Gamertell

Everyone is guessing as to what to expect at E3 this year.

There will be a lot of initial coverage about how the expo is different this year, hitting on a few stats and maybe a picture or two of people sitting at a table talking about video games, one wearing a tie and the other holding some type of portable recording device.

When all that crap dissipates, it’ll once again be all about the games and just a little about the gear.

As for all the predictions and previews, they are all pretty silly as well. After all, no one won’t really knows what is announced until it is announced. (Duh.) Everything else is really just a fun guess.

Here are a few sites that go into more detail with E3 predictions and highlights:

• GameWorld Network - A Microsoft handhled would eclipse every other announcement - though highly unlikely that will happen this year. How about a GameBoy update? Brilliantly written though quite verbose (disclosure: I wrote it).
• Crunchgear - Not much new, esp. for hardware, a few game name drops like GTAIV and Halo 3 and God of War.
• 1UP - Really just a, “Hey, were’ awesome and read our E3 coverage,” post.
• 1UP Part 2 - The staff offers a mashup of opinions, ranging from general “more news” and “nothing huge” to the very specific $100 PS3 price drop and PSP redesigned.
• Play - A Sony price cut, a BIG Microsoft “secret” and more peripherals. Otherwise, focus will be on existing products.
• Xbox - Really just another marketing page with teases to the usual products: Halo 3, Bioshock, Mercenaries and Kane and Lynch Experiment.
• Kotaku - A quick read list of odds given to various predictions. Maybe one of the most fun to read because it is so bullet pointy. Worst odds for realistic predictions: 20:1 for both New game from Fumito Ueda revealed and Xbox branded portable is announced. The others involve execs frenchkissing. *shudder*
• Wired - Sony needs to drop its price (it just did) and will redesign the PSP. Nintendo will make more appeals to indy developers and Microsoft will attack the Wii’s success with more new peripherals.
IGN - This is the most fantastic of all the serious predictions. They are the only ones to go on a limb and say that Microsoft WILL announce a portable game device. Also, Xbox 360 price drop (?!) and Wii becomes DVD capable.
• PSU - This is the most researchy of all the predictions, with the first section linking t the source of each prediction.  If you’ve read through the list above, these predictions will all look familiar. Otherwise, it’s another writer’s mashup of predictions (with Killzone mentioned by everyone).
• IGN - This one is a podcast with the IGN editors, so no reading involved.
• Gaming Target - This site went with a list of 21 predictions, mostly what will *not* be seen or said this year.

My favorite, and maybe most accurate prediction (other than the gratuitous plug) is from Mike Wilson, GameCock Founder and creator of EIEIO, borrowed from CrunchArcade:

The only thing for sure at this E3 is a bunch of scattered stiff boardrooms full of Power Point and cocktails and a bunch of suits yawning, stretching, and loving the fact that they aren’t listening to techno and sweating to death. Other than that, I’d imagine the press will do their required appointments with the wall street publishers’ PR slacks and then dash off to write their lamentations of E3’s of yore, perhaps just before rediscovering their enthusiasm at EIEIO or maybe even the independent games showcase at Barker Hangar. In the end, many glasses will be raised to the E3 that is forever dead, the one we loved to hate so much, and to new hangovers closer to the beach.

This so called new and revised Expo is just the E3 that was originally supposed to be: A place for the game companies to get together, do business and promote products. No more standing in line going death with the 15 game trailers blaring in a continuous loop while waiting to kiss some famed game maker’s ass for an autograph, shake some old, retired artist’s hand, be accosted by booth babes who had never played a videogame until that day or hope to graze the breast of a Playboy Playmate. 

The glitz and the glam was all good and fun but it’s no longer necessary. If the game industry goes into another slump, however, you can expect the booth babes to come back in a full-breasted flash (and take that more ways than one).