NIDZUMI+

So it’s that time again. E3 is creeping up on us again and with what seems to be the peak in the generation everyone wants to know what directions the big three will take. Microsoft are first up with their press event happening next Monday and there are a lot of bet your house on it announcements expected. You’ve got to wonder what surprises they have left in store.

Expect the long awaited motion controller that has been promised for over a year now. The real surprise here is what form will it take. Magnets, a motion wand or an infrared camera have all been the rumoured direction of this one. If When this one gets announced expect some kind of Wii Sports rip off along with a few new Arcade games that support it. Motion controlled Uno anyone?

Another thing that is expected to surface is the next Metal Gear Solid or Kojima Project to be shown. Rumours that this illusive countdown that has been subject of much hype eventually ends on the same day of Microsoft’s event. This could just be something to throw you off the tracks or it could be the beginnings of a major coup for Microsoft.

More reliable bets are live demos of All Points Bulletin, Mass Effect 2, Halo ODST, Modern Warfare 2 among overs that should be shown. We also seem to be a two year cycle for Gears of War so don’t be too shocked when a short teaser for Gears 3 is revealed or hinted at although Microsoft might want to keep this ace for a later date. Meanwhile Realtime Worlds should already be showing off APB but the release of a Crackdown theme on Xbox Live last week has sparked speculation that Crackdown 2 is in the works.

Apart from the motion controller expect this to be an all game announcement and demo’s kind of show. Forza 3, Alan Wake and Splinter Cell 5 should all get mentions with only Forza 3 getting a release penned for this fiscal year. I would be surprised if we did see anything else from that list though. They’ll definitely have their shocks but I would expect this to be a 360 only deal with rumours of a new 360 slim and Zune gaming device being panned.

Hopefully I haven’t put my neck on the line too much but Microsoft’s showing is expected to be more about the details of what we already know as opposed to earth-shattering announcements. Although saying that last year’s Final Fantasy announcement was a great surprise, so who knows. I would still put my money on this being a gaming focused conference with a majority of the games hitting this year.

For more coverage of E3 2009 check out our E3 Blog.