Upcoming Attractions

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Jun 5, 2018

Filed under: Notices 36 comments

On Wednesday I’ll be streaming some Destiny 2. I plan on starting around 8pm Eastern time. (Which works out to midnight UTC.) More importantly:

E3 begins this weekend. I’m hoping to re-stream the show, although Twitch hasn’t given their official blessing for re-streaming in 2018. It’s been standard practice for the last three years, but usually we get a post with a list of rules and guidelines.

Assuming it all works out, I’ll be streaming with Ross, who you might remember as part of the Good Robot dev team, and who is now working for Ubisoft. Ross and I will watch the shows, talk about the games, make fun of suits trying too hard to be cool, and generally fill in the slow moments with commentary.

Here is the schedule for the big events at E3: (Events I’m interested in streaming are marked with an asterisk, although I could be talked into covering others.)


Saturday, June 9
* Electronic Arts: 11 AM Pacific / 2 PM Eastern

Sunday, June 10
* Microsoft: 1 PM Pacific / 4 PM Eastern
* Bethesda: 6:30 PM Pacific / 9:30 PM Eastern

Devolver Digital: 8 PM Pacific / 11 PM Eastern

Monday, June 11
Square Enix: 10 AM Pacific / 1 PM Eastern
* Ubisoft: 1 PM Pacific / 4 PM Eastern
PC Gaming Show: 3 PM Pacific / 6 PM Eastern
* Sony: 6 PM Pacific / 9 PM Eastern

Tuesday, June 12
Nintendo — 9 AM Pacific / 12 PM Eastern


The rumor is that Gearbox will probably talk about the next Borderlands this year. If so, I wonder where they’ll show up. Borderlands is published by 2K Games, and 2K doesn’t have a big press event. Which means Gearbox will probably crash someone else’s party. Maybe they’ll show up during the Microsoft or Sony events, or maybe they’ll just announce on Twitter and put a trailer on YouTube. Or maybe the rumors are wrong and there won’t be any Borderlands news.

I notice they gave the PC Gaming Show lots of breathing room this year. In the previous years the PC show always ran really long and another (far more important) event would start, so everyone would drop the PC Show to cover the other one. This year they’ve got three whole hours to burn before Sony’s show starts. I do 90% of my gaming on the PC so I really ought to watch. On the other hand, the PC show is always slow and cringe-y and short on actual news / announcements. We’ll see.

So that’s the plan. I know this stuff disrupts the usual schedule of analysis you come here for, but I really want / need to watch this stuff, so the stream is simply the best way to turn those hours into content. It’s this or a blank page.

We’ll return to our regularly scheduled complaining once E3 blows over. Thank you for your patience. As always, my stream will be on my Twitch page.

 


From The Archives:
 

36 thoughts on “Upcoming Attractions

  1. The Rocketeer says:

    Practice booing now, don’t get shown up on the big day

    1. Shamus says:

      That’s my secret. I’m always booing.

      1. Durrican says:

        Bonna fide genuine Boo urns available at the concession stand. Hand-crafted ceramic urns with adorable spooky figments drawn on the surface.

        Boo urns! Boo urns! Get your Boo urns!

        1. Hans Moleman says:

          Finally someone who understands me.

          1. Zekiel says:

            I was saying “boo urns” :-(

        2. Agammamon says:

          *squeak!*

  2. Cybron says:

    I remember the first PC gaming show being pretty alright. It’s been downhill from there, though.

    1. Echo Tango says:

      Can’t they just get better presenters, or make a proper schedule or something? All the major platforms/consoles have a decent mix of small, big, AAA games, different genres, etc. There’s no reason the presentation/show for one platform should be so bad compared to the rest. :S

      1. Xeorm says:

        I’d guess it’d be in large part due to the console teams themselves organizing presentations to make their console look better. There being no overarching PC developer is going to lead to their presentations being a bit more lackluster.

        Plus I’d guess just in general the PC games rely less on a showy presentation like this to promote their games.

      2. MelTorefas says:

        Eh they have Day9 this year I believe, who is my favorite streamer and generally very fun host (he also did The International for Dota 2 last year). That said I have never been to or watched an E3 and this year will be no different for me, so.

        1. Thomas says:

          It’s Day9 every year. I’ve discovered from the PC show that apparently a lot of people don’t love Day9.

