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E3 2014 Predictions

Neal Ronaghan, Director

by Neal Ronaghan - June 3, 2014, 7:53 am EDT

Neal mixes the realistic with the absurd for his E3 2014 predictions.

When I first started at Nintendo World Report, My E3 predictions would be wild and crazy. As time has passed, I've kind of learned how to manage my expectations to a realistic level, especially after being burned by the somewhat tamer reveals of Nintendo's past few E3s. Still, I love making bonkers predictions. My predictions for E3 2014 will satisfy both parts of my speculative ideals.

Nintendo Figurine Platform

Safe Prediction: Nintendo's big focus will be their NFC figurines, as I think they will be their big, giant holiday push this year. I expect some will label the Nintendo Figurine Platform as a "Kinect-like relaunch" of the Wii U. As for what the NFC games will be, I expect something similar in scope to Nintendo Land, but with more possibility for expansion. Maybe the base game is free and figures unlock playable characters and modes. Maybe it isn't a boxed retail game but a series of downloadable ones. I'm not really that sure, but I wouldn't be surprised is some of those names that are popping up like Pokken Fighters and S.T.E.A.M. are involved. Also, NFC figures will unlock other content in other games, too, such as trophies in Smash Bros. on Wii U, weapons and armor in X, and power-ups in Yarn Yoshi.

Nonsense Prediction: Nintendo's NFP thing will consume the entire company, as figures will almost be used as currency. eShop credit will be replaced by figures, with Pikachu representing $1, Mario representing $5, and Link representing $10. Games will now come in figures, and these poseable figures will be able to do different things in game depending on how you pose them. Screw it. Can this just turn into that move Small Soldiers?

Super Smash Bros.

Safe Prediction: I think Super Smash Bros. will be a major part of Nintendo's E3 show. That's not really prediction. It's more fact. Even still, I expect we will see a few more character confirmations/reveals, including Ness, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, and some newcomers. We will also find out how Super Smash Bros. on Wii U is different from 3DS. I think those NFC figures will play a role.

Nonsense Prediction: Nintendo reveals the names for the two Smash Bros. games: Super Smash Bros. Fire Red and Super Smash Bros. Ice Blue. Each game features exclusive Pokémon.

The Legend of Zelda Series

Safe Prediction: The Legend of Zelda Wii U will be shown in some sort of video form. It might just be a trailer, or it could be a vertical slice demo. I expect the former.

Hyrule Warriors will be the dominant Zelda game at E3 2014, though, and we'll get some fan-directed reveals for playable characters and locations. I still think Majora's Mask 3DS is happening, but if Zelda Wii U has a playable demo, I think we'll hear about Majora's Mask 3DS in a July Nintendo Direct. Either way, if Majora's Mask 3DS is mentioned, it will be brief.

Nonsense Prediction: Hyrule Warriors features Tingle and Makar as playable characters. Zelda on Wii U is like X-Men: Days of Future Past in that it involves a realistic-looking Link sent back in time to the end of The Wind Waker to stop Link and Tetra from living out Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, making the next game in the series a direct sequel to Wind Waker.

X

Prediction: I don't have a bonkers one for this. I think X will have some mention during the Nintendo Digital Event but that's it. I expect it to still be labeled as 2014.

Mystery 3DS Game

Safe Prediction: I expect the mystery 3DS game at the Wednesday night developer discussion will be a new franchise or new take on a franchise. If it is a new franchise, Miyamoto is involved.

Nonsense Prediction: The mystery 3DS game is an open-world F-Zero game where you play as Captain Falcon in a Grand Theft Auto-style adventure that mixes between bounty hunting missions and races. It also somehow ties into Star Fox. And Metroid. And Punch-Out. And Advance Wars.

Other Stuff

Safe Predictions: I think there is at least one other Wii U game we don't know about. I believe it will be something from an established franchise, perhaps a tease of Animal Crossing Wii U.

While I don't think it will be playabe, I think we will hear a mention of Next Level Games' next project.

Nonsense Predictions: Mario American Football. By Next Level Games.

Images

Talkback

SorenJune 02, 2014

Twitch's E3 streaming schedule: (Nintendo times)


Tuesday 9am - 10am: Nintendo Digital Event.
Tuesday 2:40pm - 3:00pm : Nintendo unannounced title.

Tuesday 4pm - Smash Bros Tournament
Wednesday 2:10pm - 2:30pm - Nintendo unannounced title.
Thursday 12:00pm - 12:20pm - Nintendo unannounced title.
Thursday 2:40pm - 3:00pm - Nintendo unannounced title.


