With E3 looming ominously just after this weekend, gamers everywhere are having a hard time controlling their raging excitement for the industry’s biggest source of gaming news and reveals. After all, it’s the anticipation that really riles us up; who knows if we’ll be disappointed or not?

…Well, no one. But, like the rest of the internet, we have our own thoughts and speculation. What kind of gaming site would we be if we didn’t? After the jump, you can check out a few of our writer’s responses to five simple questions, all written with the intention of provoking individual perspective. Is your body ready?

GamePlox’s Fast Five Q&A: E3 2012

1. Out of the big three gaming companies, who do you think will “win” E3, and why do you think they’ll claim victory over their competition?

Caleb: I think Nintendo is going to take the win this year. They have the appeal of all-new hardware along with a whole year of anticipation. Last year they left us with more questions than answers, so I think finally knowing the launch details about Wii U will leave us satisfied.

Robert: Sony will “win”- It’s not an easy decision when looking at the competition (specifically Nintendo.) but I’d have to say Sony. In terms of sheer content I think Sony has the upper hand. Nintendo is launching a console presumably this year, and I think that’s great, but Nintendo isn’t known for their console launches. What we’re going to see from Nintendo is some great trailers to some great games (I’m looking at you Smash Bros.) but will these games be playable in any form, or released before their next E3 conference? I doubt it.

Yes, Sony could be in the same boat. No, I can’t see any news about the PS4 being dropped on Sony’s conference this year. So why Sony? Maybe its the wealth of Playstation Vita games I’m expecting to see, maybe its because I’m curious on what all of these first party studios have been up to or what Quantic Dreams new game will be. But I think the long and short of it is just the fact that I’m more bias towards Sony than I am Nintendo. To be honest it’s a close call for me but I’m leaning 60-40 towards Sony.

Adam: I think it’s going to be a close one. Microsoft knows they weren’t exactly favored last year, and while early reports claim that MS will be focusing more on applications, media, and such, we’ve already heard that gamers won’t be left in the dust with more Kinect reveals and the like. Just yesterday, we found out about a new Gears of War game, for example; I have a feeling that they know they need to come out hitting heavy.

Nintendo’s in a tough spot, I think. A lot of gamers aren’t sold on the Wii U, and they need to make that look like an appealing choice for consumers come this holiday season. I don’t think that MS or Sony will be launching a new system to compete with it, but the fact that there’s going to be a choice between buying it or waiting for the competition is something that needs to be alleviated. Plus, I’m still not satisfied with my 3DS as far as games go; a similar situation exists with my Vita, too, in which games are consistently announced, but I’m not sold on their viability . Sony was my favorite last year, but I think they’ve blown a bit too much of their reveals in the weeks following E3, and not during their actual keynote.

2. What does Sony need to do in order to impress or satisfy you this E3? How about Microsoft, and Nintendo?

Caleb: Sony needs to have a nice lineup of PS Vita games to impress me after a lacking launch window. Microsoft will need to have a unique set off games to differ from the usual Halo, Forza, Kinect models they currently have going on. Nintendo needs to have an impressive launch lineup. This is their time to prove that they really did learn from 3DS’s lackluster launch season.

 Robert: Sony: I would love, and I mean love to see Sony cut their losses with the Playstation Move and move on. Wasted money, wasted talent and nothing good has come of it, but this won’t happen, especially with Irrational pushing the move with Bioshock: Infinite. This year Sony should focus on the Playstation Vita primarily as well as support the PS3, but I would be much happier if they shifted away from the PS3 and pushed the Vita. The PS3 is fine, it doesn’t need any help, it’s going to eventually outsell the Xbox 360. Instead, I want to see them leave 2-3 first party developers on the PS3 and switch everyone else to work the Playstation Vita and PS4. Also, Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale on the Vita is a must.

Microsoft: I don’t care about Microsoft, I don’t care for anything they’ve done with this generation. If anything, out of all of The Big Three, Microsoft are the ones who are killing gaming. I mean, it astounds me just how much shit they get away with. Taking amazing studios and dismantling them, or brainwashing people into believing that paying for a mandatory subscription to access most features is worth it, or get this… putting entertainment over games. They care more about having an entertainment console than they do about having good exclusives or great games that are the reason the Xbox platform even exists today. I don’t blame Microsoft for going down the “entertainment” path, unfortunately this is the way the industry is heading and they’re just capitalizing on it. The only thing that Microsoft could do to impress me would be the unveiling of the next generation Xbox, if it isn’t that, then I couldn’t give jack-shit for anything else.

Nintendo: Nintendo has it the easiest going in. All eyes are on them and they should be. With the Wii U being exhibited during their conference this year and the Nintendo 3DS getting a slew of first party releases they’re in great shape. When it comes to conferences this year Nintendo’s is the one where I know I won’t be disappointed. I know there’s going to be a trailer for the new Smash Bros. And I’m positive we’ll see a new F-Zero. Honestly there is really nothing Nintendo can do that could disappoint me at this point. But the one thing I would want to see the most from Nintendo? A 3DS redesign with 2 analog circles.

