It wouldn’t be E3 if a number of surprises didn’t leak in advance, but even so, this year has been particularly leaky. Nearly all of this weekend’s biggest announcements were spoiled early, from Ninja Theory’s new game, Bleeding Edge, to Elden Ring, From Software’s rumored collaboration with Game of Thrones author George RR Martin. Nintendo’s own E3 press conference is still to come, and it appears the company is taking measures to ensure no secrets spill out ahead of time, as it has reportedly threatened legal action against a well-known leaker.

Twitter user Sabi, who has accurately leaked details from Microsoft and Bethesda’s press conferences before each one aired (including Keanu Reeves’ appearance in Cyberpunk 2077 and Xbox Scarlett’s technical specifications), revealed they had received a cease and desist letter from a lawyer representing Nintendo (via Eurogamer). Sabi has since said they will not leak anything from the Nintendo Direct, although they assert they’ll continue leaking non-Nintendo secrets.

Nintendo’s E3 Direct is scheduled for Tuesday, June 11, at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM BST. The company recently confirmed the broadcast’s runtime–roughly 40 minutes. We also know Nintendo will reveal the next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character during the Direct; game director Masahiro Sakurai confirmed as much in a video message following Nintendo’s Smash Ultimate World Championship on June 8.

Beyond that, however, Nintendo hasn’t said much about this year’s Direct. The company teased the broadcast will focus on Nintendo Switch games coming in 2019, and it confirmed Luigi’s Mansion 3, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening will all be playable on the E3 show floor, so they’ll all presumably get some time in the spotlight during the Direct.

If you want to tune in, you can find out when and how to watch Nintendo’s E3 Direct here. That isn’t the only Nintendo news to come from this year’s E3, however. The company also aired a Pokemon-focused Direct on June 5, which revealed a ton of new details about Pokemon Sword and Shield. You can catch up on all the Pokemon Direct news and rewatch the broadcast here.

E3 2019 Conference Schedule

• Monday, June 10, 10 AM PT — PC Gaming Show
• Monday, June 10, 12 PM PT — Limited Run Games Press Conference
• Monday, June 10, 1 PM PT — Ubisoft Press Conference
• Monday, June 10, 4:30 PM PT — Kinda Funny Showcase
• Monday, June 10, 6 PM PT — Square Enix Press Conference
• Tuesday, June 11, 9 AM PT — Nintendo Direct Showcase

More E3 news:

• New Xbox console, Scarlett, revealed
• Xbox Scarlett details: 8K, 120 FPS, SSD
• Elden Ring is From Software and George RR Martin’s new game
• Cyberpunk 2077 release date announced
• Final Fantasy VII Remake announced

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-threatens-e3-leaker-with-legal-action/1100-6467612/

Cyberpunk 2077 might have stolen the show at Microsoft’s E3 2019 press conference. The cinematic trailer was impressive enough as it is, but then CD Projekt Red went ahead and revealed that none other than Keanu Reeves is playing a character in the game. Then the man himself came out on stage, got called “breathtaking”, and announced the game’s release date.

It was exciting stuff, but you might still be wondering where all the new gameplay footage was.

During E3 2019, gameplay footage is only being shown to the press behind closed doors and to the public on the show floor. It’s understandable if CD Projekt Red doesn’t want to dilute Cyberpunk 2077’s impact by revealing too much, given that it previously showed a trailer at E3 2018 and then a hefty 48-minute chunk of gameplay the following August. Miles Tost, one of the game’s level designers, also noted how iterative the game development process is, and how this causes things to change all the time. Tost says, “What we have now might not be there tomorrow. We’ve had ideas that have died over the years then they’ve been resurrected then they’ve died again and now they’re back.” As a result, CD Projekt Red would prefer to show the game only when they have something refined, polished, and presumably set in stone.

