E3 unofficially kicks off a little earlier this year, with Microsoft's Natal conference starting on Sunday. Surely, there will be many game reveals, game demos, game release dates, game trailers, and other things that you might relate to games.Though huge bald dudes in space armour is still the 'in' thing amongst 'hardcore' gamers, there are sure to be some RPG gems hidden in the rough. Below is my annual stab in the dark on what to expect/look for/hope for/complain about from E3 (ranked from most probable to least probable):Nintendo announces Xenoblade, The Last Story, and the next Legend of Zelda for 2010 release.In my opinion, Nintendo is definitely the show to watch this year. With double the time set aside for their conference, the above three titles already confirmed in the works, and no needless gimmick to waste their show on (see Natal and Move), Nintendo is poised to rock our RPG socks off this year with their first party offerings alone.Fable III to get a 360+Natal bundle for launchRegardless of whether you like jumping around your living room like a crazy person or not, Microsoft is making a big deal out of it with their new motion sensing tech. And while I think their target audience for Natal is not me, they will try to get me to buy it anyway by packaging with something I do care about.Dragon Age II officially revealed, will have an action-based battle systemDragon Age: Origins was great, even if it took a half a decade to develop. EA, though, is planning on getting its sequel out in a much more timely fashion, hinting heavily that it will be out early next year. And considering the original’s console success, I expect to see a much more controller friendly sequel, most likely boasting some sort of action-based, uh, action.Final Fantasy Versus XIII to also release on Xbox 360Wada kind of hinted at this, then retracted his hint. But seriously, Square Enix’s exclusive days are long past. Whether or not Versus will be announced this year or some other time remains to be seen, but it seems pretty obvious that it will happen eventually. I suppose the real question is, will it too remind me that Final Fantasy has lost its magic? …Probably.Tales of Graces to be released this year in North AmericaI don’t know if Namdai will announce this, or if Nintendo will take the initiative, but with the JRPG love settling on the Wii this year, skipping this one would be a drastic oversight. Since the Tales of games are pretty fickle when it comes to getting localized, I can’t move this one any higher on the list in good conscience.Square Enix announces Valkyrie Profile 3 for 360/PS3Rumours of this one have been sneaking into the limelight every now and again, and with no formal tri-Ace project announced at the moment, it would seem the next obvious reveal. Whether we’ll see it go timed exclusive like SO4, or multiplat right out of the gate like EoE is anyone’s guess, but it will be on both HD consoles sooner or later.Atlus announces Persona 5 for 360/PS3Atlus has been cautious about getting into HD games. Though their North American branch has been localizing the odd title, an Atlus-developed game has still evaded announcement to the point that some may conclude the company will sit HD out this gen. However, we know that Atlus has been hiring for a 360/PS3 project for a few years now. Is this the year the rip the curtain back and show us some HD RPG love? Will it be Persona 5? I hope the answer is a resounding ‘YES,’ but I suppose patience is a virtue.New handheld Legend of Zelda to launch with 3DS this AutumnEven though Microsoft and Sony are launching motion control projects this year, the real talk of the tech world is Nintendo’s mysterious new handheld. Reportedly boasting graphics to rival the Wii, and glasses-less 3D, Nintendo is aiming to take on Sony and Apple in one fell swoop. But what good is a handheld device without launch software? Perhaps a new Zelda title will help ease us all in.Kingdom Hearts 3 announced for WiiSquare Enix has hinted that a new Kingdom Hearts reveal is in the stars for this year’s E3. Whether that is their already confirmed Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded for the DS, or something bigger is unknown, but if someone held a gun to my head and forced me to make financial decisions for the RPG giant, KH3 on the family-friendly Wii seems to make the most sense.Microsoft announces Lost Odyssey IIDespite the long awaited release of Final Fantasy XIII earlier this year, Lost Odyssey is, in my opinion, still the best Final Fantasy since IX. If Microsoft would just kindly get to backing a sequel (of course with the cooperation of Mistwalker and feelplus), I would happily abandon the FF name all together. Don’t make me beg.Well, there you have it. I'm hoping E3 doesn't disappoint this year. I'm honestly starting to get a complex about it.
