By: Tyler Miller

This is the year everyone! Microsoft is out for blood and they’re putting on their big boy gloves. I’m incredibly excited for their E3 showing this year, but I’m also afraid that they’ll mess this up badly. Thankfully though, my excitement for what they have (and potentially have) is far outweighing my fear for their show. 

What I’m Looking Forward To

Project Scorpio

It’s been a long time coming, but Project Scorpio is about to truly be revealed. Sure we got confirmation about it last year, and its specs were revealed by Digital Foundry, but we have yet to see just what this machine is capable of. You can bet that Microsoft is going to use their E3 press conference to show off just how powerful their new console is, and I’m dying to see if it’s everything that they’ve been making it out to be.

Crackdown 3

Crackdown 3 has been M.I.A. for quite some time now. We last saw it in 2015 at Gamescom, but the team has been quiet ever since then. It skipped out on E3 last year, but it’s looking like this will be the year that Crackdown 3 makes its grand return. The team has been touting how the game will utilize the Cloud for the mass destruction that the game has to offer. I can imagine a scenario where the normal Xbox One still uses the Cloud to process all the destruction, but the Scorpio does it all with its own onboard power. It only makes sense that this will be the game that’s the shining example of what the Scorpio can do, and as such, I can see it being the first game that is shown during the press conference.

Cuphead

Oh Cuphead. You’ve been in what seems like development hell for so long that I’m starting to get worried about you, but you still look incredibly promising. Last year, normal platforming levels were added to the game in response to concerns regarding the game’s content since it originally consisted or solely boss fights. The only thing is, these platforming levels were met with a mixed response. At this point, I’m just hoping that the game is more than just a gorgeous art style, and actually turns out to be a good game. Please let this be the last year it appears in an E3 sizzle reel of indie games.

Sea of Thieves

Rare appears to have a game that can either be a bona fide hit or a one trick pony with Sea of Thieves. The trailer they revealed for the game last year showed real gameplay with real people playing it and it looked to be an absolute blast to play. Running a pirate ship with friends and taking to the high seas in search of treasure or other players to fight is something that I would love to do for hours on end. My only fear is that the game will be one that is good for Let’s Plays and not much else. I’m hoping that my fears are proved wrong, and a good E3 showing this year would do a lot to help assuage those fears.

New Exclusives

Microsoft is known for its exclusive trifecta of Halo, Gears of War, and Forza. Outside of those titles though, they do not have much in the way of exclusives that have been major hits. Sunset Overdrive and Quantum Break were fun games that many liked, but they just didn’t seem to leave a lasting impact on gamers. There was hope with the action-RPG Scalebound, but that was cancelled earlier this year, much to the surprise and dismay of many. Microsoft can’t just rest on their laurels and rely on their perfect trifecta to win over gamers. They need to introduce new exclusives that fans will want to play for years to come. And I don’t mean games that are “exclusive” for just a year before going over to other platforms (looking at you Rise of the Tomb Raider). If Microsoft Studios can announce one or two brand new IPs this year, alongside any exclusive titles that they may have in the works with a third party studio, that would go a long way to getting people to be excited about having an Xbox. I feel like they’ll do just that this year, and it’ll be something that’s worth getting excited about.

What I Don’t Want To Happen

Microsoft To Fail

This is a make it or break it year for Microsoft. They’re putting all their chips on the table with Project Scorpio, and they need to prove to us that it’s an investment that’s worth making. They can’t do that by just talking the talk. Microsoft needs to walk the walk as well and show us just what the Scorpio can do with the games that are running on it. A number of things can cause this to go so wrong: a lack of interesting and exciting games that are exclusive to the system, games that aren’t that impressive on the platform, and an expensive price tag are just a few of them. I’m really rooting for them, but it would be an absolute shame if they failed to deliver a fantastic press conference and make the Scorpio really matter to us.

It’s time to nut up or shut up Microsoft. You guys have been doing well so far this generation, but still not as well as Sony has. Project Scorpio is the perfect way for you all to try to reset the game and get things back in your playing field. I have hope for you all. You just have to do a great job and deliver an awesome show.