We're almost one full month into 2006, and you know what that means? It's time to start talking about the biggest annual event in videogames, the Electronic Entertainment Expo. This year the event will be taking place from May 10 through May 12 in sunny (sometimes) Los Angeles. Some new rules have been enforced this year, giving media a bit more time before the rest of the industry crowds the show floor. Plus, booth babes will be forced to wear more clothing (yes, we're all a bit saddened by this). However, this early in the game we're not looking to talk specifics. Instead, we'll take a quick look at what we expect to see from the three major players in just a few short months.

Sony

While we expect Sony to have the PlayStation 3 on-hand and playable at E3 2006, it's unlikely this will be the first true unveiling of the console. We expect Sony to make some sort of announcement in Japan showing off a few of the launch titles, the final controller design and possibly a tentative Japanese and US release date. At E3, Sony will likely follow any Japanese announcements with a trailer reel full of titles from Electronic Arts, Namco, Square Enix, Rockstar, Sega and Activision, just to name a few.

If Sony plans to release the console this year (which is what we all assume), the PlayStation 3 has to be playable. However, it would not be surprising to see Sony showing playable games behind closed doors instead of on the show floor. The company has already proven at E3 2005, TGS and CES that they can satisfy the public with mere trailers (we expect a new Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer) instead of playable games in early form. With Microsoft showing strong competition with the Xbox 360, Sony will want to make sure the public sees the PS3 as a powerhouse of amazing trailers instead of a few potentially lackluster, early game builds.

The PlayStation Portable will also be on hand with a plethora of holiday titles that owners of the handheld have been yearning for. We'll also likely hear about some connectivity Sony is planning between the PSP and the PS3. The focus for Sony at E3 2006 will be on the PlayStation 3, so it's doubtful we'll see too much of the PSP beyond the big holiday titles and some third party support.

Microsoft

The Xbox 360 will be heading into its second E3, but this time Microsoft will have more than just a Revolution announcement and a few PlayStation 3 trailers to contend with. Sony and Nintendo will be coming out of the gate at full steam as the two companies head into the holiday season and the launch of next generation consoles. If Microsoft wants to keep and hopefully extend its lead, the company will need to pull out the big guns.

Of course, everyone knows that Halo 3 has to make a showing of some sort, and we fully expect E3 2006 to be the place of its unveiling. It's unlikely we'll see it in playable form, although there may be some behind closed doors play time. However, we do expect a lengthy trailer at Microsoft's pre-E3 press event. The two mystery titles Rare is working on will make an appearance as well, but we're guessing only one will be playable on the show floor, and neither will be making it out this year if we know Rare. Here's hoping one of the titles is the third installment to the Killer Instinct series Rare has been hinting at for years.

We also expect a good number of Xbox Live Arcade and general dashboard announcements. Clan support is on the way, and if it's not enabled before E3, we expect MS to show it off at their press event. In addition, expect to see a ton of new Xbox Live Arcade titles from Capcom, Sega, Konami and a few independent developers. XBLA is a gem and Microsoft will be playing it up big time at E3 2006.

Nintendo

It's do or die time for Nintendo as far as the company's future consoles are concerned. The Revolution will be a key portion of Nintendo's pre-E3 press event. We expect to see at least three titles up and running on the show floor, as well as a handful of titles in video form from Nintendo and a few third party developers. Nintendo will also be hyping up its retro downloads service for the Revolution, and will likely have several classics playable using the Revolution controller.

However, we all know Nintendo, and we all know that the Revolution will not be taking center stage at E3. The company still has its bread and butter handheld market to show off and we expect the Nintendo DS to get just as much attention as the Revolution, with the Game Boy Advance getting a bit of attention as well. The 2006 holiday season will be a heated battle between the DS and the PSP, so expect Nintendo to be showing off several AAA titles that will be coming your way in the months following E3. We fully expect something along the lines of Electroplakton to surpise us all again this year.

Of course, we can't forget about the GameCube. Last year Nintendo showed off Super Mario Strikers (a surprise hit on the Cube), and while Nintendo won't be focusing a great deal on their current generation console, there is one title that fans have been waiting for. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will make a grand appearance at E3 2006, and while half of our staff wishes it would show up on the Revolution, we'll have to settle for the extra features Nintendo has planned when you put Twilight in your Revolution later this year. The title will be playable on the show floor in GameCube and Revolution form (only the extra features), so everyone can wait in long lines to get some play time in.