live here.

Sony's conference is scheduled to take place this year on June 12 at 6pm PT, 9pm ET, and at 2am on June 13 BST.

Sony has developed a knack for showstopping E3 presentations in recent years. Two years ago it stole the show by announcing a long-anticipated remake of Final Fantasy 7 alongside Shenmue 3, and last year it let games such as God of War and Horizon: Zero Dawn speak for themselves alongside an appearance from legendary game designer Hideo Kojima.

It then went on to be a big hardware year for Sony. It launched a refresh of the PS4’s hardware with the PS4 slim, a new 4K console in the form of the PS4 Pro, and the first ever console virtual reality headset, the PlayStation VR.

We have some ideas for what we'd like to see from Sony this year but we think virtual reality will be a big focus for Sony at this year’s event. Its VR headset is out in the wild now, and people need big meaty gaming experiences to convince them it’s a worthwhile investment.

Announced at last year’s presentation, Star Wars VR ended up being an amazing experience whose biggest problem was its length. We’d love to see a full-length Star Wars X-Wing game that can be played in virtual reality in its entirety announced at this year’s show.

We also saw the announcement of a new Spider-Man game developed by Ratchet and Clank studio Insomniac games last year, and with Spider-Man: Homecoming arriving on the big screen a month after E3 in July it’s highly likely that Sony will want to capitalise on the excitement with another announcement.

Otherwise we expect Sony to be pretty much business as usual at this year’s show. It’s developed a comfortable lead over Microsoft in hardware sales, and it’s unlikely to want to upset this too much. 

Microsoft

  • Microsoft's press conference will start at 2pm PST on June 11. You can watch it live here.

Microsoft has confirmed that this year its conference will take place on Sunday June 11 at 2pm PT/ 5pm ET/ 10pm BST which is slightly earlier than its usual Monday slot. Though we know we're going to hear plenty about Project Scorpio, there are a few more things we'd love to see too. 

Last year Microsoft announced not one, but two new pieces of hardware - the Xbox One S and Project Scorpio.

The former sounded at first as though it was going to be a traditional slimline console, but Microsoft then announced it would bundle in an Ultra HD Blu-ray player and support for 4K streaming for good measure.

Project Scorpio, meanwhile, is looking like it’ll be a much more major upgrade. Microsoft is promising it will bring native 4K gaming to consoles for the first time.

With Scorpio due out at the end of this year, we expect it to form a big part of Microsoft’s presentation at this year’s show, particularly since its image was the focus of the company's flier for the event.

In a blog post on the Xbox website, Phil Spencer stated that the company is "excited to unveil Project Scorpio and the amazing game experiences it powers at E3 this June."

Earlier this month, Microsoft revealed the hardware specifications for the console in order to make it possible to focus more on how these numbers actually affect performance and the games the company is planning to release.

Though we know the console will support virtual and mixed reality headsets we know they will not feature at this year's E3 conference as Microsoft has said it wishes to focus on achieving wireless VR for consoles and perfecting mixed reality on Windows 10 before anything else before a further reveal. 

We wouldn’t be surprised if some existing Xbox One games see Scorpio patches or re-releases for Scorpio. Flagship titles like Halo 5, Gears of War 4 and Forza Horizon 3 are obvious contenders, but we’re crossing our fingers that Microsoft finally gets around to fixing the Master Chief Collection for a 4K re-release.

We know for definite that the console will support Middle Earth: Shadow of War so we imagine footage of that title will feature heavily and it's been rumored that we'll also see footage from Forza Motorsport 7, Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Call of Duty, FIFA, Madden, Battlefront 2, and Red Dead Redemption 2.

We’re also likely to see more talk of Rare’s Sea of Thieves, but beyond that Microsoft doesn’t have many franchises that have been missing in action recently that it could do with resurrecting.

EA, Activition, Bethesda and the rest

It would be great to see a Half Life 3 reveal. At this point it’s basically not going to happen, but it’s become a tradition to half-heartedly hope for it to make an appearance at E3.

From the rest of the publishers it’s going to be a bit of a weird year with a lot of different hardware combinations to support.

Developers now have around five different pieces of hardware to worry about supporting. There’s the PS4 and PS4 Pro, the Xbox One and the upcoming Project Scorpio, not to mention the Nintendo Switch and the sea of PC gaming combinations.

There’s also the three separate VR headsets to worry about supporting.

We imagine the PS4 Pro and Project Scorpio will form the basis for most of their bigger games. These games will still come to the original PS4 and Xbox One, but we think publishers will focus on the more powerful hardware, while mentioning that games will also be available for the older hardware.

Will publishers embrace the Switch? They’ve been burned before with the Wii U, so we’d say it’s unlikely that they put all their eggs in Nintendo’s basket. Expect a couple of smaller announcements for the console however, such as ports from biggest franchises like Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed.

The plans of specific publishers are a little harder to predict. Activision is unlikely to return to the show, and EA has already announced that it will be hosting its alternative EA Play event once again rather than exhibit at E3.

EA Play is EA's event that runs from June 10 to June 12 alongside E3 and they've announced the games that fans can expect to be able to play this year.

Titles you'll see at the stand include Star Wars Battlefront 2, Need For Speed and EA Sports games Madden NFL 18, Fifa 18 and NBA Live 18. These aren't the only titles that will be at the show, but EA has said they'll confirm more in the coming months. 

Tickets for the event will go on sale at 9am PST on April 20. For those who can't make it to the event, there'll also be streams online. 

Bethesda has announced it'll be having a showcase at this year's show. It's set to take place on June 11 at 7pm. The star of the event is likely to be Quake Champions and we'll perhaps get a look at Fallout 4 and Doom in VR. It's not a certainty by any means, but it'd be a great time for any new Elder Scrolls game announcements too.

Bethesda has sent out its press invites for its E3 showcase and they include a tantalizing hint at two new game announcements. The invite features an image of a cartoon theme park called 'Bethesdaland' that's been split into various worlds based on Bethesda's games. These worlds are Fallout, Doom, Elder Scrolls, Quake, Dishonored, and Prey. 

Most importantly, though, there are two zones in the image with signs which say "under construction" and "coming soon" leading to speculation that there are new games coming. What these could be is unclear, though the most popular suggestions appear to be new Wolfenstein or The Evil Within titles. 

There's also the chance that there could be an entirely new major IP with fans hopeful that we might finally find out what the Trademarked Starfield project could be.

After giving its Assassin’s Creed series a year off, 2017 might be the year Ubisoft brings it back with a fresh coat of paint and some new ideas under the hood. The games haven’t gotten bad exactly, but the formula has worn thin over the years. Hopefully the year’s break will have been enough to reignite the franchise. 

A recent report from WWG has certainly suggested that we'll see the game revealed at this year's show under the name Assassin's Creed Origins and it'll take players back to the beginning of the assassin's guild in ancient Egypt. 

Finally, Konami will be in attendance. Will it have some new Metal Gear wares to show off now that Kojima has well and truly departed? Despite our curiosity, we have to admit that we’d be ok if it just let the franchise fade into obscurity now that its project lead has left the business.

Finally, outside of the big players there’s sure to be a couple of interesting indie games on show, and these might end up making an appearance at the PC Gaming Show, a conference dedicated to showing off games for the PC gaming market.



from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://www.techradar.com/news/e3-2017
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