Yes, it's that time of year again. With E3 less than a week away, it's time to dust off that crappy magic 8 ball that never works, and make some guesses about RPGs. Some educated, some speculatory, and some just off the top of my head .I should warn you before diving in that my guesses this year feel a little more bitter than usual. This may be due to a lackluster showing at last year's E3 and TGS, or it may be due to the fact that the RPG scene is currently looking comparatively dry right now. Or I could have just woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. (It's probably some sort of combination of all of the above.)So, if you're feeling a little sensitive about your favorite console/company/franchise today, you might want to put off reading my predictions for a while. I would hate for you to get your knickers in a knot over my random guesses.As usual, I have limited myself to 10 predictions to keep things flowing smoothly. Here's how each prediction breaks down:10 – Almost Guaranteed9 – Incredibly Likely8 – Very Likely7 – Likely6 – Foreseeable5 – Possible4 – Might be Possible3 – Unlikely2 – Probably Not1 – In My DreamsSo without further ado, here are my 10 best guesses for E3 2009:10 – Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Dragon Quest IX are, of course, not present at E3If Final Fantasy Versus XIII taking home last year’s Vapourware Award didn’t tip you off, I have very little faith that this game is anywhere near being finished. Its chances at appearing at E3, where having stuff for the press to get their hands on is high priority for most companies, are near zilch. And then there’s Dragon Quest IX, which I won’t even get started on. Hey, at least Square Enix knows they are taking too damn long with this stuff.9 – White Knight Chronicles playable at the show, but barely mentioned in Sony’s press conference, if at allLet’s face some hard facts: Sony of America doesn’t really care about any RPG that isn’t called Final Fantasy, even if they are publishing it. Sure, Sony of Japan has had some great times with stuff like Legend of Dragoon, Wild ARMs, Dark Cloud, Okage, and several others. Unfortunately, that hasn’t really transferred over on our side of the pacific, especially recently, where modern Sony is seemingly only concerned with Killzone, SingStar, and Buzz.That said, White Knight Chronicles is apparently coming over from them sometime this year, so I would be very surprised if it wasn’t playable somewhere. Just don’t expect Sony to be proud of it. They’ll be too busy telling us why their other games are all coming out next year, but 2009 is the year of the PS3.8 – Magna Carta II gets a solid release date, while the majority of the press ignores it for more shootersSimilar to last year’s Tales of Vesperia, Namco Bandai is going to be showing off the upcoming Magna Carta II, pleading with you to care about JRPGs. They will have playable stations, press materials, and will even announce the game’s official North American release date. And yet most in attendance will be much more interested in playing Two Buff Guys with Guns Save Earth from Aliens Part 7.7 – Front Mission Evolved announced for Xbox 360, fails to change anyone’s opinion of Front MissionThere have been some rumblings around the internet that Square Enix is preparing a new Front Mission title for the Xbox 360, and it seems likely that E3 will be the venue to pull the curtains back on that announcement. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, I have never liked any of the Front Mission games. They just, I don’t know, weren’t fun. I hope this new title changes my mind about the series, but somehow, I doubt it.6 – Mario & Luigi RPG 3 announced for North America, Nintendo believes that the hardcore should now be satisfiedEven the hardest of the hardcore Nintendo fanboys have to admit that Nintendo is sort of out-of-touch with the “hardcore” gamer lately. We ask for Zelda, we get Spirit Tracks. We ask for Fatal Frame or Day of Crisis, we get Wii Music and Wii Sports 2. Maybe it’s about time we realised that Nintendo doesn’t actually care about us all that much anymore. After all, we aren’t the ones wallpapering their office with money. Our moms, grandparents, and little sisters are. So out of all of those sweet Nintendo of Japan published RPGs that we aren’t getting, Nintendo of America might – and I emphasize might – be willing to let us have Mario & Luigi RPG 3. Because, y’know, it’s got Mario and all his lovable friends in it. Y’know, it doesn’t actually play very much like an RPG, which only nerds and otaku play. America safe! Thanks, Nintendo! You really have us dumb North Americans figured out, don’t you?5 – Microsoft unveils new Mistwalker action-RPGWe know Mistwalker is working on a new action-heavy RPG. We know Sakaguchi plans on announcing it this year. We know that the game appears to have seamless transitions between FMV and gameplay. We know that Fujisaka is handling the art direction, implicating a more mature theme. We know that he has spoken about all of this recently. So, the biggest question really should be when. E3 seems like a good time if Microsoft is going to wow us with new exclusives, which they better start doing soon if they hope to be relevant by the end of the year (as their current state is depressingly devoid of, well, anything). All I know is I want MORE 360 MISTWALKER!4 – Tales of Graces announced for North America for early next yearNamco Bandai is notoriously hit-and-miss with which Tales of titles it brings to North America. For instance, why Tales of the World for PSP and not Tales of Innocence? There’s not always a lot of logic behind some