Remember last year, Gamespy made a top 5 predictions for 2005? Well, let's see how they did (this is in my opinion)...
5) You Will Like Gaming Television
By you I mean hardcore gamers. It's no secret that I'm a fan of things like G4 and the Spike TV Video Game Awards. They're far from perfect, but I think they're vital in growing the gaming business. It's also no secret, judging from your opinions in the Forums, that most of you despise almost all the gaming programs out there. That'll change in 2005.
-Spike TV's awards still suck, G4 has become more of a general Spike TV wannabe than focusing purely on games (and it's just gone downhill), but apparently (at least according to MAF) the 1up show is pretty damn good. I d/led an episode due to his recommendation and will watch later.
4) The Bad Guy Will Win
No wrestling fans, I'm not talking about the triumphant return of Razor Ramon (thanks to the four people that got this joke). I'm talking about you! Playing as villains and anti-heroes will be a prevalent theme in 2005. I blame BioWare for making it cool and interesting with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Last year we had high-profile games like Fable, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Knights of the Old Republic 2 where you could play as villains and / or not-so-good guys. The trend will continue this year. Not only will you see it in serious action games and role-playing games, you'll also see it in humorous titles as well. Destroy All Humans and Stubbs the Zombie are examples of this.
-Ehhhh... aside from Jade Empire and Fable:The Lost Chapters, I can't really remember this being such a big theme... of course, the badass antihero remains ever so popular. Thug games continue to sell well, of course.
3) Gaming Will Get More Expensive
There's been a lot of talk that the next generation of consoles will debut for more than the traditional $299.99 starting price. There's also been a lot of talk that next-gen games will cost more then the customary $49.99. Take a peek at this CNN article for example. While lots of people have been bitching and moaning in the GameSpy forums about it, I'm honestly surprised it took this long.
-Yup... X360 Premium Pack at $400 with $60 games. Sad that this one specifically came true.
2) A Major Defection Will Occur
New consoles often result in breakups and new couplings. Longtime Square fans were surprised when the company went to bed with Sony and announced that Final Fantasy would be a PlayStation exclusive. Well, we have a slew of new systems in the works. Though they'll be coming out over the next two years, a big announcement will take place this year, probably at E3 2005. I'm talking enormous -- along the lines of Square taking Final Fantasy back to Nintendo or Rockstar taking Grand Theft Auto to Xbox 2 exclusively.
-Hmm... well, Ridge Racer 360 and FFXI 360... I wouldn't call these 2 games "enormous" by any stretch of the imagination - the main FF series and GTA (as far as we know) will be on PS2. RE5 being for both 360 and PS3 and not Revo (yet)? Maybe... but still no where near as huge as FF7.
1) Nintendo Will Become Cool Again
Nintendo is going to take a major, major step in shedding its kiddy image and becoming cool. To be fair, it took a major step in 2004 with its TV spots. The company's commercials in 2004 were incredible. I defy you to name another company that served up sweeter TV ads than Nintendo, especially in the last six months of the year. It's such an amazing contrast from the crap it used to serve up (i.e. the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance spot). The new ads make me go, "Wow!" and are quickly followed up by, "That was a Nintendo spot?"
-In my opinion, abso-fucking-lutely. With the DS coming from nowhere to totally kick ass, the Revolution announcement (which makes me and many other people extremely curious and has been fueling even more obsessive speculation than normal), some amazing releases this year (Mario Kart and Kirby being 2 prominent) and some more great games in the pipeline (New SMB and Zelda). Although Nintendo totally lost me with the N64 and did little to reclaim my attention with the Cube and the porting of old games onto GBA, they've totally regained my personal mindshare and I can honestly say I'm anticipating the Rev way more than the other systems.
5) You Will Like Gaming Television
By you I mean hardcore gamers. It's no secret that I'm a fan of things like G4 and the Spike TV Video Game Awards. They're far from perfect, but I think they're vital in growing the gaming business. It's also no secret, judging from your opinions in the Forums, that most of you despise almost all the gaming programs out there. That'll change in 2005.
-Spike TV's awards still suck, G4 has become more of a general Spike TV wannabe than focusing purely on games (and it's just gone downhill), but apparently (at least according to MAF) the 1up show is pretty damn good. I d/led an episode due to his recommendation and will watch later.
4) The Bad Guy Will Win
No wrestling fans, I'm not talking about the triumphant return of Razor Ramon (thanks to the four people that got this joke). I'm talking about you! Playing as villains and anti-heroes will be a prevalent theme in 2005. I blame BioWare for making it cool and interesting with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Last year we had high-profile games like Fable, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Knights of the Old Republic 2 where you could play as villains and / or not-so-good guys. The trend will continue this year. Not only will you see it in serious action games and role-playing games, you'll also see it in humorous titles as well. Destroy All Humans and Stubbs the Zombie are examples of this.
-Ehhhh... aside from Jade Empire and Fable:The Lost Chapters, I can't really remember this being such a big theme... of course, the badass antihero remains ever so popular. Thug games continue to sell well, of course.
3) Gaming Will Get More Expensive
There's been a lot of talk that the next generation of consoles will debut for more than the traditional $299.99 starting price. There's also been a lot of talk that next-gen games will cost more then the customary $49.99. Take a peek at this CNN article for example. While lots of people have been bitching and moaning in the GameSpy forums about it, I'm honestly surprised it took this long.
-Yup... X360 Premium Pack at $400 with $60 games. Sad that this one specifically came true.
2) A Major Defection Will Occur
New consoles often result in breakups and new couplings. Longtime Square fans were surprised when the company went to bed with Sony and announced that Final Fantasy would be a PlayStation exclusive. Well, we have a slew of new systems in the works. Though they'll be coming out over the next two years, a big announcement will take place this year, probably at E3 2005. I'm talking enormous -- along the lines of Square taking Final Fantasy back to Nintendo or Rockstar taking Grand Theft Auto to Xbox 2 exclusively.
-Hmm... well, Ridge Racer 360 and FFXI 360... I wouldn't call these 2 games "enormous" by any stretch of the imagination - the main FF series and GTA (as far as we know) will be on PS2. RE5 being for both 360 and PS3 and not Revo (yet)? Maybe... but still no where near as huge as FF7.
1) Nintendo Will Become Cool Again
Nintendo is going to take a major, major step in shedding its kiddy image and becoming cool. To be fair, it took a major step in 2004 with its TV spots. The company's commercials in 2004 were incredible. I defy you to name another company that served up sweeter TV ads than Nintendo, especially in the last six months of the year. It's such an amazing contrast from the crap it used to serve up (i.e. the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance spot). The new ads make me go, "Wow!" and are quickly followed up by, "That was a Nintendo spot?"
-In my opinion, abso-fucking-lutely. With the DS coming from nowhere to totally kick ass, the Revolution announcement (which makes me and many other people extremely curious and has been fueling even more obsessive speculation than normal), some amazing releases this year (Mario Kart and Kirby being 2 prominent) and some more great games in the pipeline (New SMB and Zelda). Although Nintendo totally lost me with the N64 and did little to reclaim my attention with the Cube and the porting of old games onto GBA, they've totally regained my personal mindshare and I can honestly say I'm anticipating the Rev way more than the other systems.