Working Title 11.29.10: Working Future: My Predictions for 2011

Posted by Jordan Williams on 11.29.2010

From the Nintendo 3DS selling like hotcakes and Sony pushing 3D gaming to Kinect having a rough patch until E3 and the death of Guitar Hero, 411's Jordan Williams reveals his gaming predictions for 2011 in this week's Working Title!

Welcome to the #1 Column to not get murdered during the Black Friday Sales Rush, WORKING TITLE. I hope all of you cheap bastards were safe over the holiday. But you know what? SAFE TIME IS FUCKING OVER.

THIS IS GODDAMN WORKING TITLE.

AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE DO HERE AT WORKING TITLE?

...No...that wasn't rhetorical. I really want to know what the hell we do here. Because at the time of this typing I have NO FUCKING IDEA WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT. It's that horrible part of the year where every big game has already come out and everyone is concentrating on next year so all news has virtually fucking stopped. Therefore the news weeks are really fucking slow.

So what can I do? Can I once again come to the defense of G4TV? Nah.

Is there a bad video game movie out there I can defend and convert to a good movie? Nope.

Are there any really dumb rumors out there that I can comment on in a possibly very long winded way? Probably.

But you know what works better? Just making up the most outlandish (or possibly realistic) shit off of the top of my head for the next year in gaming and see if next year it actually comes true.

Too early to start making predictions about next year you say?

You know what I say to that? FUCK THE FUCK OFF. It's the end of the year and unless Apple suddenly comes out and buys Sony and Nintendo and releases the iPod 3DPSP then this year is pretty much in the goddamn books.

So come take a trip with me into THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE!


Working Future: My Predictions for 2011


What is this? Working Title with...A LIST? Yes, I hate lists. But you know what? I am allowed one list a year and god dammit I am going to take it. You have a problem with it? Well...I apologize. Just give me your SteamID and I'll gift you Pokernight at the Inventory on Steam.

Sony

As far as 2010 goes, Sony has really picked up the slack. After the first few years of them being sort of...there...they really have started to make moves that are making Nintendo and Microsoft a touch nervous. I think they will actually keep that momentum up through 2011.

The Playstation Move will be to the Kinect like the PSP to the DS.

Before you Sony fanboys go apeshit...which I highly doubt you will do. But I do not mean that the Playstation Move will get blown out of the water and be considered a laughing stock by the rest of the games industry. I simply mean that the Playstation Move will take a different approach than the Kinect. When the DS came out they were all about using the gimmick to its main power. All of the games were about the touch screen. Meanwhile the PSP was more about the hardware power and trying to make as many actual games as possible. Now that didn't really pan out for Sony in the end, but it still led to a lot of people proclaiming that from a hardware and marketing standpoint that the PSP was the better handheld, but the DS sold more games.

I think this is what is going to happen with the motion controllers. Sony is going to try to make actual GAMES for the Move and make sure that the current games have functionality for it; meanwhile Kinect is going to be all about showing off the Kinect itself until at least E3.

Sony will begin to press harder with Console Exclusive Content similar to Microsoft.

We saw a bit of this at E3 last year and a bit more after. But I think Sony is going to start putting its foot into the Exclusive DLC game more and more. While the actual Console Exclusive is all but dead, I think the new evolution of it will be exclusive or timed exclusive content. We see they have good relationships with EA, Valve, and Ubisoft. I think they are going to try harder to secure more of these big gets.

The PSP2 will be announced, but will not have strong support out of the gate.

Will the PSP2 be an impressive piece of hardware? Of course. But I think a lot of developers and publishers have been burned by the PSP in the past. I think it will arrive with a good amount of fanfare and a good line up at E3 but I think that will be a lot of the usual stuff and nothing necessarily 'new'. Developers supported the PSP like a motherfucker and didn't really have anything to show for it. I think they are going to need some proof that this thing will take off this time for them to dive head first.

