E3 2015: Microsoft / Xbox Predictions, Rumors & Expectations
By Martin Benn
Things I think we’ll see at the Microsoft briefing
A Gears of War 1 Remaster will likely be announced at this event. With a newly named studio, The Coalition, that was completely re-purposed for the sole idea of pushing Gears of War back into the consciousness of gamers, the anniversary of Gears of War will be celebrated by Microsoft. Much in the same way Halo has been treated well by Microsoft to preserve its history, Gears of War represents the next big franchise that has treated Microsoft well. As such, I expect we will see a Gears of War 1 Anniversary edition featuring a newly polished 60 FPS and 1080p resolution. I imagine there might even be some new assets added to the game similar to the way Halo had to have some assets completely re-imagined for the new resolution.
Editor’s Note: The following prediction was made in final draft submitted yesterday. It came before today’s announcement of a 1TB Xbox One SKU.
A brand new Xbox One SKU is likely on the way. We have been seeing the signs for a while. Last year, Call of Duty launched with a 1TB hard drive. There have been filings from both console manufacturers suggesting a new SKU with twice the current amount of storage space is in store. I expect that we will see this announced at Microsoft’s press conference. I do not expect there will be a price drop announced unless Microsoft introduces more than one SKU. The 1 TB hard drive is added value and it will likely not be on sale until after the Windows 10 update rolls out. This should go over very well with people who have not made the leap yet. It should also help jump-start Xbox One sales heading into the holiday with a new SKU, new format, new remote, and a heap of new exclusives.
After reports to the contrary, I believe we will see more from Phantom Dust in this press conference to let people know the game is still coming. It was one of the games Microsoft brought back to life in last year’s E3 and with a year passing it seems about time for Microsoft to show it off a bit more.
Rare has been a relatively quiet studio as the Kinect became less of a priority for Microsoft and the reception to their
original Xbox One SKU was a bit underwhelming. This means Rare may have found themselves some time to make formal games again. Rumors abound as to what they could be working on. It seems as if Rare is headed to make a bit of a splash at the E3 conference with a couple new announcements.
Some have pondered Microsoft’s ability to maintain their 3rd party deals with studios, but I think we will see Microsoft’s strength of brand will still be strong at this year’s E3. In addition to Tomb Raider, and Assassin’s Creed, I think we might see either Battlefront or Rainbow Six Siege have a big marketing deal with Microsoft as well.
Lastly, I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the rumored Joe Montana Football game will show up in Microsoft’s press conference. I really have no idea how else this game would get made without major publisher support. 2K has repeatedly stated they are not involved in the making of the game. So who else would be making a title to go against EA’s football monopoly? It just seems to make sense that Microsoft would be the place this game will call home with their track record of wooing football fans. I am likely wrong, but what fun is it to be right all the time!
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