of the choices. That said, Tales of Vesperia and Tales of Symphonia 2 received some real love last year, with ToV even hitting North America mere weeks after its Japanese release. Namdai has registered the Tales of Graces trademark here in North America already, giving a significant boost to the likelihood of the game seeing English Wiis. Namdai doesn’t typically pull out any surprises at E3, but this is not out of the realm of possibility. At least, I’d like to think it isn’t.3 – Crystal Bearers announced for late 2009 / early 2010Despite its seemingly negligible following here in North America, Square Enix has sure been putting out a lot of media for their latest upcoming Crystal Chronicles instalment, despite it having no concrete release date on either side of the Pacific. Though E3 seems like a questionable venue for a game like this to get a release date, stranger things have certainly happened, and Wii owners would certainly come away from the show feeling a lot better about things.2 – 360/PS3 Castlevania titled, detailed, and datedKonami teased us at TGS last year that there will be a new Castlevania entry for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Will they show it to us at E3? Will we get a date? A demo? A video? Anything? I don’t know, but Castlevania is about equally popular over here as it is in Japan, so anything is certainly possible. I’ll keep my fingers crossed if you will. 1 – Sony announces Legend of Dragoon remake for PS3Some completely unsubstantiated rumors flew around the internet around the time of GDC a couple of months back. Some sounded slightly legit, most sounded like horse $#!+. Sony remaking Legend of Dragoon for PS3 is one of those rumors that seems like it was just made up by some delusional fanboy. Realistically, we know that Sony of America doesn’t care about RPGs. Realistically, we know that the team that made Legend of Dragoon left to become Sacnoth/Nautilus, and left again to become feelplus who were established by Microsoft. Realistically, we know that Legend of Dragoon was supposed to capitalize on Final Fantasy VII’s success, and wasn’t really planned to be a major staple of Sony’s lineup. But dammit, I freakin’ loved Legend of Dragoon, and I don’t care who knows it! Making that rumor come true would do a lot in patching up our relationship right now, Sony.Well, there you have it. For your reference, I got 3/10 right for my E3 predictions last year, and 1/10 right for my TGS predictions last year. I'm hoping for 5/10 this year.I'll be back to score myself after the show is finished.
Well, Tokyo Game Show has been officially over for just over a week now, what I would consider sufficient time for any straggling bits of coverage to come in. Thus, it's that time again! Time to check how we did with those TGS Predictions.The original predictions are in italics, while the verdict is in BOLD, and my notes are in regular font. Let's get this bloodbath over with:10. Oboro Muramasa playable, dated for 2009 near-simultaneous release in Japan and North AmericaFALSE. Though Oboro Muramasa was indeed playable at the show, and XSEED has announced that it will indeed be making the jump to our shores sometime next year, that is all we know. There was no announcement regarding timing for either the Japanese or North American release. I still think they will be close together in timing, but no such announcement was made at TGS. Too bad…9. Square Enix teases Final Fantasy Versus XIII, offers no release dateTRUE. Not that we’d really expect otherwise from the FFXIIIs these days…8. Namco Bandai announces Sword of Legendia for 2009 releaseFALSE. Namco Bandai was curiously quiet this TGS, really not announcing anything at all. Well, unless you count Tekken 6. Which we don’t, because it isn’t an RPG.7. Mistwalker announces Blue Dragon 2 for 2009 simultaneous release in Japan and North AmericaFALSE. Mistwalker was strangely MIA this year… Curious, as I thought for sure Microsoft would be itching to show off more JRPG love.6. Sony announces White Knight Story for North American release in mid-2009FALSE. White Knight wasn’t even playable for Japanese show attendees, forget those dirty North American gamers. These kinds of stunts make me worry about this game…5. Namco Bandai announces new RPG for Xbox 360FALSE. No Namco Bandai RPG announcements. I’m sure they have something up their sleeve, but when and where are now questions I haven’t the slightest hope of an answer for.4. Square Enix announces new RPG for Xbox 360FALSE. At least, no official announcement. We know they showed something to those raffle winners, but they must have scared them into silence pretty badly as no one seems to have leaked any info yet.3. Sega announces multiplatform console RPGFALSE. What you see is what you get with Sega this round. And all we saw were a lot of DS games. Oh and Bayonetta. Not an RPG, but still pretty hot.2. Square Enix announces Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 in JapanFALSE. I suppose it’s time to put this speculation to rest.1. Mistwalker announces Cry On for 2009 simultaneous release in Japan and North AmericaFALSE. Kind of expected this not to happen, but damn was I hopeful.Final Score: 1/10Pathetic. I really expected a lot more out of TGS this year, what with the holiday season being right at our doorsteps, but I guess everyone more or less felt like they were done with announcements for the year.With such a poor prediction score this round (even worse than my 3/10 at E3), I'm wondering if these big game shows are even worth putting in the effort to make predictions for. Thanks for crushing my spirit TGS. T_THow did your predictions go?
