E3 is less than two weeks away at the time of writing, which makes this a time of great hype and excitement, despite the fact Nintendo is taking a somewhat minimalist approach this year - The Legend of Zelda on Wii U will be the only playable game at its booth. There'll be two days of streamed content from the Treehouse team (instead of three), albeit without the usual Digital Event and live show in the preceding hours and days. That said, a full day with an extended look at The Legend of Zelda is worth hype in its own right, and we now know that games such as Pokémon Sun and Moon, Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Generations and more are going to be showcased in the live broadcasts. Throw in a 'Pokémon Special', and Nintendo's E3 is shaping up quite nicely.

There's going to be plenty to follow, it seems. Beyond the big N there are other publishers to check out, too, so there could still be some enjoyable moments.

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In the interest of being helpful we've produced a breakdown of the key events that you'll be able to follow online. Let's get to it.

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Nintendo

Nintendo Treehouse and Developer Broadcast - 14th June at 9am Pacific / noon Eastern / 5pm UK / 6pm CET

The main show from our perspective, which promises "the world's first in-depth look at the game [Legend of Zelda on Wii U], which will also include commentaries by Nintendo developers... game coverage, behind-the-scenes info and plenty of fun." Expected to run all day, this will be a substantial look at the hyped title, and considering how little has been seen so far it promises to be a blowout day for fans. We can anticipate a good look at the world, along with a sense of the innovations and new direction that have been promised by Eiji Aonuma. With this being the franchises' 30th Anniversary year and with the expo floor demos (there are two) adding up to between 60-90 minutes of gaming, it'll be an intriguing watch.

In addition, Pokémon Sun and Moon has been confirmed for an appearance at the start in which new details will be shared.

Nintendo Treehouse and Pokémon Go Q & A - 15th June at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK / 7pm CET

Starting with the Pokémon Go Q & A, we're then going to see the Treehouse team play more upcoming titles. Those confirmed by Nintendo are Monster Hunter Generations, Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE.

E3 2016 Pokémon Special - 16th June at 7am Pacific / 10am Eastern / 3pm UK / 4pm CET

UPDATE: This is on NicoNico and likely a recap of previous E3 showcases related to Pokémon.

Platform Rivals

Microsoft - 13th June at 9:30am Pacific / 12:30pm Eastern / 5:30pm UK / 6:30pm CET

We can anticipate the usual live conference approach from Microsoft, with plenty of hip t-shirts and proclamations of the best ever Xbox line-up. Speculation is hot that there'll be a slim model for Xbox One, while there are rumours a powerful successor / mid-generation console will also be revealed for 2017 or beyond. Our colleagues at Pure Xbox will be providing full live coverage.

Sony - 13th June at 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern / 2am UK /3am CET

Sony is rather mean to its European fans (in terms of timing) courtesy of its quest to upstage Microsoft, and we can certainly expect the usual press conference formula. There'll be gloating over sales figures, plenty of hip t-shirts and proclamations of the best ever PlayStation line-up (that was a deliberate copy and paste). Like Microsoft though the interesting reveals could be in hardware. PSVR will get shown off, naturally, but the PS4 Neo / PS4K is also expected to make an appearance, with leaks earlier this year pointing to an October release for the upgraded system. Our colleagues at Push Square will be covering this one live.

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Third-Parties Related to Nintendo (sort of)

Ubisoft - 13th June at 1pm Pacific / 4pm Eastern / 9pm UK / 10pm CET

Just Dance! Woohoo! There'll be Just Dance 2017, and it'll probably come to Wii U! Don't pretend you're not excited.

Beyond that bombshell we can expect more delightfully cringe-worthy moments, while host Aisha Taylor will likely do a decent job of entertaining us while being criticised regardless on social media. There'll also be Ubisoft games with towers that unlock map segments, with Watch Dogs 2 expected; that one probably won't come to Wii U, or will head to Nintendo's NX system months late with no DLC, because that's a strategy that guarantees sales success.

EA - 12th June at 1pm Pacific / 4pm Eastern / 9pm UK / 10pm CET

Yeah alright, we're pushing our luck here, but we're dealing with slim pickings, and EA is taking a lower profile approach to its live presentation at E3 this year. We know the company won't be talking about any games for Wii U or 3DS, and despite being non-committal on NX some rumours do suggest EA and Nintendo are at least talking to each other. In any case, we may see sports and Star Wars games, along with the likes of Titanfall 2; maybe if we're all well behaved these are games that could receive overdue and poorly-selling NX ports some day. Live the dream, dear reader.

Other Events of Interest

Bethesda - 12th June at 7pm Pacific / 10pm Eastern / 3am UK / 4am CET

Bethesda may have a habit of releasing games with more bugs than Klendathu (Google it) but they're also often sweeping, staggeringly ambitious titles. Dishonored 2 is expected to be at the core of its efforts this time, but many fans are hoping that the next Elder Scrolls will be announced, which would certainly light up the internet.

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PC Gaming Show - 13th June at 11:30am Pacific / 2:30pm Eastern / 7:30pm UK / 8:30pm CET

There was criticism of this one's debut in 2015, which seems like all the more reason to tune in. Dodgy presentation aside, it could be a good way to catch up with some of the year's most anticipated PC games, with the likes of Creative Assembly and Blizzard Entertainment down to appear.

Reveals From The Show Floor and PR Departments - 12th to 16th June

It's surprising how much gets announced outside of the major press conferences and live streams, with plenty of publishers bombarding our inboxes with announcements and assets; when they're relevant we share them with you. It'll be worth keeping an eye on publishers such as Natsume, Capcom, Koei Tecmo and more besides, and our on-site staff will be trawling around the show floor to sample any new 3DS and Wii U games that are available. Nindies and general Indies will also be at the show, so there could be some fun announcements out of those too.

So there you have it, the festivities of this year's E3, while the public E3 Live event will also be fun for locals that go along. We'll be going all out, as always, to share the news here on Nintendo Life, while our sister sites will be doing the same to cover Sony and Microsoft.

We'll naturally live blog for the various relevant streams, and take perverse pleasure in waiting for the Just Dance 2017 reveal in the Ubisoft event, among other shenanigans. We hope you'll join us.