My Wishes for E3 2013

E3 is almost here and I wanted to do a couple of pre-E3 blogs before the big show rolls around. In this first one I’m just going talk about ten wishes (I know there are nine, but one is sort of a double wish) I have for E3 even if they aren’t very likely. Here it goes in no order:

Sony doesn’t forget the Vita exists: For the first E3 after its launch, Sony’s showing for the Vita a year ago was kind of a disaster. I love the Vita hardware so much, but it is hard to look at the Vita’s upcoming slate of games and be too optimistic about the system’s future especially with what have been some pretty dismal sales so far. The PS4 will obviously be the big focus for Sony this year, but I hope there are some quality games announced for the Vita too.

Naughty Dog’s PS4 game is announced: Naughty Dog is my favorite developer and while The Last of Us is yet to release, they now have two teams, so I think some sort of tease of the PS4 game is a possibility. If I were to expand this wish, I’d love it to be different than their recent games. Part of me would love for them to return to their platforming roots, but a less realistic artstyle, a more melee focused combat system, a more open-world approach, a more fantasy-style setting… anything to help it stand out from their more recent efforts. I guess it could just end up being Uncharted 4 which would be alright too though I personally think giving that series a few more years off is the right call.

Far Cry 4 is in the snow: Ubisoft has been looking to get entries in their big series out more often and after a successful launch of Far Cry 3 last year, rumors suggest there will be a new Far Cry game released in early 2014. While this reeks of what I like to refer as “Assassin’s Creed-ing” a series (not a good thing by the way), I loved Far Cry 3 and would be curious to see where they go with the franchise next if 4 does pop up at E3 (which I think it will). I’d love to see this series take on a colder snowy environment. This would be a nice change for Far Cry after the tropical locations of 1 and 3 and the African setting of 2.

Nintendo surprises me with something on the Wii U: We know a lot of the big games coming to the Wii U just like we know a lot of the big games coming to any new Nintendo system. This year’s E3 will feature a new 3D Mario platformer and Mario Kart game. We know Smash Bros. is in the works. Zelda will be coming down the line at some point. What I’d like Nintendo to do is surprise me with a game. It could be a new IP. A different take on a typical Nintendo franchise. Just something that surprises me, so I don’t walk away after watching Nintendo Direct going, “Yeah that is exactly what I expected.”

Beyond Good & Evil 2 and The Last Guardian re-emerge: I gave up on these ever actually releasing years ago. But as a part of the wish blog? Sure. If I had any optimism towards these two games’ existence (which I do not), I’d point out that Ubisoft said that BG&E2 needed next-gen hardware to realize its concept (or some nonsense like that) and rumors have suggested that two years ago The Last Guardian’s development was moved to PS4. I have no faith in Team Ico at this point who seems horribly mismanaged, but I’d be lying if I wouldn’t like to see it and Beyond Good & Evil 2 again.

Microsoft’s 15 first year exclusives deliver: After the disaster of the Xbox One console reveal, Microsoft has an uphill battle to fight for me. I’m not sure I will honestly be able to get beyond some of their decisions with this console, but showing off a good number of the fifteen first year exclusives they touted would help. Microsoft has always lagged behind the other two console manufacturers from a first party development standpoint, but they have supposedly put a lot of money into fixing this. So hopefully these are the kind of exclusives that can excite someone.

A new Prince of Persia is announced that isn’t a shitty AC knockoff: A few months back, I would have thought a new Prince of Persia was looming. Leaked screens from a trailer shown behind closed doors last year certainly seemed to indicate that, but the latest whispers seem to be saying that the series is on a break. Which is a bummer. The Sands of Time really revolutionized the platforming genre and I’d love to see another game of that ilk at E3. I wouldn’t want a new PoP though if it was just going to be some Assassin’s Creed knockoff which despite starting its life as a PoP game doesn’t scratch any of the same itches as the Prince does.

Mirror’s Edge 2 hasn’t been compromised: When I started making up this list, I was just going to hope they’d announce Mirror’s Edge 2 at E3, but now that seems like a sure thing. Now I just hope that Mirror’s Edge 2 keeps its focus on the challenging platforming and free-running that made it the best platformer this gen. With so many games going in a more of an action-oriented direction each year, I’m just hoping that doesn’t happen with this game. I also hope it stays multiplatform. Definitely a game that shouldn’t be limiting its audience.

A new Jak and Daxter game: It dawns on me as I write this that I have not written about Jak and Daxter here on The Whiteboard. So some of my new readers here may not be aware that it is my favorite game series of all-time. I have in years past wrestled with whether it would be a good idea for another one to happen. Naughty Dog seems largely uninterested in returning to the series (and this article makes me wonder if them making another one would even be a good idea) and it is always a gamble to see someone new working on a franchise you love. But either way I now would like to see a new Jak game. Some recent dev handoffs (Sly 4, Halo 4, etc.) have me more confident in the developer switch, and I’d just love to see my favorite duo back in action. The latter games’ mashups of different genres and playtypes is like no other games on the market, so it’d feel like a breath of fresh air. The return of the Jak series does seem like a longshot, but fans looking for a glimmer of hope can look to the fact that all the series Sony released an HD Collection for got a sequel since with the exception of Jak and the Team ICO games (and Sony probably figured The Last Guardian might actually get finished at the time), so maybe a new Jak game is in the cards.

That will do it for my E3 2013 wishlist. I will hopefully be back with some predictions before the show rolls around. Otherwise expect some impressions of the various press conferences early next week. What are you hoping for at E3? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!