I assume the unannounced titles aren't necessarily games that will be revealed at those times, it's just slots for games that will be revealed at the digital event and will be the expanded on those times.

Leo13June 02, 2014

I think you're expecting a little too much and unfortunately you'll be disappointed. I'd love to see lots of stuff as much as the next guy, but until Nintendo faces the fact that their consoles are mainly supported by 1st and 2nd party games and not 3rd party and they decide to buy out or create more studios we just aren't going to get as many games as we'd like.
My biggest hope out of E3 is that they'll announce the purchase or creation of at least 3 studios.
After that I'm hoping for a 2014 release date on X to be confirmed.
If I get both of those I'll be happy.
If I get just the 2014 release date I'll still be happy.

CericJune 02, 2014

I predict the cool online Feature of X is that using the power of the balance board your friends can also enjoy the walking simulator with you as you explore the lush environments.

MagicCow64June 02, 2014

With Smash for WiiU likely to hit in November, I doubt X'll show its face in the States this year, even if it's ready. Nintendo needs something for the Mario Kart or Donkey Kong Country slot.

Also, didn't they almost show a trailer for Zelda WiiU last year? Based on that, unless they've been having serious development problems, I'd expect a full trailer at least. I imagine that they'll have a Year(s) of Zelda segment where they'll show trailers for Hyrule Warriors, MM 3D, and Zelda WiiU, with HW and MM having expanded looks in the later streaming presentations.

CericJune 02, 2014

I be surprised if the new Zelda does not have at least a Tech Demo on the floor.

MagicCow64June 02, 2014

Actually, Zelda could be a major hook for the Near Field thingy. They start by briefly talking up the success of A Link Between Worlds, announce a patch for it that will allow the game to work with the figurines when the peripheral comes out for 3DS, which will also work with Zelda Wii U, Hyrule Warriors, and MM 3D

KhushrenadaJune 02, 2014

I'm sticking with my Paper Mario prediction as in my E3 mystery thread. I could see another one being mentioned at E3 this year.

I also think that if F-Zero and/or Star Fox do not have a showing, then that means Nintendo is disinterested in those franchises and we may have to wait many more years until they are rebooted in a Kid Icarus type fashion.

The 3DS front is sort of interesting. It should be the more profitable division with titles able to sell a whole lot more due to a large userbase. Moreover, unlike the Wii U, development time for titles should be less thereby making it the more desirable system to be designing games for. Of course, the Wii U needs games so just how many titles will Nintendo want to focus on making for the system. Plus, nearly every franchise has now been represented on the 3DS with a couple of exceptions. Metroid, F-Zero, Wario and Advance Wars are the ones that spring to mind. Smash Bros. is coming along with more Pokemon titles in the Ruby and Sapphire remake. Will that be enough for Nintendo?

Last year, when everyone was raving about the 3DS it was carried by 5 big titles from Nintendo (LM:DM, FE:A, AC:NL, P:X/Y, LoZ:LbtW) although there were other notable release like M&L:DT, MP:IT, and DKCR. This year, it's had Yoshi's New Island, Mario Golf, Kirby and will have Smash Bros. and Pokemon. Will we only see a couple other titles added? Would a Majora's Mask remake seem likely to add to this list? With the line-up this year, it would seem to fit. Maybe development time would be even less for it than a brand new game. Whether it happens or not, I'd still say there's a good chance we see another Wario game (either Warioware or WarioLand) with maybe an Advance Wars announcement for next year. Other than that and another Mario sports title of some sort, I don't expect much else to be mentioned for the 3DS as I think we'll see more of a focus on Nintendo righting the Wii U ship.

Ultimate fan fantasy: a new 2D Metroid, a Drill Dozer sequel, a new Wario Land game and a new Advance Wars with Sega announcing a sequel to Rhythm Theif and Capcom announcing an E-Shop release of Ace Attorney Investigations 2. If that happens and Nintendo maintains the quality level that most of their 3DS titles have had, then this generation is over. 3DS won.

Leo13June 02, 2014

Quote from: Ceric

I predict the cool online Feature of X is that using the power of the balance board your friends can also enjoy the walking simulator with you as you explore the lush environments.

Go play Xenoblade then come back and talk to me about a walking simulator

BlackNMild2k1June 02, 2014

I'm setting my expectations reeeeeeaaaaaaalllly low.

I predict Nintendo will show up. They will have a booth. There will be plenty of playable kiosk and about a dozen individual games. These games will be fun but not unexpected.
Nintendo will hype something that isn't as exciting as they seem to think.