E3 2019 Conference Schedule

• Monday, June 10, 10 AM PT — PC Gaming Show
• Monday, June 10, 12 PM PT — Limited Run Games Press Conference
• Monday, June 10, 1 PM PT — Ubisoft Press Conference
• Monday, June 10, 4:30 PM PT — Kinda Funny Showcase
• Monday, June 10, 6 PM PT — Square Enix Press Conference
• Tuesday, June 11, 9 AM PT — Nintendo Direct Showcase

However, if you’re one of the many millions of people who can’t make it to E3, have no fear. Reddit users have done some digging and unearthed a secret message hidden within CD Projekt Red’s unboxing video for the collector’s edition of Cyberpunk 2077. The message reads: “For now, the demo is only available to the lucky ones who managed to get tickets to E3 and the rest of you will have to wait until Gamescom or the public dev Q&A unveiling stream at PAX in August.”

The message continues, “Yeah, we can already feel the bashing you’re gonna give us online. ‘Why is the gameplay not being released right away?’ The reason is we want to make the most out of the months of work we put into the demo and first showcase gameplay live at E3 and Gamescom. Releasing gameplay right away would make the Gamescom presentations pointless and would significantly limit our chance to build hype. Why do we need to build hype? To get more gamers interested in Cyberpunk 2077 and, hopefully, convince them to give it a go. We are putting our hearts and souls into making Cyberpunk 2077 a great game and we would like as many gamers as possible to find out about it and experience its amazing story.”

Keanu Reeves probably built up more than enough hype, but you can see where they’re coming from. Now the wait till August begins.

In the meantime, you can check out GameSpot’s full coverage of E3 2019 for the latest breaking news.

More E3 news:

• New Xbox console, Scarlett, revealed
• Xbox Scarlett details: 8K, 120 FPS, SSD
• Elden Ring is From Software and George RR Martin’s new game
• Cyberpunk 2077 release date announced
• Final Fantasy VII Remake announced

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2019-new-cyberpunk-2077-gameplay-to-be-shown-in/1100-6467611/

E3 2019 has been weird. In the lead-up, a grey cloud hung over the show, threatening to rain on everyone’s parade. Dour discussions around companies like Activision and Sony having either a reduced or no presence dulled some of the show’s luster, and an avalanche of leaks just days before the press conferences kicked off stole some a lot of thunder. With most of the cats out of the bag, all eyes turned to Microsoft’s press conference.

And in some regards, Microsoft’s press conference was definitely exciting. Most notably because Keanu Reeves, the undisputed perfect human being, was revealed to be in Cyberpunk 2077. But still, we all wanted to see the new Xbox Scarlett, and instead, we got Microsoft telling everyone that hard drives are cool and RAM is fast.

The grey clouds seemed ready to unleash a wet and warm shower of disappointment on E3 2019. And then the Bethesda press conference happened. Ikumi Nakamura took to the stage, and like a beam of light from the sun, she cut through the miasma to energize and uplift us all. Nakamura arrived on stage to introduced Ghostwire Tokyo, a new game developed by Tango Gameworks, the studio behind The Evil Within and The Evil Within 2.

Nakamura casually strolled onto the stage with an enthusiastic, “Yayyyyyyy.” Followed immediately by, “Wow, wow, wow, so many people.” Obviously, Nakamura was feeling overwhelmed by the amount of eyes that were on her, but at the same time, she stayed cool, calm, and collected.

Nakamura’s minor case of stage fright belies her experience in game design and development. Though she may not be a familiar name or face to the greater video game fanbase as a whole, she has been involved in the creation of some of the most beloved games of all time, including Okami and Bayonetta, and of course The Evil Within.

Over the course of a few minutes, Nakamura’s earnestness and excitement won hearts and minds. She admitted her nervousness, said she’s give speaking English–which she is doing for our benefit–a solid shot, and then delivered a charismatic pitch for her new “spooooooky” game. People are vanishing in Tokyo, and we the player must find out why, unraveling conspiracies and delving into the occult along the way. She promised we’d meet spirits that were [ominous voice] “dangerous” and [playful voice] “peaceful.” We’ll need to ask ourselves what’s normal and paranormal.

“I ask myself this every time I go to the office,” she added, looking slightly dejected, before following up with, “Just kidding.” And at this point, the internet was sold: Ikumi Nakamura became our new queen.

