2007 E3 Expo News -
part 2
Five Things I'd Like To See at E3 2007
By Scott Weiss
July 6, 2007
Sure, everyone's got their "favorite games" they
want to see at the event, but E3 07 is also about surprises,
nice little things that jump out of nowhere and shake the
gaming community to their very core. Like the Halo 3 trailer,
the Super Smash Bros. Melee revealing, stuff like that. Here's
a lovely little list I put together, naming the top 5 things
I'd love to see happen at this year's E3 07 event. Of course,
the probability of such things happening can go all over the
place. Without further ado...the list...
1. Treasure's "secret" next-gen project. I've been
a fan of the company for a long, LONG time and I'd like to
see whatever they're cooking up displayed somewhere on the
Barker Hangar floor or even in a private suite of some sort.
Their presence at this year's event seems questionable, what
with the small invite list and all, BUT if they're linked
to a bigger outside company like Sega or Microsoft, the chances
of seeing their work at the show would be a huge plus. If
anything, we probably won't see this project...but hopefully
we'll be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of their forthcoming
port of Ikaruga for Xbox Live Arcade.
2. Sony actually have a great press conference. A press conference
can go one of two ways. It can completely mesmerize the viewers
in awestruck quality, or it can bore the absolute crap out
of them. Sony's had it both ways, with a good showcase one
year and last year's overtechnical showcase, filled with errors,
funny quotes ("RIIIIDGE RACER!") and other flubs.
If they can have a GOOD show this year, with Ratchet and Clank,
Gran Turismo 5, Uncharted, Lair, Heavenly Sword and a few
other revealings (we've heard rumblings about a new Jak and
Daxter, along with Twisted Metal Black II), they can get back
in the driver's seat again. And then we'd all forget about
those references to hitting a crab for maximum damage. Well,
OK, we can't quite forget that one. But we'll forget the others.
3. Mario Kart for Wii. This has been rumored for a while now,
and since Super Smash Bros. Brawl won't be playable on the
show floor, Nintendo needs to turn to a quality killer app
to get the attention of the gaming public. Mario Galaxy and
Metroid Prime could do the job, but they were both playable
at last year's event. Nintendo needs something brand spanking
new to turn heads, and an online Mario Kart game for the Wii
would probably do the trick. Expect visuals along the lines
of Double Dash!!, or even better, combined with eight player
versus races and an intuitive Wii control set-up. Oh, yeah,
we can see this becoming an instant party hit...if it's revealed.
4. A hint of Gears of War 2. OK, so Cliffy B. and the Epic
gang have already confirmed that Gears of War II won't see
any kind of playable public display at the E3 event. Still,
what better time to reveal an early trailer for the game than
during the Microsoft pre-E3 press conference? Remember what
the Halo 3 trailer did for last year's? It brought a community
to its knees with the buzz that emerged from it, and Gears
2 could easily do the same thing. It doesn't even have to
be that much -- maybe even something among the lines of last
year's dramatic "Mad World" trailer with a brief
30 seconds of footage, if that. But Microsoft should offer
at least some kind of morsel about the game. Hell, put a tattoo
on Peter Moore's neck for it.
5. Booth babes. So it's probably a long shot, if anything
at all. But I have a place in my heart for hot women advertising
upcoming games. Every year, up until now, I was assigned as
an official booth babe photographer for several publications
(a position I fought tooth and nail for, mind you). And it
would feel kind of sad to not have something to shoot at.
I don't expect to find these girls roaming the floor in the
Barker Hangar, but I would be surprised if they weren't lurking
about in the suites, trying to explain the games or offering
some kind of drinks. Let's see it happen.