Poll: Which E3 Press Conference Are You Most Looking Forward to Watching?

By Mark Delaney,

The ships are leaving the harbor. This weekend brings with it the annually rocky seas of Electronics Entertainment Expo, better known as E3. It's both an intensely fun time... and simply an intense one. We'll be bringing you our steady stream of all the news, including the return of the live blogs we introduced last year. As usual, most of the heavy hitters will be returning on one stage or another to build hype around their brand. Officially these pressers are pre-E3, but for those who follow the show year after year it really feels like the kickoff event.

If you need a rundown of when to tune in to all the news, we have that for you. What we ask in return is for you to share what has you most excited. Specifically, during which press conference will you blink the fewest number of times? All the usual heavy hitters will be on scene once again. Here's a quick look at who's sending their glossophobic developers and better tuned spokespeople on stage in the coming days.

Electronic Arts — June 10th

The world's largest games publisher will be hosting its own separate but related EA Play event once again this year. Those tuning in can expect a heavy dose of their EA Sports division, FIFA, Madden, NHL and the annually troubled NBA LIVE.

On top of that, what has most people excited is the prospect of more news on the many Star Wars properties in development under the far-reaching EA umbrella. Without a doubt we'll see a lot of Star Wars Battlefront II. Will we get a big showcase on Visceral and Amy Hennig's upcoming third-person action adventure game? What about the one from Respawn? Fans are expecting a show heavy in its Far, Far Away-ness.

We'll also get more about Battlefield 1's upcoming DLC "In the Name of the Tsar". After earning a lot of good will with the reveal of Unravel two years ago, EA followed up with another arthouse game, Fe, which is a part of their EA Originals brand. That game has gone eerily quiet. Will we see more of it, or perhaps a new Ea Originals title — and if the latter is the case, what does that mean for Fe?

Microsoft — June 11th

It's no secret that Microsoft is banking heavily on impressing with their Scorpio showcase. They have the benefit of following the PS$ Pro reveal, which soured a lot of fans' expectations due in part to its presentation. Microsoft should learn from their rival's mistakes and present the console in a way that appeals to the audience and not talk to them like shareholders.

On the games side, we'll certainly be seeing more of State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition. Undead Labs has already said many times that the game's release date will be announced at the show. It's likely we'll see more of Sea of Thieves and Crackdown 3: Campaign too. What about a new IP? Some rumors think it'll happen, but Microsodt would be understandably gun-shy to reveal another game if its too early after their recent problems with cancelling exclusives. With Scorpio packing a big punch, it's likely we'll see a few multiplatform games showcased during the Microsoft presser too, in addition to more news on upcoming ID@Xbox titles and maybe some incoming options to Xbox Game Pass.

Bethesda - June 11th

This is Bethesda's third consecutive conference. After a lot of Fallout in year one and Dishonored in year two, what will be the focus this year? The image above teases two new titles to be announced and many believe those to be sequels in the Wolfenstein and The Evil Within series.

If only one or neither of those is correct, some signs point to a Starfield reveal, following 4chan rumors and a long ago registered trademark by the publisher. Others are surely hoping for an Elder Scrolls VI unveiling but it seems Bethesda is content sitting on new game reveals until they're nearly finished — so much so that it seems likely at least one of their two new games will hit stores this year.

Aside from games, it may be safe to expect a DLC announcement for Dishonored 2, though it may be too early for the same to be said of Prey.

Ubisoft — June 12th

The video above alleges to preview the full Ubisoft E3 schedule, but those who watch annually may know better. The French publisher has made a habit of saving a big secret for the show. Recent history indicates it's almost a mandate they have — Steep, Wildlands, For Honor, The Division, Watch_Dogs — even the UbiArt games were a nice surprise. Despite steering an Assassin's Creed ship so leaky that all the passengers have evacuated onto lifeboats, they do seem adept at maintaining their "one last thing" moment.

This year will no doubt focus heavily on that new Assassin's Creed, all but officially revealed to be subtitled Origins. It's safe to also expect the latest in the Far Cry, South Park, and The Crew series. What will Ubi's surprise be? Perhaps Splinter Cell. They don't usually go a year without renewing the Tom Clancy metaseries. Maybe it'll be an all new property instead. Maybe they won't have a surprise, like when you're watching a Shyamalan film for the twist ending and it never comes. It doesn't usually happen that way, but we suppose it could.

Sony — June 12th

The PS4 lineup is one to be envied, quite honestly. They've got no fewer than ten major console exclusives with which they could spend stage time. Titles like The Last of Us: Part II and God of War are sure to contend for the tweets per minute championship if they're featured. Most of the TA audience won't care for the exclusives, of course, as they're like freshly baked cookies in a locked cabinet to which you have no key. But it's sensible to assume they'll have plenty of multiplatform games to show off too, like Destiny 2 and Call of Duty: WWII.

They put a lot of emphasis on marketing rights. They prioritize getting the big games attached, in spirit and practice, to their blue branding at the end of ad spots. Microsoft is certainly going to show off some similar third-party deals thanks to the draw of Scorpio, but any such deals that Sony has made with teams that don't have their own pressers means we won't see those games during any other portions of the show. It's worth staying tuned in even if you aren't an owner of a PS4.

With all this prologue, which show has you most excited? Sound off in our poll below!

Which E3 press conference has you most excited?

EA
Microsoft
Bethesda
Ubisoft
Sony

We've had 1106 responses.

Written by Mark Delaney

Mark is a Boston native now living in Portland, Oregon. He has written for GameSkinny, Gamesradar and the Official Xbox Magazine. He runs the family-oriented gaming site Game Together.