The Super Bowl, Christmas, the birth of my first child, none of them compare to my favorite time of the year, E3, and while E3’s of the past have been incredible events filled with wonder and magic, this particular year’s E3 looks to be one that we will surely never forget. With the next generation of consoles just around the corner and PlayStation, of all companies, deciding to skip this year’s conference, the stage is set for Microsoft to steal the show. The ultimate question is, can they?

From Square Enix releasing some of the strangest trailers for Kingdom Hearts 3 to EA’s big reveal of Anthem being a slow, boring mess of a presentation, last year’s conference alone had big hyped moments that absolutely left fans disappointed. So it’s important to remember that even though Microsoft is aware that they have all eyes on them this June, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to deliver.

Other than Microsoft, who else has a realistic chance of stealing the show? While I plan on spending the rest of the week deep diving into everyone’s potential conferences, I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by saying that Nintendo has a real chance of making the internet very happy come this E3. Especially when you consider that the Japanese game company just announced a Nintendo Direct that will be releasing a week before E3 where they plan to cover everything Pokemon. With Nintendo getting such a big topic out of the way a week early, many Nintendo fans are now left speculating about what this could mean: a new Switch redesign, Animal Crossing, brand new IP. Just like Microsoft though, with the hype at it’s highest, fans could easily be left unsatisfied… though, let’s be honest, Nintendo could show a blank pink screen for 5 minutes and their fans would start a trend on Twitter about how they’re excited for the big BoxBoy and Kirby crossover.

So with Nintendo and Microsoft both the most likely to win and lose the show, is there someone else, another studio, that has a chance to come in under the radar and steal E3? Well, with EA and Bethesda both coming off disappointing years, they’ll most likely be spending their respected conferences trying to win back the fans that they lost and while I love me a good indie game, sadly, no one watches the PC Gaming Show. Even if they put on the best conference no one would know. Its like that famous saying, if a tree falls in the woods and kills the only lumberjack there, was he really ever a lumberjack to begin with… Well, with all of that said, we’re left with Ubisoft who seems to always put on a solid to great show and my personal pick for best conference, that’s right, the studio that had the worst conference last year, Square Enix.

Square disappointed everyone because the stuff we wanted to see last year wasn’t there and the only “good” thing they had to show off, they showed a few days earlier at the Xbox conference. When people leaving your conference can’t decide which was worse, the trailers for Kingdom Hearts 3 (your biggest game of the year) or something called The Quiet Man, you know you’ve done something wrong. With possible release dates for part one of the Final Fantasy 7 remake as well as, at the very least, footage of the long hidden Avengers game, Square looks to be ready to remind everyone that at one point in time, they were like the cool Uncle that used to visit for Christmas, rather than the creepy one that always wants to show you wrestling moves in his van.

And that about sums up E3 2019. Yes, Netflix is going to be there this year and I didn’t even mention them… well, I just did, and yes, there is a lot more to the event than just the big conferences, and I plan on doing my best to cover everything interesting that happens during the week of E3, but let’s be honest, the only reason you pay attention is because of the conferences. Can’t say I blame you, who doesn’t like watching a bunch of drunk Frenchmen (and women) try and sell you on why Watch Dogs 3 is the biggest game of the year.