Sony will have more fanboys hyped than anybody, but it won't be for anything hardware related, it will be software related.

MS fanboys will be trying to overhype something in response to Sony hype, and they both team up to rub it in Nintendo fanboys face on the internet.

The usual fun will be had. Epic gifs will be created. The forums will see a temporary boost in activity and then wind back down to the tried and true, with a few new additions for the first few weeks.

pokepal148Spencer Johnson, Contributing WriterJune 02, 2014

Quote from: Leo13

Quote from: Ceric

I predict the cool online Feature of X is that using the power of the balance board your friends can also enjoy the walking simulator with you as you explore the lush environments.

Go play Xenoblade then come back and talk to me about a walking simulator

Easier said then done, is gamestop still charging 90$ for that game?

Leo13June 02, 2014

Quote from: pokepal148

Quote from: Leo13

Quote from: Ceric

I predict the cool online Feature of X is that using the power of the balance board your friends can also enjoy the walking simulator with you as you explore the lush environments.

Go play Xenoblade then come back and talk to me about a walking simulator

Easier said then done, is gamestop still charging 90$ for that game?

No GameStop is selling it for $50 and you can get it on eBay for less than that

Leo13June 02, 2014

I should add I paid $80 and never regretted it. Yes the game is that good.

Retro DeckadesJune 02, 2014

If Nintendo Power Wrestling actually becomes a thing, then Howard and Nester must be playable characters.

xcwarriorJune 03, 2014

"Nonsense Predictions: Mario American Football. By Next Level Games."

I wanna see this happen, because I want EA to see how a good football game is made. They forgot how to make them about 3-4 years ago.

ejamerJune 03, 2014

I'd also like to see Mario (American) Football happen.  That could be great fun, and reminds me of how much I loved Mario Stikers Charged on Wii.


Hopefully your X prediction is wrong and it will get lots of coverage and/or a more specific release date than "2014"... but not getting my expectations too high. Even though X is by far the most exciting thing coming to the console (so far) for me, it's probably not the kind of mass-market title they want to push at this event.

SorenJune 03, 2014

Quote from: xcwarrior

I wanna see this happen, because I want EA to see how a good football game is made. They forgot how to make them about 3-4 years ago.

Nintendo is going to teach EA how to make a good football simulation. Sure thing.

CericJune 03, 2014

Quote from: Leo13

Quote from: pokepal148

Quote from: Leo13

Quote from: Ceric

I predict the cool online Feature of X is that using the power of the balance board your friends can also enjoy the walking simulator with you as you explore the lush environments.

Go play Xenoblade then come back and talk to me about a walking simulator

Easier said then done, is gamestop still charging 90$ for that game?

No GameStop is selling it for $50 and you can get it on eBay for less than that

It's on my list of things when I find a cheap copy or if there is a portable Port.
I'm waiting for the trailer that really shows some meat and doesn't amount to people walking around looking at the visuals.

OblivionJune 03, 2014

They already have those. I don't think you were paying attention.

SarailJune 03, 2014

Yeah, Ceric, I believe there's been two trailers released now that show actual battle mechanics. It's definitely built from the Xenoblade engine. Looks fantastic.

CericJune 03, 2014

Unless they did a new ones the last ones with combat was not much at all.

Leo13June 03, 2014

Quote from: Ceric

Quote from: Leo13

Quote from: pokepal148

Quote from: Leo13

Quote from: Ceric

I predict the cool online Feature of X is that using the power of the balance board your friends can also enjoy the walking simulator with you as you explore the lush environments.

Go play Xenoblade then come back and talk to me about a walking simulator

Easier said then done, is gamestop still charging 90$ for that game?

No GameStop is selling it for $50 and you can get it on eBay for less than that

It's on my list of things when I find a cheap copy or if there is a portable Port.
I'm waiting for the trailer that really shows some meat and doesn't amount to people walking around looking at the visuals.

There's no way it's getting a portable port. The 3DS couldn't possibly handle it. Heck I still can't believe the Wii can handle it.
I was in the same boat as you. I wanted to try it, but want sure I was willing to pay what it goes for. I rented it (Gamefly) and I knew it would be worth the purchase. Maybe give it a rent. I even tried to work the system. I used the month free on game fly thinking I'd just conquer it and cancel my subscription. When I didn't conquer it I decided to pay for 1 month and see what happens. Halfway through that second month I knew there was no way I was going to pull it off so I canceled my subscription and bought it. I should have just bought it after the free month, but I naively thought I could conquer it.

