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The Sony E3 2016 press conference is right around the corner, with the company set to take to the stage during the event next week in order to showcase their wares for the assembled press and the general public watching from home. While there will likely be a plethora of surprise announcements made during the expo, there are some big reveals that we think we can predict before E3 officially opens it doors.
Here our predictions for the Sony E3 2016 press conference:
The Last of Us 2 will be announced
Naughty Dog has now successfully released Uncharted 4, meaning that Sony’s key first party studio is inevitably moving on to other things. While there are suggestions that they’ll be looking to create a brand new IP, my money’s on them revealing that their next project is The Last of Us 2 at E3 2016.
Though many fans of the original game are in two minds in regards to whether or not they want to see Naughty Dog return to the world of The Last of Us, largely due to the first game’s now infamous conclusion, there has been so much talk of a sequel both inside and out the Naughty Dog camp that it seems an inevitability. With it having been confirmed that concepts for the game’s plot have been banded about the Naughty Dog office, I suspect that The Last of Us 2 will close out Sony’s E3 press conference and, considering that Naughty Dog may have been working on the game alongside their development of Uncharted 4, it could perhaps be in a more complete state than many would expect.
A brand new Hideo Kojima game
With Hideo Kojima’s controversial departure from Konami being one of the most heavily discussed pieces of gaming news in 2015, the Metal Gear creator has since announced a brand new partnership with Sony, with his development studio Kojima Productions working on a new game for the PS4. With Konami still holding the rights to the Metal Gear license, Kojima has announced that he is developing a brand new IP for Sony’s console, though what it will be remains to be seen.
Also See: Microsoft E3 2016 Predictions: Why Sony Might Join Microsoft Onstage
Though it’d be nigh-on impossible to speculate about the details of Kojima’s new game, I can at least put forward the opinion that it won’t feature the collaborative efforts of Guillermo del Toro and Norman Reedus, the film director and actor who were both slated to appear in Kojima’s now-canceled Silent Hills game. While Kojima has met up with Del Toro and Reedus since being canned by Konami, leading to rumors that the heavily anticipated successor to the playable teaser P.T. may be on its way minus the Silent Hill branding, a newly revealed CGI render of Kojima Productions’ “mascot” Ludens has curbed this speculation. Given that the character’s appearance more closely resembles the sci-fi leanings of Metal Gear, it is now deemed more likely that Kojima will potentially be revisiting familiar territory with his new IP and not diving into the survival horror genre.
The PS4 Neo will be revealed
The PS4 Neo has been the subject of the most amount of speculation heading into the Sony E3 2016 press conference, with the rumored upgrade to the PS4 reportedly set to take center stage during the company’s presentation at the event. Though it is still unconfirmed, the prevailing theory is that the Neo will be a more powerful version of the PS4 which will be able to handle 4K resolutions, along with providing an extra performance boost that will make it more ideally suited to Sony’s PlayStation VR platform.
However, several reports have also suggested that Microsoft is also working on two upgraded variations on the Xbox One, including a console set to launch in 2017 that will be even more powerful than the Neo. This console, codenamed “Scorpio,” could put a dampener on proceedings for Sony as it would effectively mean that the PS4 is no longer the technically superior system currently on the market. There are still many question marks surrounding both Sony and Microsoft’s new hardware plans, though, so don’t be surprised if there’s more to the PS4 Neo than the rumor mill suggests.
A new Spider-Man game
Spider-Man 2 is considered to be one of the very best movie tie-in games of all time, though it’s been quite some time since we’ve played a Spider-Man game that’s even approached the level of quality of the PS2-era classic. Earlier this year, an image of the box art for a Spider-Man game developed by Sucker Punch Productions began to do the rounds online, though after a great deal of excitement it was eventually debunked as fake and the rumors were quashed almost as quickly as they had started. However, this was then followed by more substantial evidence in the form of stuntman Stephen Oyoung’s resume, who stated that he was the lead stunt performer on an “Untitled PS4 Spider-Man Project.”
Though this doesn’t corroborate the rumor that Sucker Punch are working on the game (though that would seemingly be a perfect fit given their previous work on the InFamous series), it does make it more likely that a current generation Spider-Man game is on the way. If Sucker Punch are behind the game, then given their first-party status with Sony it will also be a PlayStation exclusive, which will prove to be a major coup for the console.
Resident Evil 7
With Capcom reeling from the incredibly poor debut of Street Fighter V, there are doubts regarding whether or not the company’s close relationship with Sony will continue. While denying the game a release on the Xbox One was hardly the biggest of the game’s problems, the company will likely chalk up its dismal performance to their exclusivity deal with the PS4, meaning that we will probbably see the publisher going multi-platform once again. However, I do expect Capcom to utilize the Sony E3 2016 press conference to announce its next major new game – Resident Evil 7.
Resident Evil has suffered a notable identity crisis in recent years, with Capcom really struggling to accommodate for those who enjoyed the early games in the serie, while still making it appeal to a newer generation of gamer. As it has continued to venture away from its survival-horror leanings, it has simultaneonously stopped being one of gaming’s most vital franchises, instead transforming into become something of an industry joke. With that being said, many still hold out hope for Capcom to return to their glory days, and Resident Evil 7 will hopefully spark a change in director for the company.
Though the game hasn’t been officially announced, with Capcom having released and revealed a bunch of Resident Evil remasters this year as a result of it being the series’ 20th anniversary, I expect it to make its debut appearance at E3 2016.
What did you think of our Sony E3 2016 predictions? Let us know in the comments section below!
