Every year that the Electronic Entertainment Expo takes place, there seems to be a number of great games on the floor. But each year, a company stands out in terms of their showcase, their games, their presentation, and, in some cases, their booth babe. So we posed the question to some of our staff- who do you think will dominate E3 2005, and why? With that, we got some very creative (but honest) answers on the issue.

Chris Buffa

No single company will dominate E3. Microsoft may have some next gen games for us to play, but no one really knows how complete they'll be. Sony will look to trump MSoft, so no matter what Bill Gates does, whatever Sony announces will hang over him like a dark cloud. Nintendo will thrill most of the show goers with the new Zelda and whatever it has up its sleeves. EA will have tons of content. Namco will have a decent showing as well as Ubisoft. I just don't see me walking away from the event being wowed by next gen graphics or hardware. There will be plenty of good games spread out among several companies. Even Majesco will have a great E3.

Rich Brown

I feel that Nintendo, being the supreme underdog, will have a very strong presence. Sony is on top and they are playing dirty (press conference scheduling?) to keep the industry buzz with the PS3.

Microsoft partnering with MTV is a blow to Sony already. Broadcast news coverage of the new MS Xbox may very well shift the position of the industry buzz to MS. At E3, just like last year, Sony will dominate the numbers game, Nintendo will be strong with Zelda, and Microsoft will be on top with MTV and the new MS Xbox. (Unless, yet again for the third year in a row, they don't have a press-kit to give away at the press conference).

I say MSoft will be #1 followed closely by Sony's numbers of sales and market share and how many PS2s are in your house... etc, and Nintendo, though a strong 3rd, will be ready for an industry "Revolution". MS will have the system to beat, Sony will have the 3rd party support, and Nintendo will make their last stand with Revolution.

Robert Workman

Well, I'll take a little less drastic approach than Rich there. Each year seems to be pretty strong for Ubisoft, and last year was no exception, with the new Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell to clean house. But this year tells a different story, and I think it will belong to Nintendo.

There are a few reasons I say this. The first is, of course, Zelda. No denying that one. The second is the new Super Mario Bros. game for Nintendo DS that will FINALLY bring back the old school feeling that the series is well known for. Then you have Electroplankton and Nintendogs, which will garner up a storm in terms of "entertainment value" for the handheld. And dare we forget DDR with Mario and Mario Kart DS? The plumber will rise again!!

Bottom line, even with the Xbox 360 making the rounds and the PS3 and its sequels looming, it'll be all about the games, something that Nintendo will have in great volume. Let's see how it goes.

Bryan Dawson

Microsoft... plain and simple. The Xbox 360 is what everyone is talking about and E3 is still three weeks away. It will be the first next generation console out of the gates, and US gamers will have to wait a year or more for offerings from Sony or Nintendo. In addition, we'll finally get our hands on Perfect Dark Zero in all of its next generation glory, and I for one can't wait to see what Microsoft has in store for the next generation of Xbox Live.

Don't get me wrong though, Sony and Nintendo will definitely step up to the plate in an attempt to steal the thunder from MS. However, unless either company has plans to show their next generation content playable on the show floor with a US release date before late 2006, all eyes will quickly switch from Sony and Nintendo right back to Microsoft and the Xbox 360.