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for (or not), our very own TGS 2008 predictions! Hooray!As with our E3 predictions, we have narrowed our analyses, intuitions, hunches, guesses, hopes, and outright dreams down to 10 entries, each less probable than the last. Here's how each prediction measures up in terms of possibility:10 – Almost Guaranteed9 – Incredibly Likely8 – Very Likely7 – Likely6 – Foreseeable5 – Possible4 – Might be Possible3 – Unlikely2 – Probably Not1 – In Our DreamsTake a look at the predictions along with our rationale below:10. Oboro Muramasa playable, dated for 2009 near-simultaneous release in Japan and North AmericaWe’ve seen it at Nintendo’s presser. We’ve heard about it in Nintendo Power. Oboro Muramasa is a sneaky title, but it’s got to be closer to release than farther. The gameplay we were shown at Nintendo’s presser indicates that the game is indeed playable in at least some beta form, so here’s expecting some hands-on time with Vanillaware’s next wonderfully artistic creation. Also, due to Marvelous and XSEED’s recent partnership and their efforts to bring North American and Japanese releases closer together, I think we can expect to have Muramasa within a month or two of our Japanese compatriots.9. Square Enix teases Final Fantasy Versus XIII, offers no release dateI don’t mind hype for a game, but the Final Fantasy XIIIs are a little bit ridiculous. How many years have they been showing us the same damn footage, only to give us the middle finger when we ask about gameplay or an estimated release date? Too many years, that’s how long.Well, don’t expect Square Enix to turn over a new leaf this year. FFXIII proper may get more official treatment, but Versus will remain as obscure and elusive as ever, with Square Enix declining to comment more than anything. Oh, and a couple more seconds of the trailer to be revealed. Yes, this gets you excited for some reason.8. Namco Bandai announces Sword of Legendia for 2009 releaseWe know that Namco Bandai is going to release the next Tales of game (after Tales of Hearts) on the Wii, but we don’t know exactly what that game will be. It is supposedly a main series title (unlike ToS2), but not even a title has been announced. My thoughts are that it could be the elusive “Sword of Legendia” title that was announced since Wii launch but has fallen silent.I expect a renaming of some degree (perhaps Tales of Legendia 2?) and some sort of waggle feature. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.7. Mistwalker announces Blue Dragon 2 for 2009 simultaneous release in Japan and North AmericaI have a little bit of confidence in this prediction. Sensui says “more big RPGs on 360 in Japan,” and when someone high up in Microsoft says something, they’ve usually got something to back it up with. Blue Dragon 2 could definitely be that something. The original BD is currently the 3rd fastest selling game on 360 in Japan (knocked out of first by Tales of Vesperia and Infinite Undiscovery), so its follow-up is inevitable. Here’s hoping its story is not as slow moving as its predecessor.6. Sony announces White Knight Story for North American release in mid-2009We already know Level 5’s White Knight Story will be playable at TGS, and we also know that it will be released this holiday in Japan, but we don’t know anything beyond that. When will it see a North American or European release, if at all? Will Sony be handling it, or will some other publisher step up to deal with localization? We don’t know, and Sony of America certainly hasn’t had anything to say on the matter. Whether Sony will announce the first big name RPG on their newest console for non-Japanese audiences or not remains to be seen, but here’s to crossing fingers.5. Namco Bandai announces new RPG for Xbox 360Namco Bandai has been behind the Xbox 360 for a while now, and has released two rather big RPGs (one moderately-sized, and one megaton) for the 360 in two years, and has certainly seen a positive response to Tales of Vesperia. I would imagine that they have some new RPG in the works for 2009 as well, but I just don’t know what it is and when they will announce it. TGS seems plausible, but Microsoft might convince them to hold off on the announcement until later. The game could be Xenosaga IV (which would be really cool), but it is more likely a new IP.4. Square Enix announces new RPG for Xbox 