Final E3 predictions

Well, E3 is now less than 24 hours away. I say it's time for me to render one last series of predictions as to what we should expect this year. Think of this as a sort of extension to one of last month's articles, "What will E3 bring?" (I think this is where I'm supposed to say "I have NO inside info".)



Extremely likely predictions

Square-Enix will announce some amazing new title

Yes, I know, this is vague. But honestly, vague is as good as anyone's guess when it comes to the intensely secretive Square-Enix! My guess is we'll see an original franchise or something from them exclusively for the Wii or the DS, and perhaps another Final Fantasy remake or two (The ever-popular Final Fantasy VII?). We may also get some solid North American release dates for Dragon Quest IX, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates OR Crystal Bearers or It's a Wonderful World. Whatever it is, it'll be great.

Nintendo will reveal some absolutely ASTONISHING hidden feature of the Wii

Nintendo systems often have one or two unknown functions programmed into them. Some fantastic new feature accessible only through software or something like that. I suspect the Wii is no different. Remember the DS Option Paks, the little GBA-like cartridges inserted into Slot 2? The DS had the firmware for this in it from the start, yet nobody knew of it's existence until Nintendo told them. Just imagine what secrets the Wii could be holding within it's hardware... I can't even begin to guess what!

An old, abandoned Nintendo franchise will make a return

Well, this isn't exactly my prediction, as Matt Casamassina of IGN said this in the last Wii-kly podcast. However, I do have a few predictions as to what will be coming back! Kid Icarus, Pilotwings, Dr. Mario and Earthbound are all begging to make a comeback!

Animal Crossing, Star Fox and Mario Kart will be shown for the Wii

I have the utmost belief that at least two of these will be shown for the Wii this week. Perhaps behind doors, but they will be shown nonetheless. This games are essential for the Wii's continued success, and thusly must be unveiled soon. They will also help pave the way for a bright future for the Wi-Fi Connection on Wii.

New Wii colors will be revealed and dated

Nintendo is infamous for releasing their consoles in many different colors, and I suspect the Wii shall be treated the same. What colors and when they'll be released are beyond me, but I'm nearly POSITIVE they'll announce them.

New and amazing Wii Channels will be revealed

With the SD card slot being so grossly underused, Nintendo has to do something soon to justify it's existence. I'm thinking a Media Channel, where you can watch your favorite clips and listen to your favorite music off of a SD card. Also, maybe we'll hear more about the Mii Popularity Channel, which has since long passed it's original April 2007 release date in Japan. Of course, they'll most likely reveal something so amazing that it's beyond even my vast imagination.

Less likely predictions

The next DS will be shown

The Nintendo DS has been around for almost three years now, so I expect we'll see the next model fairly soon. And I'm not talking a redesign, I mean a true successor, like what the Game Boy Advance was to the Game Boy Color. But, with the DS already selling as well as it is, there's really no reason to announce another so soon.

Nintendo will be announced as a publisher for Sadness

Small-time developer Nibris has been having some trouble finding someone to publish their new game, Sadness. It was rumoured that they already found a company to do so, but later on it was revealed that the deal had fallen through. I think Nintendo is just the right company to publish Sadness. But, I also somehow doubt it at the same time.

Almost certainly not happening

Zelda Wii will be revealed

We all know that Zelda Wii was already in production when Nintendo decided to port Twilight Princess from the GameCube, meaning the game is already somewhat completed. But releasing it so soon after Twilight Princess? I mean, it's been less than a year! No, I don't think this will be happening at all.

So those are my new predictions for E3 2007. Now we must simply wait to see if any come true!

...the wait is killing me!

The Duck Has Spoken.