How Microsoft can win E3

E3 is fast approaching, with Microsoft set to reveal its upcoming wears first on June 6 – less than two weeks away. While Sony is set to focus on the NGP and Nintendo will unveil its Project Café, Microsoft seems unlikely to reveal any new hardware. Without the excitement that comes from new gaming platforms, can the Xbox 360 and Kinect offer enough to win E3 2011? Here’s what we think needs to happen for Microsoft to be in with a chance.

AAA Exclusives

Exclusives are becoming rarer and rarer, especially on the Xbox 360. Even so, Microsoft has a handful of huge games up it sleeve for E3 that will be released this year.

The biggest announced title is undoubtedly Gears of War 3, which is likely to be one of the biggest releases in the Xbox 360’s history. A stunning E3 presentation would raise hype even further – but Epic will need to make sure they don’t repeat last year’s underwhelming co-op demo.

Forza 4 developer Turn 10 will no doubt be trying to ensure its new game is king of the racing simulation, with Gran Turismo 5 firmly in its sights. A leaked (and quickly removed) trailer for the game looked wonderful. How hard can it be to topple GT5? Polyphony Digital’s latest doesn’t even have online leaderboards.

Last but by no means least is the heavily rumoured Halo remake, supposedly being handled by Saber Interactive. Little is known about this title, but it’s reported to be more than just an HD version of the classic Xbox original. Spruced up visuals and online multiplayer should guarantee this is one of the biggest Xbox 360 releases of 2011, but without Bungie will the game still feel like Halo? Saber, a studio best known for middling FPS TimeShift, has a lot to prove.

Kinect games for everyone

While it’s fairly obvious that Kinect needs some games that appeal to serious gamers, stores aren’t exactly flush with new titles of any description. At E3 Microsoft needs to demonstrate it’s got everyone covered, with a plethora of projects for Kinect’s mainstream audience and finally some titles for the hardcore crowd. Even a few Kinect features inside pad-based releases would be a step in the right direction.

We’d wager on seeing some standard announcements – Kinect Sports 2 and Dance Central 2, for instance – but there are some big rumours of hardcore-focused titles. And what exactly is Crytek working on with Codename Kingdoms? Last year’s demoed Star Wars Kinect title is also bound to have a big presence at the show.

There’s also gossip that Kinect could receive its own firmware patch to boost accuracy – one rumour from last year suggested that Microsoft could quadruple the precision of the motion-sensing device, though we’ve heard nothing about this since then.

Exclusive DLC

At E3 last year Microsoft revealed that the Xbox 360 will receive all Call of Duty DLC first for three years. This year expect the platform holder to re-iterate that fact with Modern Warfare 3.

As big as Call of Duty DLC is, the exclusivity is old news, so we expect another of this year’s biggest titles will have its DLC tied to the Xbox 360 in a timed-exclusive fashion. Our money is on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but Battlefield 3 would be an even bigger catch.

XBLA continues to impress

Some of last year’s best games were released on Xbox LIVE Arcade, and at E3 Microsoft is bound to present a strong line-up of titles for the year ahead, with many being exclusive or timed-exclusives.

The big money is on Microsoft’s annual Summer of Arcade, and this year we’re eagerly anticipating titles like Renegade Ops, Spelunky HD, Fireburst, Retro City Rampage, Bastion, and Fez. And that’s probably just the tip of the iceberg.

With the abysmal failure of PlayStation Network last month, Microsoft is in a prime position to reinforce its position as the prime destination for downloadable gaming.

Surprises

E3 wouldn’t be the huge event we all look forward to if it wasn’t for the surprise announcements.

This year Microsoft will need to make quite a few if it’s to have any chance of winning against the might of Sony’s NGP and Nintendo’s Project Café. With that in mind, and no new console on the horizon, it’ll be all down to the games. How does a triple-whammy of a new Project Gotham Racing, a new Halo from 343 Industries and Crimson Skies sequel Crimson Alliance from Certain Affinity sound?

Pretty damn good, if you ask us.

Check back soon for our thoughts on how Sony and Nintendo can also clean up at the annual expo.