PSN will finally get upgrades similar to Xbox Live such as Cross Game Chat, but only for PSN+ users

I am not of the school that PSN is a bad service, but as far as building an online community I still think that Xbox Live is the BETTER service. I think this will be the year that PSN finally starts to close the gap between the two. As far as features go they are still pretty even but having Cross Game Chat and Party Support are the two things that are SORELY missing from PSN's online structure, I think we will see some sort of update or stop gap to remedy this, even if it means there is a big Firmware Update. The catch is...I really think this will be a feature rolled out just for the Playstation Plus users. I don't know if PSN+ has been something that has worked for Sony so far, but I can easily see this being the thing that convinces at least a large chunk of users to plunk down the 50 bones.

Sony will push 3D gaming *HARD* at E3

This is actually fairly obvious. While I think the 3D Film Craze has died down (it seems like the movie that are getting 3D are using them A LOT better and realistically now) I think the 3D Gaming Craze is going to flow for a little longer especially because the 3DS is going be on the tip of everyone's tongue. I don't know what exactly they are going to push...but Sony is the one spearheaded the TV3D movement so I can really see them pushing it hard on the PS3.

Microsoft

Microsoft is still hanging in there, but you just can't shake the feeling that they are looking like the old man on the rocking chair right now who is trying to stay hip. They got a new model, they brought out Kinect...but they almost seem like they are in the same position that Sony was in a few years back. They aren't really doing anything NEW; they just have all of the right games selling on their console versus the others. In 2011 I think we will see them spin their wheels just a bit more until the time is right for them to start development on the new Xbox.

The Kinect will enter a Dark Age similar to the first year of the Nintendo DS. A Killer App will finally be revealed around E3

There is no sugarcoating it or getting around it. The first half of the year for the Kinect is going to suck shit through a straw. They are going to have some flat out bad games peppered with some passable games but this will be a rough patch for the Kinect. A lot of people will give up on it because all of the games will be FLAIL-FESTS but I think eventually someone will find that key to unlocking what the Kinect can really do and we will begin to see some good stuff out of Kinect.

Microsoft will try it's hardest to push its Exclusive Game Content, but outside of Activison there won't be much of it

Microsoft has been the main one pushing exclusive content so far this cycle, but I think that time on top is going to come to an end. When you look at the partners and what not they have lined up...it's really just Activision hanging around out there by themselves with the Call of Duty content. I don't see too many people flowing over to Microsoft's side for some reason.

The Xbox 360 will stall hardware-wise. While it won't be revealed to the public, the next Xbox will begin development and any new improvements will end up on the new console

The Kinect is it. This is the last big thing we will see from Microsoft hardware-wise for awhile. Why? Because the Kinect is setting them up for the next console generation in which the Kinect will be built into the hardware. Microsoft has been out longer than any of the consoles hanging around right now and it's obvious that they are ready to just sit back and relax while they build up money to start developing the new console. When is that console coming out? No idea. But it's on its way.

There will be a small media shitstorm over obscene photos being posted on Xbox.com, Facebook, and other photo sites due while using the Kinect

Do I need to elaborate on this? Nope? Alright. Moving along.

Nintendo

Nintendo's popularity has faltered along with the sales. It's not because the fans have fallen out of favor like some people always think. I think it's simply because EVERYONE IN THE FUCKING WORLD HAS A WII BY NOW. The sales aren't halting because no one cares, it's because EVERYONE HAS ONE. But I do think that this is it for the Wii. The 3DS is going to be their big focus from now on and the Wii will fall along the wayside.

The 3DS will sell like hot cakes dipped in cocaine.

If you doubt this, you must be new. I know it get tossed around a lot but Nintendo could literally shit in a box and make it colorful and everyone on the fucking planet of Japan and America would buy it. You know this to be true.


The Wii will officially take a backseat in Nintendo, having lived a very lucrative life. The next Nintendo console will be hinted at at E3

I mentioned this in the intro, but I think the Wii is effectively done. The 3DS is getting all of the news right now and it will only increase next year. Nintendo will throw some bones the Wii's way but I think it's all but over for them. The next step is the 3DS and they will support it as such. More on that in a second.

