With E3 just around the corner, it is once again time for the Player 2 crew to get their crystal balls out of the attic and make some wildly inaccurate predictions as to what will appear at the world’s biggest games show. Does EA have what it takes to win back some lost fans?
E3 2017 Predictions – EA
Stevie McDonald
Safe bet
Sports and cars, cars and sports. EA have their thing down pat and new instalments are already confirmed for the FIFA, Madden, NBA and Need for Speed series.
Fairly likely
Now that Mass Effect: Andromeda has finally landed, I’m hard pressed to think of something that EA would be likely to announce that hasn’t already been confirmed. How long has it been since Sims 4? 3 years? Maybe we’ll get one of those.
Wishful thinking
I may have changed up my request to Ubisoft but EA is getting the same old plea from me: Bad Company 3 please! The first was great but the second was even better, so surely logic dictates that a third instalment will be an even more guaranteed success?
Stephen Del Prado
Safe Bet
Star Wars, Star Wars and more Star Wars. Having only produced Battlefront so far from their licensing deal, EA is no doubt ready to start milking this cash cow for all its worth. The Amy Hennig helmed, as-yet-untitled Star Wars title gets a teaser trailer that brings the house down.
Fairly likely
Given their regular stable, I’d expect sports and Battlefield to feature heavily in EAs showreel. What’s actually fairly likely is that EA will fail to produce anything of interest to me (and god help EA Canada if NHL 18 isn’t the second coming of Zombie Jesus).
Wishful Thinking
EA have kidnapped most of CD Projekt Red and have them working on the new Dragon Age, as well as rebooting Mass Effect following the critical reception of Andromeda. Now we can look forward to aliens that are nothing but boobs.
Sarah Ellen
Safe Bet
Electronic Arts needs to devote time to Star Wars Battlefront II, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there is still a bit of audience discontent with its predecessor, and EA needs to show that they have heard the criticism and brought it a stack of content that justifies the price. Secondly, and more importantly, the yearly hype train for the new trilogy movies and accompanying character vignettes have captured a new generation of fans of the property – they cannot rely on the fading memories of original fans to grasp onto anything new that contributes to the Star Wars legacy, as there is a whole lot more that they have to compete with now.
Fairly Likely
The earth has completed another rotation around the sun so of course there are going to be new sportsball games. But instead of focusing on that, let’s hold our breaths and cross our fingers for the revitalisation of the Need For Speed series being developed by Ghost Games. It’s on the list of games that will be available to play at E3, so a good summary is bound to occur.
Wishful Thinking
The new Bioware IP is ready and justifies why Mass Effect Andromeda was undercooked on release.
Adam Rorke
Safe bet
With the decent reception that BF1 has been getting, it makes sense that EA and DICE will do what they do best with this series and that is announcing a bunch of follow up DLC over the next financial year. Of course, we’ll also see a damn funky looking trailer for it as well … and of course, we’ll all buy it.
Fairly likely
Sports! Did someone say sports? Why yes, we all did! No one does sports games quite like those who fly under the EA brand. I fully expect 2017-2018 to be no exception to this rule, bring on the Boxing, NBA, Golf and all the others!
Wishful thinking
Titanfall 2 was one of those surprise hits. It would be really nice to see some expansion to its single-player campaign and multiplayer modes / maps / content. I know I’m not the only one wishing this and all I can hope is that this title was successful enough to warrant this sort of announcement!
Matt Hewson
Safe Bet
FIFA, Madden and possibly NBA Live will all take up a big chunk of the EA show. Great for people that love these games, not so great for everyone else. Personally, I think it is about time for a new PGA game, perhaps with a story mode that involves DYI charges and sex scandals. Tiger needs some form of employment after all.
Fairly Likely
I know we are getting Battlefront 2 but I think we will finally see what Amy Henning has been up to all these years with her Star Wars game. Will it be Uncharted in space or will it be its own unique thing? I am not sure but I can’t wait to find out.
Wishful Thinking
After botching the Mass Effect release, Bioware decides to do some soul searching and go back to their old properties for inspiration. As a result, they release a Jade Empire/Knights of the Old Republic HD Remaster package with an eye on creating fresh sequels in the future.
Jenn Christodoulou
Safe Bet
Sports and guns. It’s what EA does, so an E3 without them just wouldn’t be an E3. Oh and how could I forget guns in space!? (Star Wars)
Fairly Likely
EA has been teasing us by saying they’re going to be showing us “surprises” at this year’s E3 conference. Maybe one of them will be this code name Dylan we’ve heard so little about? With a very tentative release slated for 2018 now might be its time to shine!
Wishful Thinking
With the company announcing they’re putting Mass Effect on the back burner for a while, now’s the time for Dragon Age to shine! I need to know what happened to my Inquisitor, I need to know what the heck Solas is up to and I wouldn’t mind checking in on Alistair again because he’s the best.
Matthew Ballinger
Safe Bet
Star Wars and sports, hopefully not a combination of the two. EA has its yearly iterations to sear into the minds of their fans but I’m hoping for some surprises, I am excited to see what EA are doing with the Star Wars licence that hasn’t already been talked about, solo Chewie game?
Fairly Likely
I think The Sims 4 on consoles is at very good odds right now. They do tend to do that right?
Wishful thinking
EA Sports bringing in the sport we all actually want to play, dodgeball. If you can dodge a wrench.
Paul James
Safe Bet
Star Wars Battlefront II – Cliffy B coined the phrase “Bigger, Better and more Badass” when he was describing Gears of War 2 almost a decade ago, but the same applies here for Star Wars Battlefront II. A much broader range of playable characters, maps and modes for multiplayer, a very promising single player campaign and more of the beauty from the Star Wars universe that we loved to experience in the original Battlefront. This will, of course, be the main pillar of EA’s E3 2017 showing, so expect to see a lot of it.
Fairly Likely
New Bioware IP – The core team at Bioware have been hard at work on a new IP for quite some time now and with the release reception to Mass Effect: Andromeda, the core team will want to detach themselves from that negative media spin. Redirecting the conversation is important, and while I worry that this means we may get years of Dev Diaries in E3 conferences again because the game is clearly not ready for the limelight, Bioware and E3 may feel their hands have been forced somewhat. I’m tipping the reveal of Bioware’s new IP this E3.
Wishful Thinking
Dead Space – Oh how I wish we could get more Dead Space, especially a Dead Space of the same vein as the original and Dead Space 2. Visceral themselves are currently hard at work on a Star Wars game for EA though so the odds of seeing a new Dead Space game, or frankly any sign of Isaac Clark are slim to none unfortunately. Come back to me one day though. Please!
