Yes, even we engage in E3 speculation

The biggest trade show of the video game industry is almost upon us. As you read this, developers and publishers are going over plans for their press conferences starting in Los Angeles on Monday, July 14 one last time, and technicians are setting up consoles and games for all the cool playable game demos for those lucky enough to attend.

I'm not going to waste your time telling you the top 10 things I would like to see at E3 by each company, since every single gamer with a blog, not to mention every enthusiast media website out there, have already been doing that for the last month.

Instead, let's talk about what cards the big three console manufacturers-Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft-are likely to reveal.

Comfortable with the current lead they have on both the handheld and console markets (the Wii's ahead of its closest competitor, the XBOX 360, by 4-5 million units), Nintendo is unlikely to change strategy much. The veteran manufacturer's made its mark this generation by branding itself as the cheaper, new-user-friendlier alternative to the big bad boys on the gaming block, Sony and Microsoft.

Nintendo's primary approach to accomplish this has been in the different types of software it has promoted for its console. Sure, some of its traditional, more "hardcore" titles have still sold very well, like their latest additions to the Legend of Zelda and Mario series, but Nintendo's biggest success stories this generation are in their new casual titles. Wii Play, which has you wave around the motion-sensing Wii remote to play pool, table tennis or a cow-racing game, is far and away the console's best seller, and the latest software to sell through the roof, Wii Fit, is more of a physical exercise program than a video game.

Nintendo will probably unveil at least a couple of more titles geared towards their new, more "casual" audience. Rumours suggest Wii Music, where you control the Wii Remote as a symphony conductor's wand, is on its way. However, Nintendo pretty much has the casual audience cornered for now. That must be the reason the company said three new "core" titles (they don't like the term "hardcore") will be present at E3.

This probably doesn't mean the return of a more "hardcore" Nintendo, as that wouldn't make sense for the company, given whose dollars it was that shot them back to the top. However, Nintendo never quite completely abandoned the hardcore ship, slowly trickling out releases of more traditional games over the two years the Wii has been out, so that strategy will probably continue. Hopefully, though, we will see slightly stronger third-party support, instead of the blatant, quickly produced shovelware and ports from last gen that we have gotten so far. This way, the gap in between hardcore game releases can hopefully be filled by third parties as well.

Meanwhile, Sony and Microsoft, who are at the exact opposite end of the spectrum as Nintendo, will be playing catch up in a different way. Both Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's XBOX 360 have been more of a hardcore hang-out this generation, with photorealistic graphical capabilities that put the Wii's to shame, production values rivalling Hollywood, and a focus on traditional gaming fare such as first-person shooter Halo 3, or stealth action-adventure Metal Gear Solid 4.

However, this has only gotten them so far. Microsoft, despite having about a year's head time on its two rivals, is with its 19.5 million total sold consoles as of April still behind the Wii, and Sony is having an even harder time catching up with total sales of 12.81 million units.

What does this mean for E3? It's hard to predict with complete accuracy, but while Microsoft and Sony can hardly be expected to drop their focus on traditional gaming, I think we'll see a more aggressive attempt by the two to go after Nintendo's new-found "casual" market. We've heard rumblings for quite a while now that Microsoft is field-testing a motion-sensing controller like that of the Wii, as that's been a key difference between the Wii and its rivals. Meanwhile, side-by-side to the more violent and "mature" offerings the XBOX 360 is known for, such as the sci-fi adventure Gears of War 2, we can expect to see some more kid-friendly fare like Banjo Kazooie 3, a cartoony bear-and-bird adventure the prequels of which, oddly enough, had appeared on Nintendo consoles originally.

Sony has had a couple of interesting casual and kid-friendly experiments brewing for quite a while now, and these will probably make an appearance at E3 in updated form as well. The first, Home, is a 3-d online community that gamers can explore as virtual avatars of themselves (a more in-depth exploration of Nintendo's more superficial-but similar-existing interface on the Wii). Meanwhile, games like LittleBigPlanet, an inventive take on the Mario-esque action platformer genre, will remind parents that the PS3 can cater to their kids as well. Sony too, of course, will remind everyone that it's the place to be for hardcore game enthusiasts, with heavyhitters like Killzone 2 or Final Fantasy XIII wowing everyone with their excellent graphics.

Ultimately, E3 may end up disappointing those expecting a major change in direction from any of the big console manufacturers, as each of them will try a little harder to imitate its competitors.