Nintendo will aggressively target Apple and the iDevices, offering up competitive Apps to go against the Apple App Store. It will fail.

Nintendo has always said that they see Apple as the main enemy now in the handheld market and I don't blame them. As much as the hardcore love to bag on the iDevices as being just too casual for real games. The fact of the matter is that it is still a device that is carried around the entire tie and can always be used for a quick gaming fix. Nintendo is going to try to steal that same sort of market with the 3DS by trying to get its own App Store and what not but I don't think it's going to catch on only because Nintendo is FUCKING RETARDED WHEN IT COMES TO DEALING WITH ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH ONLINE. Until they can get THAT shit together (and join virtually everyone else in the world) then they will fail when it comes to anything online.

Despite being on the deathbed, a new Star Fox title will be announced for Wii to keep the hardcore's happy.

If you go down the list of games Nintendo can trot out to keep the hardcore happy, they have done every single game EXCEPT for a new StarFox. So I think since this will most likely be the final year of the Wii they will finally throw them a final bone and put out a StarFox game for the Wii. No idea who will do it since they seem to have no interest in making a StarFox game...but it's coming. And they will once again make some sort of change that isn't needed which will alienate the fan base and fuck it over. It's the Nintendo way.

Others

Not to just focus on The Big 3, here are some other ones that are going to happen in 2011, if I am wrong on any of these I promise I'll do a column defending MineCraft next year.

Fuck MineCraft.

Apple's iDevices will gain a stronger hold on the handheld market, with more FULL games showing up on the App Store.

This is going to happen...actually it's already happening. We will start to see more 'real' games on the iPhone and iPad along with the casual games. I don't know if these will just be ports of handheld games themselves or ones built from the ground up. But they will gain a bigger hold on the handheld market because of it.

Activision will retire the Guitar Hero franchise, or at the very least put out a new one under the radar. The Sledgehammer Call of Duty game will be the first misstep of the CoD Franchise. No on will care come November.

The Music Genre is done. Rockband 3 is the perfect bookend to that genre in gaming and I think everyone, even Activision, knows it. Therefore the GH franchise will quietly go under the radar and die. Meanwhile this new Sledgehammer Call of Duty game will not live up to the hype that they are going to put out. Seeing as this right now is not meant to be a FPS and...well Activision doesn't seem to do good when they mess with something that works too drastically. They tend to beat one type of game into the ground, then try to change it RADICALLY and it never works for the better. But on the other hand...Call of Duty might have hit the point where nothing they can do will harm it. If that's the case...well...good for them.


Valve will announce Half-Life Episode 3 at a surprise announcement at E3. Fans will cause a shit storm when Valve reveals it will be coming to consoles as well as PC.

I called it last year with Duke Nukem Forever. I am calling it again. Half-Life Episode 3 WILL be announced next year either at E3 or PAX. The fanboys will rejoice. There will be crying and love and hugs for all. And then they will announce that it will be coming to consoles as well...and then there will be HELL TO PAY. The PC Fanboys will cry that their game is getting consoleifieid and will say this is why it's been taking so long. Petitions will be made. Butts will be hurt. And then they will get over it in 5.6 second and go back to riding Gabe's dick like it was going out of style.


The Supreme Court will rule in favor of the ECA and games will be deemed Protected Speech...until California writes up another bill.

I didn't want to comment on this one because this is more for the Politics Zone...but I really see no way the Supreme Court can go the other way on this one...but just because the ECA wins doesn't mean California will stop. All it will do is just give them more time to refine the bill so it's fail proof.

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And there you have it, my predictions for 2011 in the world of gaming. Sorry there wasn't much to go on here but have no fear! Next week we begin the nominations for The 3rd Annual Working Title Year End Awards!

...Yay!

Someone should Photoshop me up some award trophies or something. That'd be pretty rad.

I'll gift you some game on Steam.

Can you tell I took advantage of some Black Friday Steam sales or what?

Until next time, I'm Jordan Williams...and Tron Legacy looks pretty badass...for a Disney non-animated non-pirate movie. Let's see how well it does.