[E3 2014] Your Speculation Destination

I'll be breaking up my predictions into platform specific (Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony), along with a post dedicated to third-parties. I don't have a schedule, but expect all four posts to be published before E3's start. Keep your eyes here on the hub for each prediction post as it's published.

[UPDATE 4] Your final update is here; third-party predictions are live, and not a moment to spare!

[UPDATE 3] Well, shit, that was fast. Sony predictions are up!

[UPDATE 2] Microsoft predictions are live!

[UPDATE] Nintendo speculations are now live! Check the link at the bottom of the post.

We're just a few weeks away from the start of E3, the first of the eighth generation where all three major players - Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony - have their newest systems out in full force. While the Xbox One and PS4 are not even a year old, Nintendo is in the second year of the Wii U, but has the most work to do. The PS4 has already over taken Nintendo in sales by a million and a half, but Microsoft is still trailing behind. Way behind.

And here you thought that Titanfall was going to help.

Even two months after Titanfall and Microsoft giving it away, they are still trailing behind Sony by 3 million units. Nintendo is in a stride, clocking in a respectable 6.2 million units, two and a half years after it's release. While several million sounds nice, they're going at about 350,000 a month, whereas Microsoft is more than double that, and Sony adding a "1" to the front of that number. 

E3 has always been a time where the big boys show off what they have in store. We've seen some promises of some key franchises, or at least them alluding to them, but nothing has been concrete. 

I've said that Nintendo has the most to earn at E3: a lot of their key franchises have yet to hit the system after this long (or even be announced), their online infrastructure sucks, and their DRM is pathetic. They need to earn gamers and consumers back to the Wii brand by educating them on what the system does, prove it has games to play by actually showing games - ones that people will want to play - and by overhauling what the system is capable of. They need Santa giving out blowjobs again (yes, the link is SFW). 

Sony, on the other hand, has the most to lose: they're in the lead, still running off of Jack Tretton's E3 2013 steam, with a 3 million unit lead on Microsoft. They need to come out swinging, again, with reveals of new IPs and new entries in established franchise. Not only that, but show the future of what the PlayStation systems (both the 4 and Vita) can do, and what they can do together.

Microsoft, however, has the most to prove: they're in the biggest rut, still making repairs from Don Mattrick's horrible attempt to make repairs since last year. They need to prove that they've been listening to gamers - those they lost to Sony - by showing off what the Xbox One is capable of, and what experiences they've been working on. 

What do I expect from everyone? A lot, actually.

Nintendo - Now Available
Microsoft - Now Available
Sony - Now Available
Third-Parties - Now Available