In just two days the Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo press conferences will be over and “the big three” will be showing off their latest innovations in hardware and games on the show floor at their respective booths at E3.  Let’s dive into each company’s plans and dissect what they have in store for us.

Xbox 360: You can expect massive titles like Halo: Reach, Gears of War 3, and Fable III to be demoed in real-time and hyped up during the Microsoft press conference.  But the buzz around Microsoft this year surrounds their gaming without controllers initiative codenamed Project Natal.  With a pre-E3 event called “Project Natal for Xbox 360 Experience imagined by Cirque du Soleil” you can expect the motion-capture accessory to dominate Microsoft’s offerings throughout the week.  With Natal Microsoft is first and foremost targeting the casual gamer, looking to expand to the same market Nintendo captured with the Wii.  Natal’s initial launch lineup will be announced and this first batch of games will likely take advantage of Natal in simplistic ways.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Richochet and Paint Party games that were previewed last year end up shipping with it.  And there’s always little Milo who may certainly star in his own game.  If you’re the hardcore type, it would be remiss for Microsoft to ignore you after all these years of support.  I’ve seen video of Burnout Paradise being used with Natal and Fable III lead designer Peter Molyneux stated in an interview that the next Fable will incorporate Natal functionality.  Whatever the launch lineup may be, I would hope Microsoft has at least a dozen casual games to entice new gamers to their console and a sprinkle of hardcore experiences to satisfy their longtime users.  Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if a new version of the Xbox 360 dashboard took advantage of Natal with a gesture-based UI.  As of now we know Natal is expected to launch this holiday season; the press conference should make things more clear with not only a definitive release date and a price (fingers-crossed under $100), but also a final name for the hardware (although “Natal” has grown on me over the months).

Enough Natal.  Let’s talk games.  I’ve already hit on the big sequel exclusives like Bungie’s Halo: Reach, Epic’s Gears of War 3, and Microsoft Game Studios’ Fable III.  First person shoot XCOM from 2K Games looks fantastic (also available on PC), Capcom’s Dead Rising: Case Zero brings another compelling zombie shooter, and Microsoft Game Studios’ Avatar-based racing game Joy Ride will likely use Natal in more ways than one.  And you can’t forget about the next Assassin’s Creed game from Ubisoft subtitled Brotherhood.

Read on for PS3 and Wii/DS discussion, plus more about third-party games and some “bizarre predictions”!

Playstation 3: Nintendo’s got the Wii, Microsoft will have Natal, so where does that leave Sony?  With Playstation Move, of course!  While Microsoft decided to ditch the controller scheme, Sony is really going after Wii’s casual gamers with Wii-mote reminiscent Move controller and sub-controller.  Sony impressed us with Move’s 1:1 motion tracking at this year’s Game Developer’s Conference, but you can expect even more game demos and announcement that will harness Move’s capabilities.  Casual party games are already in the bag and we know Sony will be trying its darndest hook its hardcore gamers with it.  It’s been confirmed that SOCOM 4 and LittleBigPlanet 2 will support Move.

Another area where Playstation is starting to shine prematurely is in the 3D market.  3DTVs have yet to make it into the mainstream, but Sony has decided to nevertheless flip the switch on making PS3 games 3D-friendly.  WipEout HD, SuperStardust HD, PAIN, and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift have already been given the green light to go 3D, and you can expect Sony to unveil a slew of 3D supported games at its press conference.  Get your glasses ready, people.

On to the games, shall we?  Playstation is about to rack up a ton more exclusives, and it needs ’em.  I’m psyched to get my hands on Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet 2, Zipper’s SOCOM 4, and Konami’s Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP).  SEGA’s Yakuza 4 and God of War: Ghost of Sparta for PSP look promising, too.  Debut trailers and launch windows for Killzone 3, Infamous 2, and Resistance 3 would be welcome.  And how about a release date for Gran Turismo 5?!  Other SCE games include Move-supported games EyePets & The Fight: Lights Out and Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip (PSP).

Nintendo Wii/DS: Oh, Nintendo.  Not only have they fallen behind in raw technological power but with Natal and Move closing in, the competition is about to get real fierce.  Though the Wii is a very important asset for Nintendo, the spotlight is currently on their next portable outing dubbed the Nintendo 3DS.  A widely disseminated leak hit the ‘Net a few months back stating that the 3DS will create the stereoscopic effect without required glasses using a parallax barrier LCD screen made by Sharp and Hitachi.  Also mentioned was that it will be backwards-compatible with DS and DSi games.  Nintendo will formally unveil the 3DS during their press conference and I’m hoping that a working prototype hits the show floor so I can report back some hands-on impressions.  (I mean, how can they properly demo the 3D capability to a large room of people?)  Also, expect a brand new 3D Mario game (Kart, I’m thinking) to be introduced as a must-buy 3DS hardware seller.

The future looks bright for Nintendo’s first-party games lineup, as usual.  Metroid: Other M will likely show up with near-final gameplay footage and demos, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new Pikmin game sprout up.  The next Zelda game for Wii should be fleshed out (and if it isn’t I shall burst into flames).  And what of the infamous Wii Vitality Sensor?  Games I’m looking forward to: Pokemon Black & White (DS), Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s Super Scribblenauts (DS), Junction Point Studios’ Epic Mickey, EA’s NBC Jam, and SEGA’s Conduit 2.

Everyone hop on the third-party games train!  Just look at this lineup: Call of Duty: Black Ops (Treyarch/ X360, PS3, PC), Fallout: New Vegas (Obsidian Entertainment/ X360, PS3, PC), Metal of Honor (EA/ X360, PS3, PC), Rage (id/ X360, PS3, PC), Rock Band 3 & Green Day: Rock Band (Harmonix/ X360, PS3 Wii), Dead Space 2 (Visceral Games/ X360, PS3, PC), Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 (LucasArts/ X360, PS3, Wii, PC, PSP, DS, iPhone), Lost in Shadow (Hudson Soft/ Wii), Dead Rising 2 (Capcom/ X360, PS3, PC), Sid Meier’s Civilization V (Firaxis/ PC), Crysis 2 (Crytek Studios/ X360, PS3, PC), Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I (X360, PS3, iPhone, iPad), Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (Square Enix/ X360, PS3, PC), Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (Ubisoft/ X360, PS3, PC), F.E.A.R. 3 (Warner Bros. Interactive/ X360, PS3, PC), Metal Gear Solid: Rising (Konami/ X360, PS3), Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 (Warner Bros. Interactive/ X360, PS3, PC), Mortal Kombat (Warner Bros. Interactive/ X360, PS3), plus all the EA & 2K sports games for 2011.

And I’ll leave you with some quick bizarre predictions: Xbox 360 Slim!  Hulu on Xbox 360!  Wii HD!  Kid Icarus for Wii!  PSP2!  Portal 2 footage!