As I’m sure you’ve noticed if you’re at all connected with the gaming world, the Electronic Entertainment Expo is about to happen. This is one of the biggest video game-centric shows of the year, if not the biggest. This year promises to be especially large as the conference lasts for the better part of a week and will feature nine major showcases in addition to the floor demos.
That sounds like a party for the spectators and members of the press who will be there in person, but what about those of us who can’t get away from the mundane world to the fabled Los Angeles Convention Center? How do we get to see the spectacle?
Well, we’re in luck. Thanks to modern streaming services, you will be able to view most of the shows live. There will be live floor footage available as well. Here’s how you can view each of the stage shows live and where you’re most likely to see the gameplay demos and developer interviews from the exhibition itself.
This year marks the first time Bethesda has had their own dedicated showcase at E3. They had a “Save the Date” card on their official Twitter back in February. With the premiere of the first trailer for Fallout 4 and the unspoken but-likely-safe assumption that we’ll learn more about the game there, Bethesda will probably have at least a few things to show us.
Bethesda’s show will begin on Sunday, June 14th at 7 pm PT, with a pre-show beginning at 6:30 pm. It will be streamed on the Bethesda Twitch channel, and their official YouTube channel. Bethesda has a number of panels and roundtables, but they will not be streaming them.
The first show on Monday is Microsoft’s E3 briefing. There have been numerous hints from within the company itself that we may get a few surprises at this show. Phil Spencer has said on Twitter that there will be at least one new, exclusive IP premiered there, and that this show will be more about first-party properties than previous ones have been.
The Monday, June 15th show begins at 9:30 am PT and can be viewed on xbox.com, Xbox One, and Xbox 360, as well as Spike TV. In addition, the Xbox site says that they will have an Xbox Daily: LIVE @ E3 live show that will be streamed to Xbox devices and Xbox.com. These shows will be on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 4-5 pm.
After lunch, the next conference will be from juggernaut Electronic Arts. Several staples of the EA library are sure to be in attendance, such as the various sports franchises. Star Wars: Battlefront is probably going to get a lot of time to shine, and EA has explicitly said that they will show off Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst. We might also see footage from a new Battlefield or Mass Effect game.
This is another event on Monday, June 15th, and will begin at 1 pm PT. EA has not stated whether there will be an official stream on its Twitch channel, but it’s likely. If it is not streamed there, you can likely follow it just as well on IGN’s Twitch channel and YouTube channels.
Ubisoft is back with more from their usual franchises. The most likely games to be shown are Tom Clancy’s The Division, Rainbow Six Siege, and of course, the latest entry in the beleaguered Assassin’s Creed franchise, Syndicate. There are a few hints we may see footage from an as-yet unannounced game, though whether that will be a new IP or another franchise installment remains to be seen.
Their show will begin on Monday, June 15th at 2:45 pm PT. It will be streamed on Ubisoft’s website, and possibly their Twitch and YouTube channels as well. If you cannot find that stream, the stage show is scheduled to stream on Gamespot as well.
At Sony’s show, we’ll probably see some more footage from Uncharted 4, the new Ratchet & Clank, and footage from Sony’s homegrown VR system, Project Morpheus. There’s also a rumor that The Last Guardian might finally be mentioned, but that was a punchline last year, so I’ll be very surprised if it pans out.
This is the last show on Monday, June 15th at 6 pm PT. Playstation will be live streaming it to the Playstation site, the official Twitch channel, and the YouTube channel. If you have a Live Events Viewer app for your Playstation 3 or 4, you can also watch it on that.
The biggest part of the Nintendo event might not necessarily be the announcement of any games, but rather the fact that Nintendo will revive its World Championships for the 25th anniversary of the event. The final event will be streamed live from Nintendo’s site on Sunday, June 14th at 3 pm PT.
The Nintendo show will begin with an early-morning look at some new Smash Bros content, which will be on Sunday, June 14th at 7:40 am PT. The actual digital event (Nintendo’s description) will begin on Tuesday, June 16th at 9 am PT. It will be streamed to the Nintendo E3 site and likely their Twitch channel as well.
Square’s first E3 press conference promises to be full of game footage from their upcoming titles, of which they have a surprising amount. I expect to see some new footage from Rise of the Tomb Raider, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and Just Cause 3. I would like to see some Final Fantasy XV footage, but Square has said that they won’t be showing any. Still, hope springs eternal.
The show starts hot on the heels of Nintendo’s show, and they were in fact originally scheduled for the same time before Square moved their show back an hour. The Square Enix event will begin at 10 am PT on Tuesday, June 15th. It will be streamed to Square Enix’s Twitch channel as well as their YouTube channel.
AMD and PC Gamer have teamed up for the first PC Gaming showcase at E3. There is comparatively little explicit information on what will be shown, or even much to speculate about. Some of the sponsors on the official website are Blizzard, Obsidian, and Square Enix, so it’s possible those companies could show some game footage or previews.
The show will be on Tuesday, June 16th at 6 pm PT. Judging by the countdown on the event’s site, it’s very possible that the event will be streamed there. According to Facebook, it will also be streamed on PC Gamer’s Twitch channel.
If you still have the energy to pay attention after what frankly sounds like an exhausting run of conferences – or you avoid the all-flash-no-substance live shows altogether – then you can find live streams of floor footage on most of the major gaming sites. Gamespot and Kinda Funny have a full schedule on their site, and IGN will be streaming from all major sites including their Twitch and YouTube channels.
In addition, keep an eye on the aforementioned Twitch and YouTube channels, because it’s likely that footage from the floor will be streamed by the companies themselves. PlayStation, for example, will have a live cast, presumably streamed to the same places listed above. It will be on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at the times listed on the blog, and there will supposedly be gameplay footage, demos, and developer interviews to see there.
Are you going to be watching E3 2015 live? Do you know of any special streams I might have missed that will have floor footage, game demos, or interviews? If so, let us all know in the comment section below!
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