360Now, it says “Square Enix,” but if this truly is a new RPG for Xbox 360, it seems more likely to me that the game will actually be developed by one of their partners, like tri-Ace or GameArts. My best guess would be either a new Valkyrie Profile game or a new Grandia entry. The Grandia option seems more likely to me at the moment simply because tri-Ace has been so much more obviously busy than GameArts. However, Toga wo Seou Mono’s Producer’s comments about a new VP on a different platform is certainly interesting food for thought. Really, I could see it going either way here.3. Sega announces multiplatform console RPGSega has been a DS RPG announcing machine as of late, so I don’t have a lot of confidence in this prediction. However, their Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 showing list is noticeably small. There have been rumors flying around for a while that a sequel to Skies of Arcadia is due for an announcement (I’m not sure about this as each rumor claims a different console and the original’s director, Kodama-san, is working on 7th Dragon). Either way, Sega Japan has been rather lazy regarding actual consoles, but there has to be something in development, right? …Right?2. Square Enix announces Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 in JapanWhat kind of a prediction list would it be if this wasn’t mentioned?With a new guy going on record every week saying “No Final Fantasy XIII on Xbox 360 in Japan,” I am starting to wonder what the deal is. Shouldn’t they just have said it once, and then we can all believe them?With Xboxes finally moving in Japan, and at a much more accessible price than its competition, Square Enix would have to have rocks for brains to release this in North America and Europe but not in Japan.It could be simultaneous with the PS3 release, or (more likely), could be a timed-exclusive in some form (like an “international” version). Either way, I can’t see this not happening. Though its announcement at TGS is 50/50 in my opinion.1. Mistwalker announces Cry On for 2009 simultaneous release in Japan and North AmericaI can’t put any faith in this prediction, though I really want it to happen. However, given AQ Interactive’s current financial situation, their notable absence from the list of TGS attendees, and Sakaguchi’s blog stating that he is working on an RPG that he can safely call “next gen” but can’t seem to get the gameplay how he likes it, my most honest speculation is that we have probably another 6 months or so before we hear about this elusive beast. I really hope I’m wrong and it gets announced. I just can’t bring myself to move it higher on the list.I’m like, trying to will it into happening.As with every trade show, no one can fully predict the future (which makes trying all the more fun). Our predictions are based on our experience and understanding of the game industry (particularly regarding the RPG genre), but are, of course, little more than educated guesses. (In other words, if we made a prediction that rubs you the wrong way, don't get all pissy. They're just guesses.)We'll be keeping a close eye on the events surrounding Tokyo Game Show, and will be revisiting these predictions to score ourselves after the show is over for another year.Have a fun TGS!
Well, it's finished. E3 is over and done with for another year. A few companies surprised us (Microsoft with FFXIII and Capcom with their press conference about nothing), and some companies didn't (Sony with... uh... Resistance PSP?). Some companies impressed us (Square Enix with big name titles hitting solidly every month from here on out) and some companies disappointed us (Nintendo with the "hardcore" announcement of Animal Crossing Wii).With the show now just a lingering scent in the air, it's time for everyone's favorite E3 wrap-up: Rate the predictions! Yes! Below I am personally going to go through each of Sword Machine's E3 predictions and score them. So get a pen and paper ready and keep score at home!...Or don't. I'll write the score at the end of the post anyway. Whatever you like.For your reference, the prediction (copied and pasted directly from the original article) will appear in italics, while my score will appear in bold, and my comments in normal print.Shall we?10 – Tales of Vesperia announced for mid-August 2008 release for Xbox 360 with playable demo. Also, English demo finally “released” on XBL.
