Gaming: The E3 Rumour Round-Up

Cracked quote (click image for source): "This year's event, however, will more likely be remembered as the precise moment video gaming as we know it died a tragic and embarrassing death."

In the run-up to E3, the biggest gaming event of the year, the actual news starts to die down as everything is being saved for big reveals. However, news sites still need to put out a steady stream of content so there tends to be a lot more focus on rumours, seizing any little hint that a game might exist in some form that wasn’t previously known about. As E3 approached I made a note of each of them and decided to see which ones came true and which were apparently a load of nonsense. Every rumour is collected below with a linked source, separated by whether they were true or not (at least as far as I can tell):

A side note: The source I’ve included isn’t necessarily the originator of the rumour, simply the place I first saw it. One site popping up a lot isn’t an indicator of anything other than it’s a site I get news from.

The True:

• Natal given its official name at E3.
• SEGA will reveal a Natal XBLA game called Sonic Free Riders, heavily incorporating motion controls for acquiring weapons and attacking.
• Harmonix will unveil a dance game for Natal.
• Joy Ride is no longer a free XBLA game and will instead be a big Natal launch title.
• Natal could be called Kinect and be part of a redesigned, slimmer 360.
• A new Wii Zelda will be shown and will be more accessible, using WiiMotionPlus.
• Epic Mickey will get a big re-reveal.
• A Wii & DS GoldenEye remake will be announced, from Eurocom and n-Space.
• Retro Studios are working on a Donkey Kong game.
• Sony will reveal their premium PSN plans, including music streaming and free PSN games (the music streaming was false).
• Gran Turismo 5 will get a release date.
• SingStar will get a dance game.
• Dead Space: Extraction will get an HD re-release on PSN and XBLA (for PS3 anyway, bundled with Dead Space 2).
• Infamous 2 will be announced (revealed before E3).
• Killzone 3 will be revealed, with 3D and jetpacks (revealed before E3).
• Metal Gear Solid: Rising will get a big re-reveal.
• Rock Band 3 will add keyboards, or possibly keytars (revealed before E3).
• Creative Assembly’s new game will be a sequel to Shogun: Total War (revealed before E3).

The False:

• Natal will be called be Wave or maybe Oculus.
• Natal will launch in October worldwide.
• Microsoft will unveil Hulu for Live (Hulu has since been revealed that it’s coming to Live, but not exclusively and the PS3 will get it first).
• The new Wii Zelda will be announced for release at the end of the year.
• Epic Mickey will have a new art style more in line with earlier concept art.
• Free Realms will get a PS3 release date when it is shown.
• David Jaffe’s new game won’t be shown (this wasn’t exactly a rumour, it was an outright lie from David Jaffe).
• Sony will reveal the PSP2 (the rumours did actually say it was unlikely to be at E3).
• Resistance 3 will be announced.
• Naughty Dog are helping develop Killzone 3.
• An HD Collection containing ICO and Shadow of the Colossus will be announced.
• Naughty Dog will reveal a PSP (or PSP2) game.
• The Last Guardian will be at Sony’s booth and playable.
• The PS3 will have two new hardware revisions.
• Sony will announce a 500GB Move bundle.
• A new Syndicate will be announced, developed by Starbreeze.
• A new Dante’s Inferno will be announced.
• The Sims 3 will get a medieval expansion.
• Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2 will be at EA’s booth.
• Capcom will team up with Namco for Tekken Vs. Street Fighter.
• A Bioshock MMO will be announced (it wasn’t suggested this would be at E3).
• Grand Theft Auto 5 will be announced, but will only be a teaser and release a long way off.
• Elder Scrolls 5 will be announced.
• Valve will unveil the new Source engine, probably running the next Half-Life title.
• A new entry in the Star Wars: Starfighter series will be revealed.
• Dead or Alive 5 will be at the Tecmo-Koei booth (a 3DS DoA game was revealed, but it’s not been called Dead or Alive 5 yet).

The Unconfirmed:

• Natal for 1499 SEK, $150-200 US, or a little lower at 1,299 DK/£140.
• Natal will require at least four metres of space from the TV.
• Kinect games will be cheaper than the hardcore releases.
• Kinect will have two versions, one cheaper with less tech and the other the full expensive one originally unveiled last year.
• The new Wii Zelda will also support the Vitality Sensor.
• Animal Crossing will be a 3DS launch title (the game was shown at E3 but without a date).
• Ninja Theory’s secret project is Heavenly Sword 2.
• Ninja Theory’s secret project is Devil May Cry 5.
• The new Silent Hill will be revealed as an FPS (it seems unlikely but the teaser at E3 didn’t rule it out).