Ikumi’s time on stage ended with her striking an energetic pose and asking everyone to check out the trailer for her new game, which 1) Wasn’t leaked before the show 2) Looked intriguing. And with that, Ikumi became the undisputed star of E3 2019. Sorry Keanu!

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2019-belongs-to-ikumi-nakamura-she-is-the-winne/1100-6467615/

Microsoft’s E3 2019 press conference brought an onslaught of gaming news, and one of the biggest tidbits was the existence of the previously rumored Xbox Scarlett console. The company also showed off a new trailer for Halo Infinite and confirmed the game would come to Xbox Scarlett in Holiday 2020. However, the publisher did not say at the time whether Infinite would still come to Xbox One and PC, as was previously announced.

Following the conference, Microsoft reassured fans the shooter was indeed coming to its current-gen machine. In a post on the Xbox wire, the official blog’s editor-in-chief Will Tuttle listed Halo Infinite for Project Scarlett, Xbox One, and Windows 10.

Halo Infinite was shown off for the first time since E3 2018 with its new trailer, but we still haven’t seen any gameplay. We subsequently learned the game will stay dark until E3 2020, so we won’t be learning much about the game until next year. What we did find out is that the game will focus on Master Chief, whose primary focus will be “mysteries surrounding the appearance of The Pilot and the desolate remains of a Halo ring.” Microsoft also reiterated that Infinite runs on 343 Industries’ “next-generation” game engine, known as Slipspace.

Halo Infinite and Xbox Scarlett will launch Holiday 2020. A more specific release date was not shared, nor were any further details on what to expect from the game. Take a look at more news from E3 2019–as well as the remaining scheduled press conferences–below.

E3 Schedule

• Monday, June 10, 10 AM PT — PC Gaming Show
• Monday, June 10, 12 PM PT — Limited Run Games Press Conference
• Monday, June 10, 1 PM PT — Ubisoft Press Conference
• Monday, June 10, 4:30 PM PT — Kinda Funny Showcase
• Monday, June 10, 6 PM PT — Square Enix Press Conference
• Tuesday, June 11, 9 AM PT — Nintendo Direct Showcase

More News

• New Xbox console, Scarlett, revealed
• Xbox Scarlett details: 8K, 120 FPS, SSD
• Elden Ring is From Software and George RR Martin’s new game
• Cyberpunk 2077 release date announced
• Final Fantasy VII Remake announced

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2019-halo-infinite-still-coming-to-xbox-one-mic/1100-6467604/

The new Xbox console, Scarlett, was perhaps the biggest news to emerge from Microsoft’s E3 2019 press conference. However, despite revealing many of Scarlett’s specs, the company did not confirm whether the device would include a physical disc drive.

Fortunately, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has since reassured fans that Scarlett will indeed include a disc drive. He told GamesIndustry.biz that physical games are a part of the company’s future and went on to say: “We know that people still have discs. So even when we put out things like the Xbox One S All-Digital edition, we are very clear with the name because I am not trying to confuse anybody, that if you are somebody that has a library of discs, or that’s the way you want to acquire the content, then you should buy the Xbox One S, not the Xbox One S All-Digital… which is why we put it in the name, and yes I know it says SAD.

“I want to be very descriptive, because I am not trying to confuse anybody about what the options are. I want to give people choice, and right now physical is a choice that millions of people love.”

In recent months Microsoft has increasingly pushed digital games with initiatives such as Xbox Game Pass, which recently came to PC and is currently available for $1 / £1 with Xbox Live Gold included, and the Xbox One S All-Digital console, which does not come with a disc drive. The company is also rumored to be developing a second Scarlett console, reportedly codenamed Lockhart, that foregoes a disc drive, though this is as yet unconfirmed. In addition, Microsoft’s game streaming service, Project xCloud, launches this year.

The Xbox Scarlett console, or whatever it ends up being called, will launch in Holiday 2020. Pricing was not announced. But what we do know is that Halo Infinite will also release in Holiday 2020, presumably as a launch title for the new console.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2019-new-xbox-scarlett-console-does-have-disc-d/1100-6467598/