TRUE. As suspected, ToV will hit North American retailers this August, and the demo is officially up. Get your pre-orders ready!
9 – Infinite Undiscovery and Last Remnant playable demos on 360, Last Remnant given firm release date
MOSTLY TRUE. Both games were there, and both were given firm release dates (in September and November, respectively). IU was playable, but unfortunately TLR wasn't. But still close enough that I'll give myself the point.
8 – No new RPGs announced for PS3
TRUE (much to the dismay of PS3 owners). In fact, not only did Sony not reveal any new RPGs for their console, they didn't even bother to show the ones they have already announced. (Okay, sorry. I meant "one". Go White Knight! You need to win it for Sony this generation!) Perhaps even worse, the only RPG they showed during their press conference, they screwed up on and showed on the wrong console, effectively dropping some affinity points with that publisher. Ouch.
7 – Sega, Square Enix, Natsume, Atlus, Namco Bandai, Konami, Capcom, XSEED, Aksys, and pretty well every other publisher you can think of announces billions of new DS games, including some RPGs.
FALSE. Well, to a degree. While it's true that there were more exclusive RPGs on DS than any other system, there were almost no new ones announced. So no point for this one. =(
6 – Soma Bringer announced for Q3/Q4 2008 for DS in NA
FALSE. What can I say? Nintendo didn't announce anything, nevermind an obscure action RPG for their handheld which sells a zillion units without additional marketing anyway. Forget the fact that its one of the best DS RPGs and developed by Monolith. No one cares. Everyone wants Wii Sports 2! Yeah!! (/sarcasm)
5 – Cry On shown and announced for Q4 2008 / Q1 2009 for Xbox 360
FALSE. Except for Majesco's surprise licence of AWAY, there was absolutely no Mistwalker presence at all for this show. Sad face is sad. =(
4 – Valkyria Chronicles to be ported to Xbox 360 for Q2 2009
FALSE. Sega didn't announce anything. Nor did they even show much of anything. I don't understand Sega.
3 – Blue Dragon 2 announced for simultaneous NA/JP release in early 2009
FALSE. As stated above, no Mistwalker. Fingers crossed for TGS?
2 – Fragile announced for Q4 2008 in NA
FALSE. Namco Bandai? Surprising people at E3? Yeah right. Never going to happen.
1 – Xenosaga IV announced for Xbox 360
FALSE. See above.
Final Score: 3/10
Well, there you have it.
E3 definitely had some big surprises this year, most notably, of course, being Final Fantasy XIII on Xbox 360 (I certainly never could have predicted that). Some other welcome surprises were AWAY coming to North America, some Star Ocean 4 gameplay, and... uh... 5 new Harvest Moon games?
So, how did your predictions do?
E3 is now less than a week away, and though it has certainly declined from the mass orgy of video game news that we all remember fondly from our younger years, E3 still remains a prominant and highly talked about event.
Staring into our magic 8 ball, we at Sword Machine have come up with a list of what we think, what we hope, and what we can only dream will happen at E3 2008. Our predictions range from the practically confirmed to the wild speculation sides of the spectrum. We have forced ourselves to keep to only 10 predictions this year in hopes of keeping them as on topic as possible (this is an RPG blog, after all).
In order to help you understand what we think the likelihood of each prediction is, we've ranked them from 1 to 10. Here is the scoring breakdown:
10 – Almost Guaranteed9 – Incredibly Likely
8 – Very Likely
7 – Likely6 – Foreseeable5 – Possible
4 – Might be Possible
3 – Unlikely2 – Probably Not
1 – In Our Dreams
And now, our RPG predictions for E3 2008:
10 – Tales of Vesperia announced for mid-August 2008 release for Xbox 360 with playable demo. Also, English demo finally “released” on XBL.
Come on, this one is a given. Plenty of sites have already gotten hands-on builds to mess around with, and there is already a fully-voiced English demo on XBL Japan. If this doesn’t happen, E3 is officially dead.