          I guess one thing is that Day9 loves to play up cringe as his style of humour generally and he has a slow pace. When you combine that with E3 (and the PC Gamer show in particularly) which already has a lot of cringe and slow parts, it can be too much for a lot of people.

  3. Bob Case says:

    I want to know what the deals are with Fallout 76 and Cyberpunk 2077, that’s it.

    Like, will I be able to follow the story if I missed Fallouts 5-75? Or Cyberpunks 2-2076? Can anyone give a quick summary?

    1. Matt Downie says:

      Fallout 5 was based in and around Montreal, portrayed as a sunny desert full of skeletons that still hadn’t been tidied away after two hundred and fifty years.
      Fallout 6 was based on an alien invasion, set in New Mexico.
      Fallout 7, 12, 34, 55 and 67 focused heavily on Ghouls as a clumsy metaphor for racism.
      Fallout 9 and 47 featured three factions fighting for control of a time machine.
      In Fallout 10, 17, 44 and 68, three factions fought for control of a future science device which, when switched on, would scrub all the radiation from the world.
      In Fallout 11, 18, 45 and 69, there was another nuclear war, plunging the world back into a bottlecap economy.
      Fallout 70-75 were a reboot of the first four Fallout games and Fallout tactics. So you can pick up Fallout 76 pretty easily.

      1. Durrican says:

        Personally I’m just glad they abandoned the super-deformed cell-shaded look in Fallout 68.

        1. Echo Tango says:

          It was a poor imitation of the cel shading in Fallout 41 anyways.

      2. BlueHorus says:

        And every single Fallout from 5 to 75 features the Brotherhood of Steel fighting Super Mutants*. You also wouldn’t believe the number of times the Enclave has returned to invade and pointlessly murder people.
        They must have had secret underground bases just, everywhere.

        As for Cyberpunk? Even 2077 games in, it’s the same old thing: Megacorps, cyberware, the Matrix, neon lights, you know the drill.
        Expecting different would be like having a fantasy game that didn’t feature Elves and Dwarves.

        *Hence the title Fallout 69: More Bloody Super Mutants – This Blows!
        Some interesting mini-games in that one…

        1. Karma The Alligator says:

          To be fair, there aren’t many Dwarves and Elves in the Final Fantasy games.

          1. Thomas says:

            That’s why they’re the _Final_ fantasy

    2. Chuk says:

      Heck, was there a Cyberpunk 1?

    3. xKiv says:

      Cyberpunk 2077 sounds like it should be a sequel to ROM 2064 and VA-11 Hall A (it isn’t).

  4. DeadleDark says:

    You should watch/restream Devolver Digital show as well. Don’t you watched the last year’s one?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKgEsuEBhqI

    I bet they’ll do the same funny thing this year

  5. Simplex says:

    “The rumor is that Gearbox will probably talk about the next Borderlands this year”

    https://twitter.com/DuvalMagic/status/996454254985363461

    It’s Randy Pitchford, so he may be lying.

    1. Lars says:

      PC Games a german games magazine wrote: Gearbox confirmed that they won’t show Borderlands 3 on the E3. They didn’t say who confirmed that.
      Has Gearbox any other game in development?

    2. ccesarano says:

      Oh wow.

      “The point is that it is kind of a part of our species that we tend to hold on to what we *want* to believe while discounting the truth if it contradicts that – no matter the evidence. It takes a disciplined mind to see reality for what it is.”

      This is coming from the man that still insists Aliens: Colonial Marines wasn’t a bad game and they never misled consumers or press at any point whatsoever when presenting it.

  6. Zak McKracken says:

    I suppose Ross won’t be joining you for the Ubisoft conference because he values his job? Or do we need to expect unexpectedly positive comments?

    That said: I’d be interested in knowing what kind of insider knowledge he would be able to provide from the inside of that place. But then there’s probably a limit to what would not be wise for him to share, and actually he may not have access to enough (shareable) information to significantly update your or your readership’s beliefs about that company.

    Makes me wonder, though…

    1. Naota says:

      Ubi insidiously planned their conference during standard work hours, so they can watch as I watch. It’s possible I could chime in from my laptop since I have the break time, but you’re right that if I make the effort it’d wise for me to be, shall we say “tactfully reserved,” just in case.

      On the other hand, as long as I steer clear of specific cases and practices I actually doubt there would be much issue with sharing my experiences working triple A in general. There’s no dirt to dig up there – they actually reflect pretty positively on everyone involved.

