CNET editors offer various and sundry opinions on what to expect at this year's E3 gaming show.
John FalconeSenior Editorial Director, Shopping
John P. Falcone is the senior director of commerce content at CNET, where he coordinates coverage of the site's buying recommendations alongside the CNET Advice team (where he previously headed the consumer electronics reviews section). He's been a CNET editor since 2003.
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Self-taught tinkerer, informal IT and gadget consultant to friends and family (with several self-built gaming PCs under his belt)
The stage at Microsoft's E3 2012 press conference.James Martin/CNET
E3, the big video game trade show, kicks off on Monday. And 2013 looks to be one of the biggest years ever.
The games industry is at a crossroads, with "hard-core gaming" under onslaught from 99-cent casual iPad and smartphone games. Two new consoles are on deck -- the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 -- and the third, the Nintendo Wii U, is fighting for its life. And the software publishers like Activision, EA, and Ubisoft will be fighting to outsplash each other with the latest and greatest sequels and franchise titles.
We put that question to our resident panel of experts, and they each offered six possible scenarios.
These predictions are from the trio of CNETers who will be covering E3 on the ground in Los Angeles -- Roger Cheng, Jeff Bakalar, and Eric Franklin -- as well as grizzled E3 veterans Dan Ackerman and Scott Stein (who will be missing it this year so they can attend Monday's other big tech event, the Apple WWDC keynote).
We've divided the predictions into three categories: sure things (all but definite); fairly likely (more probable than not); and wishful thinking ("flying leap" predictions -- stuff we'd like, but don't actually expect).
So, without further ado: read on for what we expect at E3 2013.
Take it to the bank (A sure thing)
James Martin/CNET
Welcome to the easy ones. These are the "but of course" headlines we expect from the show.
Dan Ackerman:
Expect some amount of backtracking from Microsoft on used games, always-on DRM.
Sony temporarily "wins" the argument by not coming clean on its own anti-consumer DRM and used-game policies.
Jeff Bakalar:
The Xbox 360 and PS3 get generous prices cuts.
Microsoft further clears the air and gives real-life examples of its (still vague and confusing) used-games policy.
Roger Cheng:
Nintendo shows off its first-party muscle, possibly with a new Mario or Zelda game.
E3 bounces back from last year's disappointing show with titles we'll actually care about and a sense of direction in the industry.
Eric Franklin:
Microsoft will open its press conference cold (no words) with a demo of Respawn's Titanfall.
Every non-PlayStation Eye game for the PS4 will require the ability to stream directly to Vita.
Scott Stein:
Attractive drops announced for current-gen consoles.
PlayStation 4 finally gets revealed and seen, but not necessarily priced.
We'd take that bet (Fairly likely)
A mockup PS4 controller from Sony.James Martin/CNET
We'd give these predictions a better than 50/50 chance of coming to pass -- but we're not gonna bet the farm on any of them.
No definitive dates for either the PS4 or Xbox One, but we do get a price for them.
Roger Cheng:
Halo creator Bungie finally shows off some meaty footage of its heavily hyped follow-up game, Destiny.
Microsoft shows off a Halo game (although more likely a spin-off, and not part of the core franchise).
Eric Franklin:
Halo 5 will be Microsoft's "one more thing" at its press conference.
Uncharted 4 will be demoed at Sony's press conference.
Scott Stein:
Mobile games (particularly iPad games) finally get treated as a serious platform; "hard-core" games on iOS and Android increase, more franchises appear.
At the end of the show, Nintendo is remembered as one of the companies with the strongest software showings at E3.
Wishful thinking (Very unlikely)
Sarah Tew/CNET
These are our wish list predictions -- as in "wouldn't it be cool if..." Just don't expect any of these to pan out.
Dan Ackerman:
Valve pitches a real-life Steambox living room gaming PC.
