The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, now fragmentally known as the E3 Media and Business Summit, will be upon us before you know it.  The event is set to begin on July 15th in Los Angeles, where a good chunk of some of the larger video game backers are set to show off what they have in store for the coming year.  While only a few things are certain, events seem to be shrouded in a sense of mystery this time around, which bucks a trend set by the events of the past few years when fans and journalists alike had a pretty good sense of what was coming.

Now that Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony have all of their respective systems on the market and in full swing (with the next batch of consoles still years away), the only sure thing is that the show for this year will bring about a ton of new games, and possibly some new periphials.  Do tag along as we take a few swings in the dark as to what we might see in just less than a month…

Nintendo - The company once proud to cater to the gaming elite now seems to have the entire industry in its pocket thanks to the mass onslaught of new found casual gamer, and if the surprising sales of games like Wii Play and Wii Fit are any indication, the trend won’t be changing anytime soon. Though Nintendo has teased that their E3 showing would bring something for more “hardcore” gamers.  Which admittedly many not be much because the company seemingly considers the latest somewhat bare boned Mario Kart a hardcore game. The favorite and often speculated guess seems to be on a return of Kid Icarus, often cited in part because of his re-appearance on the scene with Smash Bros. Brawl.  Though personally, I wouldn’t be surprised and would be entirely thrilled to see a return of Punch Out.  Which, to think of it, makes perfect sense given the popularity of the boxing section of Wii Sports.

The possibility that Nintendo may come up with a solution to their hard drive space problem (or severe lack thereof) may bring about something as well.  Though don’t count on it to be much more than more functionality from the front loading SD card, as evidenced by the upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour’s use of the function.

Sony - Now that Metal Gear Solid 4 is out, Sony has much less to bang their drums about.  In fact, the release of MGS4 signals the last of the current batch of true blockbusters for the platform for some time.  Sure, Little Big Planet is on the way, but most of the big titles for the PS3 will likely come from third paries. Instead of showing great first party games, Sony looks as if they are going to push other functionality for the PS3 such as Home and their upcoming download service. Which honestly in part is bringing the platform close to being on par with what the 360 offers with its online service.

Microsoft - The 360 has a lot to boast about right now.  2008 looks as if it might be the pinnacle for the system, with arguably one of the strongest title line ups that there’s ever been for any system.  And there’s still a lot to come with games like Halo Wars and Gears of War 2.  And as could be expected, Microsoft is pretty smarmy about it right about now, even looking to bite on Nintendo’s cakes.  If purported rumores are to be believed, the 360 could see a new controller with motion sensing, not at all unlike the Wii-mote.

Agree or disagree with the picks?  Be sure to drop a comment, or discuss it in our video game forum.

| Add a comment! | Tags: e3, microsoft, nintendo, sony