  7. GoStu says:

    In you I trust.

    I can never stomach more than a couple minutes of non-announcements or agonizingly slow, drawn-out reveals. Go forth with my blessing and come back with the best tidbits.

    Maybe I’d handle it better with a good drinking game. Know any?

    1. Droid says:

      Drink whenever you’re bored? Works for almost anything, really, except if you’re bored because of a lack of drinks.

      1. GoStu says:

        E3 2018 DRINKING GAME
        Draft Rules:

        1 SHOT:
        – Host feigns excitement (use this to drink as much as you want, whenever)
        – Anyone says ‘exciting’
        – A sequel is announced
        – Trailer of gameplay footage looks really dull

        2 SHOTS:
        – A new IP is announced
        – A reboot is announced
        – Trailer contains no gameplay footage
        – Trailer gets fast-forwarded onstage to skip “a dry bit” (it happened once!)

        FINISH DRINK:
        – Trailer leaves you uncertain as to what game even is
        – Massive technical failure (mic cut out, stream goes down)
        – A new IP is announced by Nintendo

        DRINK AND NEVER STOP:
        – EA announces they’ve acquired your favourite studio

  8. MadTinkerer says:

    I really want to go back to E3 with a digital camera. The best parts of E3 never get shown in public.

  9. Wonder if I can convince Battle and Brew (my local geek bar/trivia spot) to watch your stream. I know they’ll be showing E3, so maybe….

    1. ccesarano says:

      Where do you live and why don’t I live there.

      I wish there were bars that showed E3 where I lived.

  10. toadicus says:

    Hey, whoever’s desk that is has a mouse by the same company as I have. I use their ambi laser mouse, Ourea, because I can’t stand the right-handed ergo style.

  11. ccesarano says:

    Going to see if I can watch the stream with you, but given how important these shows are to me I might just watch your streams afterward and get your commentary when I’m back to work and experiencing the “no more E3 blues”, because for some reason I love the hype.

    Which is why it’s both surprising and not to see you skipping PC’s conference, given the past two years have been… eeeehhh…

    I would expect Gearbox’s next game is more likely to be announced in Sony’s Pre-Conference line-up as they said their current conference is a deep dive on four games (Death Stranding, Ghosts of Tsushima, Last of Us Part Two, and Spider-man). However, they did add there would still be other announcements, so I’m guessing maybe a trailer between each deep dive.

    If Randy Pitchford is being honest for a change, it makes me wonder if 2K might have someone else make Borderlands 3 like how 2K Marin was founded to make Bioshock 2. Or perhaps just a loss of faith in Gearbox? Regardless, I’d actually bet on such an announcement being either Microsoft’s conference or PC Gaming’s conference.

  12. Preciousgollum says:

    E3 prediction:
    – All Publishers will announce their thoughts (not plans, because there are none) on having a safe platform.

    Kettles will be boiling in the background, and somebody shouts “Owww, I got burned by the Steam, which is unsafe – somebody should cap it!” to which the suits will applause.

    … because apparently now, Valve is ‘the cowards’, ‘the arrogant’, and the ‘God-Kings’ of PC games.

    Now, I’ve had my reservations on the steam platform over time, but to see it be so irresponsibly blown-up via the likes of ‘Euro’ (read: UK) games media websites, in what appears as co-ordination, well, it really is disappointing.
    The sites that have been pushing for inclusiveness over the past 10 years, now don’t like the inclusions. Because ‘Politics’ was rarely a part of game discussion, it now means that a lot of people aren’t ready for this.

    I mean, it is close to being new Jack Thompson.

    This Dumb Industry.

  13. Infinitron says:

    Re: Borderlands, Take-Two have said that they’re not announcing any new games at E3.

Thanks for joining the discussion. Be nice, don't post angry, and enjoy yourself. This is supposed to be fun. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked*

You can enclose spoilers in <strike> tags like so:
<strike>Darth Vader is Luke's father!</strike>

You can make things italics like this:
Can you imagine having Darth Vader as your <i>father</i>?

You can make things bold like this:
I'm <b>very</b> glad Darth Vader isn't my father.

You can make links like this:
I'm reading about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darth_Vader">Darth Vader</a> on Wikipedia!

You can quote someone like this:
Darth Vader said <blockquote>Luke, I am your father.</blockquote>

Leave a Reply to Thomas Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.