E3 10: Namco Bandai, Square Enix & Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Forecast

By Louis Bedigian
GameZone.com

Namco Bandai

As you’ve likely heard, Namco Bandai is proudly celebrating Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary with a special E3 event. Namco Bandai is expected to use the event to unveil the next evolution of the Pac-Man series.

Is this something to get excited about? Pac-Man is Pac-Man; the first two are cherished classics, but the rest haven’t able to compare. Still, I wouldn’t write off this sequel as another disappointment. Namco Bandai has had plenty of time to study our playing habits and realize that it’s the traditional Pac-Man formula that people love. That brings us to my big Pac-Man prediction: the game will feature traditional top-down levels with faster gameplay, more ghosts, specific challenges (ex: collect the dots in a certain order), and cross-platform multiplayer that will unite a few of the platforms online, which could be XBLA, PSN, WiiWare and/or the iPhone/iPad.

The latter feature could be hard to implement due to the differences in online architecture. But is it impossible? Not if the developers really wanted to make it happen and the service providers (Xbox Live, PSN, etc.) agreed to comply.

Alternate prediction: Pac-Man goes episodic, a la Sonic the Hedgehog, giving gamers the chance to play a few new levels every three months. The graphics and gameplay content would be very familiar; the only major difference between this game and the original would be the levels.

Other than Pac-Man, what else can we expect from the house that built Tekken and SoulCalibur? Sadly, not another Tekken or SoulCalibur. The latter is in dire need of an overhaul and I think Namco Bandai knows it. Tekken, meanwhile, just had a sequel last year. While spin-offs of either series are always a possibility (we’ve seen them before), they are not likely to occur at this point in time.

Klonoa, on the other hand, hasn’t received a true sequel in eight years. Fortunately, the Wii remake showed that Namco Bandai is still interested in the property. Though it may not be ready to go 3D and blow away the computer-generated sequences of the original (I can dream, can’t I?), a third installment is long overdue. If Klonoa 3 is in the making, don’t be surprised if its graphics are simple enough to appear on every platform, as I expect this game to be an inexpensive online-only release.

Square Enix

It’s amusing to me that the big rumor for Square Enix is that it will announce that Final Fantasy XIV or Final Fantasy Versus XIII is coming to Xbox 360. How would that be big, E3-worthy news? Publishers could use any day of the week to announce that Game X is going multi-platform.

Instead, I think that the biggest Square Enix games at E3 will come from its Eidos acquisition. The company acquired Eidos to expand its popularity in western markets; Tomb Raider and other top-tier action games could help make that goal a reality.

But which new games will be shown off, if any? In addition to the downloadable Tomb Raider game, I expect Square Enix to make an announcement regarding Lara Croft’s next big adventure. I anticipate the announcement of a new Eidos-developed franchise as well.

If you’re hoping for some RPG announcements, you might be disappointed. Square Enix traditionally saves its biggest unveilings for Japanese events. Granted, the company is changing its business strategy in an effort to become more globally successful. But for now, I think the major Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy-related announcements will be saved for other venues.

If Square Enix does have something big planned for E3, my money is on Parasite Eve or Chrono Trigger. The former is getting a PSP update – why not bring it to PS3 and Xbox 360 as well? That’s bound to happen sooner or later. And while Chrono Trigger always manages to slip away from its maker, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear about a sequel, especially with FFXIII’s release finally out of the way.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

It seems that licensed themes – Batman, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings – will rule WBIE’s booth at E3. When combined with F.E.A.R. 3 and Super Scribblenauts, that doesn’t leave much room for surprises…

…Unless Scribblenauts is also headed to Natal. The two seem to be made for each other, do they not? I wouldn’t be surprised to see a PS3/PS Move version as well.

Nothing, however, could compare to the game every fighting fan is dying to see: Mortal Kombat 9. While the “9” may not be attached to the finished project (expect a subtitle to replace it), the next Mortal Kombat will be a true sequel to the acclaimed franchise – not another spin-off featuring comic book characters. Blood and gore are supposed to be a part of the experience, and honestly I think 3D should be as well. Mortal Kombat isn’t your average series; the gameplay is and always has been what kept us coming back. But we wouldn’t have known that if it hadn’t been for the fatalities, which lured most of us to the arcade original. If 3D is offered in the PS3 version, MK9 would elevate the series to a new level of grotesque entertainment.

Fan sites are going crazy with MK9 rumors, all of which point to an E3 unveiling; further rumors indicate a fall release date. Could this be true? If not, then the Mortal Kombat Rebirth teaser on YouTube is going to end up disappointing a lot of fans. While it appears that the video is not an official viral marketing campaign for the new game, I don’t think it’s any coincidence that it hit the web now. WBIE may not have made the video, but the studio likely supported its release, knowing it would be the perfect way to get us excited for MK9.