Adam: Sony needs to focus on PS +, especially on the Vita. They need to prove to the world that the Vita has significant software support with key titles and some new release dates for us on things like Call of Duty, LittleBigPlanet, etc. They also better have several significant announcements for us as far as new games go, because they’ve blown their load more in the past month than a 12-year old boy.

Nintendo needs to show me that the Wii U is worth purchasing. I’m not even considering it at the moment. I’ll admit a new, HD Zelda would get me to buy it immediately, though. I really want to hear more about how they’re handling the online store for the Wii U, and I’d like some more unannounced 3DS games. Bringing back some old franchises would be awesome of them.

Microsoft needs to just not suck this year. Last year’s presentation was bad; between the Kinect demos and on-stage arrogance, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed watching it at times. Some heavy-hitting, hardcore games (including new IPs, for God’s sake) would really be good for them.

3. If you could have one unlikely, completely implausible wish of yours come true as an official announcement during a keynote address, what would it be?

Caleb: I think an HD Pokemon MMO that’s backwards compatible with the handheld games would be really awesome.

HD Rereleases – I love HD rereleases, perhaps moreso than I love new games. I know, I know, its crazy, but I’d rather be playing an updated version of a game that I know is good, rather than a new game that I hope is good. Take Final Fantasy for example, ask people if they’d rather play Final Fantasy XIII in its current form or Final Fantasy X running on XIII’s engine (which we’ll later see this year or 2013.) Case in point really… I’m fully aware that developers can’t just keep rereleasing their old games over and over, but it wouldn’t hurt to get old releases every once in a while. What HD releases would I love to see at E3? The Kingdom Hearts collection and a Dark Cloud collection.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII – There’s a rumour flying around that the title was changed to XV, which it absolutely should be. With a title like Versus XIII today’s consumers will believe they’re buying into a sequel to XIII or XIII-2 or will be turned off because they didn’t like XIII even though it’s an entirely different game. XIII Versus has the makings to be one of the better Final Fantasy games and Square Enix has been working their asses off on it. I just hope that the XIII attached to the title is any indication of how great the game might be.

Adam: Super Mario RPG 2 or Earthbound 3DS Compilation. Take your pick.

4. What do you personally think the biggest disappointment will be this year? Go with your gut, speculation, etc.– there’s no way to know the future now, but we can sure complain about it in the mean time!

Caleb: I think Microsoft’s game lineup will be the biggest disappointment this year. I feel like I’ve already seen their E3 presentation.

Robert: Microsoft will be the biggest disappointment – Honestly, I know I talked shit about Microsoft and I still will talk shit about Microsoft. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m buying their next generation console when it hits shelves but it doesn’t discount the fact that compared to Nintendo or Sony, they have nothing going for them. Once again they’re focusing on entertainment, and will probably have the most watched E3 conference because of Black Ops II, but really there’s nothing to see here if you don’t care about a shooter that’s rehashed every year or moving around and “playing games”. We could see the new Xbox this year, which would be neat, but if we do see it, it would probably be at the end of the show to just generate hype for next year. I don’t know, I can’t see Microsoft come anywhere close to pulling this out.

Adam: I’m kind of worried about Playstation All-Stars: Battle Royale. I haven’t played it and we don’t know a lot, but I could see them missing a lot of things that would (admittedly personally) make it fun. I’m also concerned about the character roster, but that’s something I’m really excited to see and just don’t want to be disappointed by. of course, Microsoft, “el oh el.”

5. Any last thoughts or comments on this year’s E3? Will it be better or worse than last year’s? Are you hoping to see Mr. Caffeine again? Broaden your mind and place your hearts on the page here, folks: any spur of the moment thoughts are welcome.

Caleb: E3 shows that feature a new console launch are generally satisfying, so I’m very optimistic about E3 this year. I hope we see the next great game series revealed and new life breathed into old favorites. Doodley, doodley, doodley!

Robert: Mr. Caffeine, wouldn’t that be a treat. I don’t know, I mean I feel like I’ve covered everything I wanted to cover leading into this years E3. I have a feeling that it’ll be better than last years. You know, I know I sound like a dick and I’m not trying to be a debbie downer. It’s just the way I see it, don’t think I hate E3 or hate gaming or anything of the sort. I love stuff, anyways thanks for reading. Enjoy E3.

Adam: I want to have fun, I guess, when I watch this E3. I want to see a bunch of truly impressive, outlandish announcements, I want the hosts of the conferences to insult the audience for my pleasure again, and I want to see embarrassing moments that, despite their stupidity, make each year memorable. I personally remember Mr. Caffeine, Nintendo’s little drummer boy, My Body is Ready, and all the other quirky moments far more fondly than actual game news and announcements.

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