When is E3 2017, what’s the schedule and what happened in Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft’s conferences – all you need to know
This year's biggest event on the video gaming calendar is expected to get even BIGGER
IT ONLY happens once a year and has gamers excited across the world. No, it's not Christmas - it's the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).
The huge calendar event takes place in LA and features just about every major player and indie darling in the gaming industry.
When is E3?
E3 offically takes place between June 13 and June 15, however, some conferences were held prior to the actual event.
For us UK gamers it can be a troublesome time of year as E3 takes place in Los Angeles. This means that there will either be some late-nights or early mornings, depending on whether or not you look at the glass half-full or not.
Luckily, The Sun will be covering the expo and bringing the latest news from the floor of the LA Convention Centre straight to you.
What is the schedule for E3?
2017 is going to be a huge year for gaming, and in some ways it already has been with the release of Nintendo's revolutionary Switch console.
Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft were all in LA to announce to the latest news for the PlayStation, Switch and Xbox.
Each of these conferences revealed the key announcements for their platforms over the next year.
Microsoft
Microsoft's keynote conference was held on Sunday 11 June at 10PM BST, or 2pm PST in LA. The live stream is available to watch live on on Twitch.
In the first major conference of the expo, Microsoft unveiled the "most powerful games console" of all time called the Xbox One X.
It's an upgraded version of their current console, the Xbox One, and boasts powerful specs that enable it to the run games in 4K ultra-HD.
The Xbox One X will be released on November 7 in the UK and will cost £449 ($499 in the US). Parents be warned that is likely to top wish-lists everywhere.
Sony
Sony's conference took place on Monday 12 June at 2am UK time (6pm PST) and can be streamed live on Twitch.
Coming on the heels of Microsoft's blockbuster Xbox One X debut, Sony knew it had to deliver something that Microsoft just wasn't able to muster. AAA exclusive games.
As far new trailers go Sony wasn't holding back - it released brand new trailers for PS4 exclusives Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and the next game in the venerable God of War series.
It also revealed 7 minutes of gameplay for Days Gone, Sony's upcoming open-world zombie survival game.
Sony capped off their game-focused conference with a first look at the gameplay in their exclusive Spider-Man game, filled with acrobatic action and open-world web slinging action.
Nintendo
Nintendo's conference was held on Tuesday 13 June at 5pm BST (9am PST), you can watch the live stream again on Twitch.
Coming hot on the heels of the huge success that is the Nintendo Switch, the Japanese firm had to bring its A-game in order to dissuade fans worried about the lack of big games for the hybrid console.
Suffice to say, Nintendo made a lot of dreams come true with their show. They announced that the frantic Rocket League would be coming to the Switch as well as a brand-new Metroid Prime.
For fans of their classic heroes Nintendo were eager to suprise the audience with new titles for Kirby, Yoshi and none-other-than Mario himself in Super Mario Odyssey.
Super Mario Odyssey was playable on the show floor and the central mechanic involves Mario throwing his hat at different enemies and then becoming, or possessing, them. The moustache follows too.
It's works a lot better than it sounds but it does lend the question - who is Mario without his hat?
What are the biggest game announcements at E3?
There will almost definitely be too many to mention here so instead let's focus on the main titles.
EA revealed almost too much to handle in their trailer for Star Wars Battlefront 2. Not only did they reveal more on the long-awaited campaign but it also stunned audiences with gameplay from the legendary Darth Maul.
Alongside the announcement of the Xbox One X, Microsoft also revealed Assassins Creed Origins, Forza 7, Crackdown 3 and Bioware's Anthem. Expect to hear more about these incredible games from their individual announcements in the coming days.
Sony revealed more action and demos for some of its most anticipated games from exclusive open-world zombie game Days Gone and the next in the God of War series to Insomniac's Spider-Man game and Naughty Dog's next Uncharted adventure - The Lost Legacy.
Like Sony, Nintendo focused on games. Their announcements were all about shoring up excitement over a console with few AAA games to its name. They delivered an epic series of titles that include new games from Yoshi, Kirby, Metroid Prime and our hero, Mario.
