In the opinion of many gamers, E3 has been a disappointment for the past few years. From lackluster console reveals (Wii U) to a lack of surprising announcements (Call of Duty on the 360) to game reveals with no info (CoD Vita), E3 2011 and 2012 just weren't that special.
E3 2013 can change that.
Nintendo has the most to gain this year, seeing how their Wii U's early days have been disappointing. However, we have reason to believe that they will bring their A-game to E3 this year. We already know that Mario Kart, 3D Mario, and Smash Bros reveals are on the way. Then you have games like Yarn Yoshi that will likely have more light shed upon them. Throw in Retro's mystery game and maybe a major 3rd party announcement or two (GTA5 with exclusive features anyone?), and this could be Nintendo's best E3 since 2010 on the console front. And the handheld front isn't looking too shabby either! The 3DS is overdue for a Zelda and Kirby game, not to mention already known games like Pokemon, Mario spinoffs, and localizations of games likke Bravely Default and Dragon Quest.
Sony has the least to gain from E3. They're in danger of the PS4 having a high price (is $500 really that unreasonable?), and have already shown a lot of their cards at the PS4 reveal. But they still have a trick or two up their sleeves. Already shown titles like Infamous, Killzone, and Knack can get time in the sun. Mystery games like that Final Fantasy that Square Enix teased and maybe The Last Guardian can be shown. The PS4 itself might even make an appearence! And on the Vita front, you have more Killzone, Tearaway, and who knows what else? Price cut anyone?
The real wild card is Microsoft. They haven't shown off their Nextbox yet, despite it likely coming out by the end of 2013. They're going to have to show that it's at least on par with the PS4, and either better for gamers, a better multimedia system, or at least significantly cheaper. Fortunately for them, they can deliver on all thedse fronts. Microsoft's 1st party has always been the weakest of the Big 3, but the list of studios at their disposal makes them a surprisingly powerful force. In the first 15 months of its life, the Nextbox will likely have one or two Halo games from 343, a bunch of Kinect games for Kinect 2.0, Forza 5, Fable 4, mystery games from studios like Platform Next and the like, and whatever Rare has been working on since 2008.
Even 3rd parties can have a decent showing. Ubisoft, of course, has Rayman Legends, Watch Dogs, and the second generation of Assassin's Creed. EA has Battlefield 4 and Dragon Age 3, and Japanese companies like Square Enix and Konami are just dying to show off their next generation engines and games.