9 – Infinite Undiscovery and Last Remnant playable demos on 360, Last Remnant given firm release date
The first point is practically a 10. Both games are nearly complete and announced. Last Remnant’s release date is really the only debatable issue.
8 – No new RPGs announced for PS3
Again, this one’s a no-brainer. No one has announced any RPGs for the PS3 anywhere, and we just can’t imagine that any developer (Japanese or otherwise) would bother announcing one at E3 of all places. NIS has Disgaea 3, but its already announced, and they won’t be at the show anyways. Sorry PS3 owners. Oh, and before you ask: no, Final Fantasy XIII is not coming out anytime soon.
7 – Sega, Square Enix, Natsume, Atlus, Namco Bandai, Konami, Capcom, XSEED, Aksys, and pretty well every other publisher you can think of announces billions of new DS games, including some RPGs. Like, duh.
(Note that this prediction was originally about Persona 4 coming to North America by the end of this year. "Unfortunately," it came true before E3 started, so we had to change it to something else.)
6 – Soma Bringer announced for Q3/Q4 2008 for DS in NA
This might be possible. Nintendo’s been pretty tight-lipped about their first-party DS RPGs making the jump (we only know about ASH through an ESRB leak). The game is really good, so even if Nintendo isn’t bringing it over themselves, I can’t imagine other publishers passing it up. Then again, it is the DS in North America…5 – Cry On shown and announced for Q4 2008 / Q1 2009 for Xbox 360 Announced in 2005 alongside Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, Cry On looks like Mistwalker’s first arguably “unique” project. Clearly there have been development road bumps for it to be so much slower than the other titles, but recent art leaks suggest the game is still under active development. With a more mature story and action-RPG mechanics, this looks like the prime game to announce as Mistwalker’s first NA/JP simultaneous release.4 – Valkyria Chronicles to be ported to Xbox 360 for Q2 2009
Since it started out as a 360 game, Valkyria Chronicles has definite potential for a multiplatform release, especially considering the game has been confirmed to be making the jump to North America. Plus, this is Sega we’re talking about here. They have given plenty of 360 support in the past, and I can’t imagine them skipping this one out, especially considering the recent flood of JRPG announcements for the 360. For me, the question is not “will it come to the 360” but “when.”
3 – Blue Dragon 2 announced for simultaneous NA/JP release in early 2009 Hinted at, rumored about, speculated on; make no mistake, Blue Dragon 2 is in development. Despite its mediocre reception in the West, it was the fastest and best selling 360 game in Japan. While you may scoff at that, remember that sequels often make more money than the original. Since Microsoft is paying for it, you better believe it’s on its way out the door sooner than later. Question is, will they show it at E3, or wait for TGS?
2 – Fragile announced for Q4 2008 in NA
Namco Bandai typically doesn’t surprise anyone at E3, so I don’t have much faith in this prediction. However, we do know that the game is in development, and is slated for Japanese release sometime this year. The Wii doesn’t have the worldwide timeframe reputation the 360 has, so we might be waiting a long time on this one. Here’s hoping the wait is a short one.
1 – Xenosaga IV announced for Xbox 360 Yeah, I know. Doesn’t seem likely. Monolith belongs to Nintendo now. Xenosaga underperformed. NB is busy with ToV,ToS2, and about a hundred more Tales of games. etc. etc. However, Namco Bandai seems to enjoy making 360 RPGs, and making them look nice. With ToV’s release sooner than later, we can’t help wondering what they’re working on behind closed doors. Is it a new IP? Or some established franchise they’re considering giving another shot? Xenosaga has its fans, and with a fresh start and some new direction, Xenosaga IV could really do some good.
Well, there they are. Though we have reasons for each of our predictions, you are, of course, free to speculate however you like. In fact, if you have any predictions of your own, feel free to write them in the comments below along with your rationale.
After the event is all over, we'll be revisiting these predictions and scoring ourselves based on what did and didn't happen.
E3 kicks off with Microsoft's press conference early next Monday morning. We'll be covering E3 as closely as we can, and will keep you updated on any RPG news that comes from the convention.
E3 unofficially kicks off a little earlier this year, with Microsoft's Natal conference starting on Sunday. Surely, there will be many game reveals, game demos, game release dates, game trailers, and other things that you might relate to games.
