When coupled in the same sentence, the words "Sony" and "E3" will forever resonate memories of their legendary 2006 press conference. A year has passed and while Sony has managed to shake off the giant enemy crabs, their PlayStation 3 is being trampled by larger entities: the competition. With a management shake-up and a few promising titles, it's time for Sony to come out swinging.

Last time on the guessing game, we said that Nintendo could have the most to lose coming out of E3 and you asked, "Well, who has the most to gain?" The answer is Sony, because, let's face it, the only way from here is up. Phil Harrison's GDC presentation ushered forth a feeling that change was in the air and that it was still, obviously, too early to count Sony out in the new arms race.

What's in store for Sony's presentation this year? Mum is the word but that hasn't stopped any and everyone from taking a few, well educated stabs in the dark. Will Metal Gear Solid 4 remain an exclusive? Will Sony open their conference with "Momma Said Knock You Out?" Saddle up, dear readers. It's time to venture forth towards rumorville.

In the second of our three part guessing game series, we take the current darling of the retail space, Nintendo, to the rumor mill and see what the buzz is regarding their E3 presentation. The Internet is spinning with everything from the probable to the wet dreams of fanboys, but like Microsoft, the crystal ball has never been fuzzier.

And while Nintendo has seen nothing but gains in these past few months, they could very well be walking into E3 with the most to lose. With publishers still wary of the hype train and a delicate bubble surrounding the success of the Wii, it's becoming more and more vital for Nintendo to prove they're more than just a fad. At the very least, Nintendo should be laying out their holiday season -- one that currently has more question marks than Matthew Lesko's closet.

We've changed up the format this time around in order to bring the focus more on existing rumors than the hopes and dreams of our circle, but it's the same, great tasting hype you've come to love from pre-E3 shenanigans. Dig in after the cut.

We thought we'd never live to care about another E3, but here we are, giddy as puppies with peanut butter to be preparing for our annual trip to Southern California. The corpse of E3 may be paraded about in Los Angeles as usual, but the big news has shifted to Santa Monica and boy are we without a clue.

Thankfully, so is the internet, as a smaller show means fewer people producing which results in fewer loose lips. Microsoft, aside from having the biggest title of the year, is something of an enigma this E3. We know of their lineup that includes heavy hitters like Mass Effect, Bioshock and Halo Wars, but what about those we haven't heard of in a while such as Alan Wake? Or games we haven't seen, but know exist like Marathon: Durandal?

Of course, when you don't know what to expect, making things up is always a great solution and the rumor mill has been working overtime. We've heard everything from the likely (Gears of War 2 trailer, Rare to show Banjo-Kazooie 3) to the totally absurd (Microsoft announces Power Stone 3, Phantom Dust 2).

Join us behind the cut for the first of three speculatory sessions this week as we attempt to ground ourselves in reality and think out loud about what we're hoping to see in Long Beach.