In only one week the annual event gamers all around the world know, love and fear will roll around. We’re talking of none other than the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 as it’s known to the common, trendy folk. Scheduled to take place between June 5th and June 7th at the Los Angeles Convention Center, E3 2012 will be the event to learn all about your most anticipated games, delight in unexpected announcements, and sulk in crippling disappointment when that-thing-you-hoped-wouldn’t-happen…happens.

Now, because the staff at Rocket Chainsaw love you all in a mostly platonic way, we’ll be covering the ins and outs of every announcement and demonstration, no matter how good or bad.

Leading the charge is the omnipotent captain of the Rocket Chainsaw ship, Adam Ghiggino. Attending E3 2012 in the flesh, Adam will be going hands-on with a multitude of games, attending press conferences for all the big names, sharing life philosophies with famed developers, and documenting it all through the magic of words, images and video. Combined with the keystroke wizards back in Australia, Rocket Chainsaw is dead set on providing you with first class coverage of everything that happens. Don’t be afraid if, for a brief moment, you feel like you’re really there.

Though hands-on previews from the show floor will serve as the bulk of Rocket Chainsaw’s material, we imagine the big thing on the minds of most gamers will be the annual press conferences from Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, EA and Ubisoft. Destined to blow the lid off all kinds of goodies, Rocket Chainsaw will be providing blog feeds (with images!) of each, allowing you to experience the journey along with us. And, to make sure you know when to book in a sick day from work, we’ve whipped up this handy guide of who, what and when to see it. Read on, and get ready for E3 2012.

THE BIG THREE

No, we’re not talking about E3 itself, but the conferences from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Spotlights will be on all three to show us how each will send off this generation and, in some cases, what they’ll be bringing to the next one. Both Microsoft and Nintendo have conferences that unfortunately fall during the early Australian and New Zealand hours, while Sony’s is much more reasonable. See below for specific start times, and what to expect.

Though Microsoft has confirmed that the next generation Xbox won’t be making an appearance, expect a massive focus on new services and features for the existing Xbox 360 that are destined to transfer over to the new generation. And, of course, a continued investment in Kinect, as well as long standing Xbox franchises. The conference is clocked at ninety minutes.

• EXPECT: Live demonstration of Halo 4‘s campaign.
• EXPECT: Information on Forza Horizon.
• EXPECT: New uses and applications for Kinect.
• RUMOUR: Teasing the Xbox 720.

Microsoft’s E3 2012 press event will be streamed like on G4TV. Additional information and media will be found on the Xbox Press Center. Microsoft will also be hosting press conference information on Xbox LIVE.

As with Microsoft, Sony has implied that the PlayStation 4 will not be making an appearance at E3 2012. Instead, Sony fans can expect a massive focus on the PlayStation Vita, showing off its growing library of high profile titles. In addition, Sony is guaranteed to dedicate plenty of time to big name first party PlayStation 3 games.

• EXPECT: First proper gameplay footage of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us.
• EXPECT: New characters confirmed for All-Stars Battle Royal.
• EXPECT: PlayStation Vita titles based on big console franchises.
• RUMOUR: Cloud gaming announced for the PlayStation 3.

Sony has set up a special E3 2012 media hub that will be updated with content over the course of the event, and will be live streaming their press conference right here.

The Wii is dead. This year is all about the Wii U. Nintendo will be covering ground lost from last year’s reveal to show fans just what the Wii U is all about. That means games, applications, online features and much more. Moving from our lounge rooms to our hands, Nintendo will also provide plenty of updates and announcements for the Nintendo 3DS.

• EXPECT: Tech demos of Nintendo franchises on Wii U hardware.
• EXPECT: New details and footage of Luigi’s Mansion 2.
• EXPECT: New Super Mario Bros. for Wii U and 3DS.
• RUMOUR: Castlevania for the Nintendo 3DS.

Like Sony, Nintendo has organised a dedicated E3 2012 hub. Here you will find a live feed of the press conference, footage of games, and extra bonus features to keep you busy after the conference has finished.

THE OTHER THREE TWO

Why two and not three? Because, at this point in time, we can only speak truly of EA and Ubisoft. The other third name, Konami, has only confirmed the date of their pre-E3 recorded event. Scheduled for May 31st, this will be shown on the Konami E3 hub. EA and Ubisoft, however, will be holding their regular, live E3 press conferences. We have the times!

Not being tied to one particular platform, like the big three, gives EA the benefit of focusing entirely on games. That means gamers can look forward to coverage of nothing but new titles. Looking at EA’s portfolio, there’s quite a few games we already know about that are likely to show up. Whether EA has anything new to announce will have to wait until the event.

• EXPECT: Live demonstration of Medal of Honour 2.
• EXPECT: New footage of Crysis 3.
• EXPECT: First in-game reveal of Sim City 3.
• RUMOUR: Announcement of DICE’s new game.

EA will be live streaming their conference, and providing their own feed of the event on their E3 2012 media page.

Last but certainly not least, we have Ubisoft. Just like EA, Ubisoft will be dedicating their entire conference to games. And again, just like EA, there are plenty of known games we’re eager to learn more about. Whether you’re shooting, slicing or jumping, Ubisoft looks to have something for everyone.

• EXPECT: Gameplay footage of Assassin’s Creed III.
• EXPECT: A new demonstration of Far Cry 3.
• EXPECT: The first public reveal of Rayman Legends.
• RUMOUR: Demonstration of Killer Freaks for Wii U…before Nintendo’s event.

As with everybody else, Ubisoft will be providing a live stream of their press conference, which can be found on YouTube. They’ve also set up a media hub, which we’re sure will be updated with content too.

Well, that’s everybody! As mentioned, Rocket Chainsaw will be keeping you up-to-date with everything happening at E3 2012, as well as new content during the lead-up to the event. Make sure to stick with us, through the highs and lows, as we’ll have plenty of fun to share.