E3 2017 - When to Watch Each Press Conference

E3 is set to run from June 13-15, but the festivities seem to begin earlier and earlier every year. It can be a bit daunting to keep track of the first-parties and major devleopers holding press conferences, so Shacknews is here to help.

Here are the major dates and times to keep in mind, as the gaming world rapidly approaches E3 week.

Updated: May 18, 2017

Electronic Arts

Date & Time: Saturday, June 10 - 3PM ET/12PM PT
Where to watch: Twitch.tv/ea

Yeah, that thing about E3 starting earlier every year? Here's EA to prove that point by holding its press conference on the Saturday before E3. This is because EA is once again holding its own E3 event called EA Play. This press conference will take place around the time it opens its doors to the public.

The perennial EA Sports lineup will be on display, led by the next iteration of Madden NFL and FIFA.

However, the major attraction will be Star Wars Battlefront 2, appearing weeks after it was unveiled at Orlando's Star Wars Celebration. Look for more information on the game's multiplayer modes, as well as potential new details on the intriguing new single-player campaign that fleshes out the immediate aftermath of Return of the Jedi from the Imperial perspective.

Microsoft

Date & Time: Sunday, June 11 - 5PM ET/2PM PT
Where to watch: Twitch.tv/xbox

Microsoft is also getting into the spirit of kicking the party off early, taking center stage for its first Sunday press event. The main draw here will be Xbox Scorpio. This is Microsoft's upgrade to the Xbox One, months after Sony issued its upgrade to the PlayStation 4 known as PlayStation 4 Pro. The leaked hardware specs have piqued some players' interests, particularly its ultra HD capabilities.

Aside from the hardware showcase, Microsoft also has some games to talk about. There are the upcoming Xbox One exclusives, like Crackdown and Sea of Thieves, to go along with any surprises that may be in store. One thing to note is that it'll soon be two years since Halo 5: Guardians released, so it would make sense that Microsoft would unveil the first tease for the second trilogy's inevitable conclusion. After all, if anybody could showcase Project Scorpio's visual prowess, it's Master Chief.

Bethesda

Date & Time: Sunday, June 11 - 10PM ET/7PM PT
Where to watch: Twitch.tv/bethesda

So what's left for Bethesda, now that it's played its Doom, Fallout, Prey, and Dishonored cards? Its Quake card, of course. Look for Quake Champions to be one of the featured games during Bethesda's Sunday night E3 party.

Two new games are also set to be unveiled on this night. It's likely Bethesda will introduce at least one new IP, but the publisher may also have a sequel lined up to get the average gamer excited. The rumor mill is pointing to a new Wolfenstein, but the answers won't come until Bethesda takes the spotlight on Sunday night.

The PC Gaming Show

Date & Time: Monday, June 12 - 1PM ET/10AM PT
Where to watch: Twitch.tv/pcgamer

PC Gamer will return with its third PC Gaming Show. Sean "Day[9]" Plott will return to the hosting desk, with the show sponsored by Intel.

Outside of that, there aren't many details about this year's show. As of now, this is the wild card of the show, with "exclusive announcements" planned, but from whom is unknown. Previous PC Gaming Shows have featured Blizard, Bohemia Interactive, Tripwire Interactive, and hardware manufacturers like AMD.

Last year's show featured looks at games like Halo Wars 2 and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, with a PC focus. Look for some of this year's more interesting third-party titles to get some of the spotlight at this show, as PC Gamer continues to iron out the kinks of its overall presentation.

Sony

Date & Time: Monday, June 12 - 9PM ET/6PM PT
Where to watch: Twitch.tv/playstation

Sony is sticking to tradition and clinging to its prime-time Monday slot. Look for E3 to offer plenty of follow-up to the publisher's PlayStation Experience, offering some new looks at The Last of Us 2, the Uncharted: The Lost Legacy DLC, Dreadnaught, Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, and others.

There are also some major announcements from last year's E3 that need some follow-up, so keep an eye out for more info regarding the next God of War, Spider-Man (which should be of particular interest, with Spider-Man: Homecoming about to hit theaters in July), Detroit: Become Human, and Days Gone.

Sony went in hard on PlayStation VR last year, but with the excitement over console VR having tapered off, it'll be interesting to see what Sony trots out for the peripheral's second year. Look for a healthy batch of VR games to also be unveiled to the E3 audience.

Nintendo

Date & Time: Tuesday, June 13 - 12PM ET/9AM PT
Where to watch: Twitch.tv/nintendo or YouTube.com/nintendo

Like last year, Nintendo will not hold an official press conference from the E3 site. So like last year, Nintendo will hold an online session for its fans prior to the E3 doors opening on day one.

This is a big year for Nintendo, still in the middle of the Nintendo Switch's first year. It'll be all about software moving forward, so look for final details to be unveiled about Arms (which releases just days after E3), Splatoon 2 (releasing in July), and more information on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's first DLC. This will also be Mario's show, where viewers will likely get a first look at gameplay for Super Mario Odyssey, along with details of exactly what kind of world Mario has found himself in.

Look for all-new Switch games to be the main focus. But in addition to that, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's record sales may also point to Nintendo bringing other deluxe versions of Wii U games to the Switch. The title that immediately comes to mind is Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, complete with all of its DLC. Other games like Super Mario Maker and Xenoblade Chronicles X may also be on that short list, but be prepared for another Wii U game to potentially be announced for the Switch.

Finally, remember that Nintendo is still looking to offer an annual service, akin to Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus. With online multiplayer set to take off when Splatoon 2 hits in July, E3 would be the ideal time to finally unveil some official details on what this service will entail, how it will work, and most importantly, how much it will cost.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?