SorenJune 03, 2014

So seeing what Dan just showed on Twitter right now...a remote possibility might exist for DS Virtual Console releases the day of the virtual event. Maybe.

SorenJune 03, 2014

Sorry, I meant Daan.

marvel_moviefan_2012June 03, 2014

My honest prediction is Nintendo will show their hand this E3 and it will be the deciding factor if they remain relevant for one more console gen or if this is their death march. I think above all else their focus will be mainly on 3DS, they will try extra hard to hype those figurines but in the end it will be like GBA Connectivity something people get bored with early on due to lack of direction, interest, and good software to make it worth it. I also predict that they will reveal more on QoL but it will be a weird head scratcher not what people are expecting. Beyond that I suspect but won't put money on them showing at least one unannounced Wii U game that isn't Zelda.

Evan_BJune 04, 2014

Nintendo needs to blow it out of the water for this E3. If the actually do or don't is entirely up to them.

What will they focus on? Some cheap and easy Animal Crossing HD job dealing with NFC (you spend hours of your life to progress in that title and hours of your life making money to buy games- why not do away with the time consuming aspects and buy NFC costumes items and houses for your villagers?), maybe a WarioWare for 3DS. Nothing remarkable. I have given up hope that they have something they're holding back that will really generate interest- they seem too focused on "better safe than sorry" with the Wii U an they've honestly exhausted all interesting IPs for 3DS. The last time Nintendo really wowed me was with DKCR, Goldeneye and Golden Sun, but I don't see something so interesting happening this year, not with them in a risky situation like this.

I have dialed down my expectations for everything except Smash, which I see having one or two more character reveals. Everything else I refuse to be interested in- even NFC.

CericJune 04, 2014

My expectation in that regard is that Nintendo probably doesn't have anything that will initially be more than a curiosity when they announce it at the start but there other events will grow it more for me.

TaffypoolJune 07, 2014

Crazy predictions for Wii U:

Kid Icarus for the Wii U: a return to its platforming origins, KI:U is a kind of vertical 3-D platformer where Pit must traverse soaring towers and foreboding, uh, pits. Some puzzling/strategy is involved to reach new sections and he'll often use Glide to cross the void. Think LoZ, but ALL dungeon.

Mario Paint(ball) for Wii U: Nintendo jumps into the much-touted FPS market with Mario Paint(ball). A hodge-podge of Characters from the Mario Universe (another Wii U game I want to see, btw) wield various paint projectiles and items to shoot (Nintendo will say "tag" and avoid red paint) opponents in battle mode or work together to complete campaign-mode objectives. DLC maps from the get-go, online rankings and some sort of voice chat. Imagine playing a 12-person online match on, say, Bob-Omb Battlefield (HD'ified, of course)!!!!

Pokemon MMORPG for Wii U: if Nintendo wants Wii U sales to blow up overnight, THIS is the game it must do (though they could just save it for the next console and make it an instant sales giant...). I've never played a Pokemon game and I've never played an MMORPG, but this concept, and this one alone, would change that. Players could do dungeon crawls, missions, achievements in the form of "badges." At a certain level, players could even build their own gyms and accept challengers. This game would be a huge deal...

Mike from StarTropics announced as playable Smash character: Which leads to...

New StarTropics game announced for Wii U: 3D and/or side-scrolling game with expanded ocean exploration (both above and below). Those aliens took his uncle again and Mike has to save him! Just don't submerge your Gamepad in water to reveal the secret message...

SarailJune 07, 2014

Quote from: Taffypool

Crazy predictions for Wii U:
*everything you said*

Good heavens, I love the way you think. New Icarus, Mario Paintball, true Pokémon MMO for a home console, Mike Jones added to the Smash roster, and a new StarTropics game? Yes, please. A thousand times over, yes.

I would literally wet my pants if this were to happen.

Nile Boogie ReturnsJune 07, 2014

The Last Story  HD,  Bayonetta 2 will drop the same day as Smash 4 on 3ds August 20th or close. A an previously unknown game will be announced and released in late June/early July. Sega Surprise. GameCube support. Zelda Megatons!  Namco RPG. Resident Evil Revelation 2. And 2 more things. BOOK IT, and crown me!


Also Shien's other title.

StratosJune 07, 2014

Speaking of Bayonetta and Platinum, I wonder if we will see further work with the two companies. Wasn't there a pretty nifty 3rd person shooter they were working on? Maybe they could create a Wii U version of that?

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