In a statement regarding the May 2016 NPD sales numbers, Xbox marketing chief Mike Nichols reveals that Microsoft expects its E3 showcase to be special.

E3 2016 is still a few days away but already this week there has been no shortage of announcements, leaks, and pre-E3 trailers to get fans excited for what may or may not be at the show. Many of the big players like Sony and Microsoft have really yet to detail what will be at their respective shows next week, as speculation and rumors continue on. While Microsoft remains tight lipped, the company continues to hint that they may have some interesting twists and surprises for players.

The most recent tease came from Xbox marketing chief Mike Nichols as he not only revealed that the company is excited to show fans what they have cooking up for later this year and further down the road. He closed his statement by saying that Microsoft believes this will be a special E3, but declined to further detail what exactly that means.

This statement aligns well with comments made earlier this year by Xbox head, Phil Spencer, who fully expects the company to have a "nice E3." While Spencer did not provide further details either, the company has some work to do if it plans to close the gap between themselves and Sony's PlayStation 4 console.

Microsoft had an impressive showing last year, focusing on software rather than having a flashy presentation. The company also had some surprising reveals as well introducing the backward compatibility functionality which brought Xbox 360 games to Xbox One players. This year, many are expecting the headlining game to be Gears of War 4, which was previously revealed on the stage last year and is scheduled for release in October. Other games fans are expecting to see are Crackdown 3, Cuphead, and Scalebound.

There's certainly no shortage of rumors out there for what else may be at the show, many of which pertain to new hardware coming from both Sony and Microsoft. On the Xbox side of things, two new consoles are rumored including an Xbox One Slim version which is due later this year, along with an model sporting increased tech and hardware to rival what Sony is rumored to be preparing for the PlayStation 4 as well. With E3 kicking off next week, fans will get answers sooner than later.

What are you expecting to see from Microsoft at this year's annual event? Do you think the hardware rumors are true? Let us know you're thoughts in the comments below.

E3 2016 kicks off Sunday June 12 with press conferences from EA and Bethesda and wraps up on June 16.

Source: GameSpot