SlashGear's E3 2018 Wishlist

E3 2018 is nearly upon us. We're just a couple weeks away from the big show, and the stage is already set for a lot of major publishers. Nintendo, Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Bethesda, and Sony have all announced that they're hosting press conferences this year, and as always, we can expect to see more of games that have already been announced along with (hopefully) a few surprises. E3 is definitely a time for these companies to go big with their announcements, so knowing the sky is the limit, here's what we're hoping to see at the event.

Keep in mind that for many of these items, there may not be any indication that we can expect an announcement. Some might even have a slim-to-nil chance of happening. We're a bunch of dreamers here at SlashGear, though, so bad odds aren't going to stop us from listing our deepest desires.

More on Battlefield Vā€™s monetization strategy

Battlefield V has been generating a lot of buzz for more reasons than one. There's the fact that we're returning to World War II with this installment, the sad-yet-unsurprising outrage surrounding the game's female protagonist (the horror!), and some pleasant news as far as post-launch monetization is concerned.

Anyone who knows Electronic Arts knows its ongoing monetization strategies can be defined with one word: "aggressive." Between loot boxes and premium passes, EA games can certainly end up costing a lot more than their $60 price tag. Based on what EA has said so far, however, it sounds like Battlefield V won't be quite so overreaching. The company has confirmed that there won't be a premium pass for Battlefield V, nor will there be loot boxes, which means no pay-to-win tactics like the ones we saw in Battlefront 2.

EA hasn't said that there won't be any kind of microtransactions at all, so we can probably expect it to charge for cosmetics. Even then, the company said during last week's reveal that customization options can be unlocked simply by playing, so has EA turned over a new leaf? It seems a little too good to be true, and we're definitely interested in hearing more during E3.

Pokemon for Nintendo Switch

Last year, at E3 2017, Pokemon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara announced that work was underway on a mainline Pokemon title for the Nintendo Switch. His announcement was brief, and at the end, he said that it might be a year or more before the game was ready for release.

Fast forward a year later and Pokemon fans are basically frothing at the mouth for more information. There have whispers here and there that we might be closing in on a reveal, but nothing we've heard has been particularly compelling. It probably isn't super likely that we'll see anything about Pokemon for Switch, given that Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are only a little over six months old at this point, but it would make for a great surprise announcement that would help the Switch's 2018 end up being arguably just as good as its 2017.

The Elder Scrolls VI

If you're looking for the wildest case of wishful thinking in this article, this might be it. Though Elder Scrolls VI is definitely going to happen at some point in the future, the big question is when, and thus far, Bethesda has been very careful to set the expectation that the next installment of the famed franchise won't be here for a while. Of course, Bethesda has been saying that for years at this point, so perhaps it's finally time to pull back the veil and give us a look.

A reveal for E3 2018 does make some sense when you consider that it's now been nearly seven years since Skyrim and almost three since Fallout 4. There also isn't very much that Bethesda could reveal at its E3 press conference. We know we'll see more of Rage 2, but new titles in the Prey, The Evil Within, and Wolfenstein series have all launched within the last year or so. A new DOOM title isn't out of the question, neither is a new Dishonored, but can Bethesda build a successful conference around those three franchises?

There's always the possibility of new IP reveals, but we're definitely due for a big announcement after last year's press conference was ultimately kind of lackluster and disappointing. The Elder Scrolls VI could be just what the doctor ordered, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that it finally happens this year.

Halo: Master Chief Collection for PC

If there's one thing the launch and subsequent shutdown of the ElDewrito mod for Halo Online showed us, it's that a lot of people really want a way to play Halo multiplayer on PC. Microsoft and 343 Industries know this, so what better way to satisfy that particular market demand than by bringing the Master Chief Collection to PC?

In a way, doing this would be something of a win-win for Microsoft. Fans have been asking for a PC port of Halo: MCC for a few years now, so it would be giving those PC players who probably aren't going to buy an Xbox anyway what they want. At the same time, Microsoft wouldn't need to commit future Halo releases to PC, and can keep the series as a whole positioned as the Xbox system seller we know it as.

Whether or not this will actually happen is anyone's guess. The Xbox One doesn't have a ton of exclusives as it is, so to bring a Halo game over to PC ā€“ even one that's four years old ā€“ might not be something Microsoft wants to do. If it really is committed to Windows 10 gaming, though, bring the Master Chief Collection over to PC would be a great way to prove it.

Nintendo 64 Classic

Given the success of the NES and the SNES Classic, it's hard to imagine a future where Nintendo doesn't release an N64 Classic. There's clearly a huge market for these devices, and nostalgia for the N64 seems to run just as strong as it does for the SNES and the NES.

Therefore, the N64 Classic isn't so much a matter of "if," but rather "when?" E3 2018 seems like as good a place as any to announce the device, especially if Nintendo isn't going to have as packed a show as it did in 2017. Nintendo announced the SNES Classic at the end of June last year too, so an E3 reveal for the N64 Classic would line up nicely.

We've already discussed the games we'd like to see on the N64 Classic, so now we just have to sit back and wait for Nintendo to make the announcement. With the NES Classic set to return to shelves at the end of June, we can at least expect Nintendo to bring it up during its E3 show, which would make it the perfect time to announce the N64 Classic as well.

Wrap-Up

There's really no end to the list of things we could potentially see announced at E3 2018, but these are just a few of the announcements we're particularly hoping for. The unofficial beginning of E3 kicks off on Saturday, June 9 at 2 PM Eastern with EA's press conference. We'll be covering the shows and announcements as they happen here at SlashGear, so be sure to check back with us for all you need to know!