VideoGamer.com Rumour mill – Sony and MS at E3

Welcome to the Rumour mill, VideoGamer.com’s run-down of the big rumours currently doing the rounds in the video game industry. Every week we’ll hunt down the juiciest stories and give our opinion on how legit they are. So, whether you want the ridiculous or the plausible, read on.

PS3 Home to coincide with E3

The Rumour: Sony is yet to announce a release date for the highly anticipated virtual world for the PlayStation 3, but a supposedly leaked release schedule points towards a July release for Home. With July being the month of the video game industry’s premier gaming event, E3, a launch to coincide with Sony’s pre-show conference is rumoured.

Verdict: Sony was quick to make it clear that such a document is far from final, and even if legit is unlikely to feature release dates that are 100% accurate. With Home seemingly being in development for so long though, it surely has to come out sooner rather than later. A launch announcement by a key Sony exec during E3 would go down very well indeed.

Plausibility rating: 3/5

Mass Effect 2 to be timed Xbox 360 exclusive

The Rumour: Although the highly anticipated Mass Effect sequel from BioWare will arrive on numerous platforms, the Xbox 360 will receive the game exclusively for a short period.

Verdict: Although BioWare is now owned by EA the general thought is that Mass Effect will remain primarily an Xbox 360 franchise. EA is likely to want to spread the game about numerous systems but an exclusive period on the Xbox 360 isn’t out of the question, especially when the news came straight from BioWare senior manager Matt Atwood.

Plausibility rating: 3/5

Microsoft to reveal big new games at E3

The Rumour: E3 is the time where all the big publishers, particularly platform holders, showcase their line-up for the coming year. Numerous reports on the internet suggest that Microsoft has something big up its sleeve to wow gamers with in July.

Verdict: Despite the fact that the sources (numerous random blogs) have no hard evidence or anything really all that news worthy, it’s almost guaranteed that Microsoft will showcase new and exciting games at E3. So the rumour is true, but it’s true every year.

Plausibility rating: 4/5

Sony has surprises up its sleeve at E3

The Rumour: Not content with Microsoft getting all the E3 hype, Sony also reportedly has numerous surprises ready to make our jaws hit the floor in July. If reports are to be believed, we won’t have seen anything like the games we’re going to see at E3 2008.

Verdict: Again, this rumour stems from numerous blog reports who use little more than “sources” to claim their inside information is correct. We doubt much of Sony’s E3 plan has been leaked, but we can be sure that the platform holder will demonstrate some brand new games at E3 in July.

Plausibility rating: 4/5

Know something we don’t? Let us know about the juicy rumours you’ve heard in the comments section below.