According to industry analyst Eiji Maeda this year's E3 is going to be big for Nintendo.

As Nintendo prepare to showcase their new console, amid a flurry of rumours and speculations, a senior analyst from SMBC has spoken to Famitsu about this year's E3. Eiji Maeda stated that all eyes will be on Nintendo with their upcoming new console and the fact it is the first E3 since the 3DS was released.

"Nintendo is definitely the company attracting the most attention at E3 this year, their Wii successor in particular. The Wii was a success because of the make-people-smile aspect of it that is such a key part of Nintendo's goals, so it's likely the new system will follow similar lines. Networking and online communication has become a vital part of any home system, and I think they will offer some kind of new service related to that. The Wii presented a comparatively large number of hurdles to getting online, and I think Nintendo will try to up the percentage of connected consoles with the new system."

These issues are all ones Nintendo fans have previously stated they would like to be addressed by the next console so hopefully Mr. Maeda isn't too far off the mark. Speaking about the 3DS he notes that the console's sales have been slower than anticipated and Nintendo will need to showcase some big-ticket games. He lists Super Mario, Mario Kart and Animal Crossing as titles that need to be centralised and released this year to "re-emphasize the 3DS's abilities".

With the conference just under two weeks away we'll see if Eiji Maeda's predictions are accurate. Let us know what you expect from the much talked about event below.