TSA Staff: 2010 Predictions

As everyone slowly begins to recover from seeing off 2009, it is of course now 2010. With a new year brings new possibilities, so the TheSixthAxis staff have pitched in with some predictions for the coming year. At the end of the year (providing someone reminds me) we can check to see how close the predictions were and thus who is secretly mystic Meg in disguise. Due to the timing of the predictions there were plenty of guesses for a PSN Premium subscription, which have since had to be replaced with another suggestion as it’s barely a prediction now.

As I’m sure you’ll agree, there’s a great variety of predictions but don’t just leave us to it though, comment below with three gaming predictions for the coming year. It will then act as a testement to your genius when they come true or just written proof of how wrong you really were. Either way, it’s just a bit of fun.

Alex

1. PSP 2 – A touch screen based handheld, with a camera, motion sensor, 3G Internet connectivity (on top of WiFi), with a solid state drive. Therefore remaining download only.
2. PlayStation 3 Minis – A new, smaller, lighter, cheaper, PS3 SDK to be released for companies to produce Minis for the PS3.
3. Social gaming dominance – More SingStar, more ‘band’ games, with masses of titles for the PlayStation Motion Controller and Natal. If it can’t be played with your grandma, it won’t top the charts.

Peter

1. New Wii – A new Nintendo console will be announced – probably just a WiiHD, to be released in Japan early 2011 and summer 2011 for the US and EU.
2. Gears of War 3 – To be announced in the Spring at GDC but perhaps at E3 in June. It’ll be a launch titles for the new Natal-Integrated Xbox in October.
3. PlayStation Motion Controller – Will be delayed until Summer, with a string of gimmicky and casual part-games for the rest of the year. The same will be said for Natal when it’s pushed out in the Autumn though.

Davs

1. New Wii – A new Wii console to be released. Probably a WiiHD although will keep the current motion control technology and be priced at the current price of the Xbox 360 Elite.
2. Mass Effect 2 – Announced for simultaneous release on PS3 and Xbox 360.
3. PlayStation 3 – Worldwide sales of the PS3 to close the gap on the Xbox 360 down to three million.

Michael

1. GTA IV DLC – Will be announced and released on the PlayStation 3.
2. PlayStation 3 – Will receive another price cut dropping it down to around the £199 mark.
3. PlayStation Motion Controller – The PlayStation Motion Controller will see a surge in PlayStation 3 sales and will eat massively into the Wii’s market.

Lewis

1. New Xbox – Perhaps just a name, with a planned released for 2012 with Halo 4 as a launch title.
2. Apple console – Joining the console world with their own hardware with a mac-esque name, perhaps iPlay.
3. PlayStation 3 becomes profitable – Will see Sony making a profit off of the PlayStation 3.

Colin

1. Killzone 3 – To be announced at E3 in June for a Spring 2011 release. Will include a cooperative mode.
2. New Wii – A HD version of the Wii, or something similar, to be announced and released in time for Christmas 2010.
3. New Xbox – A new console from Microsoft to be announced at E3 for an Autumn release.

Greg

1. PlayStation 3 Price Drop – Will drop to the £199 mark for the lowest spec SKU in the second half of the year.
2. Xbox Live Platinum – Microsoft will introduce a third tier of Xbox Live subscription with the Platinum membership costing around $99.99 for a years membership.
3. 3D Gaming – It becomes nothing more than a curiosity for 2010.

Kris

1. New Wii – Probably a WiiHD, will upscale all current Wii games, and therefore will utilise the current controllers.
2. Natal – On launch Halo: Reach will be bundled with Natal, similar to how EyePet is currently. Halo: Reach will utilise voice commands and hand gestures to control and command your squad.
3. PlayStation 3 – Worldwide sales of the PS3 will close to around 4 million on the Xbox 360 based on bundles of exclusive titles.

Lorcan

1. Heavy Rain – Will sell poorly due to lack of advertising from Sony.
2. Final Fantasy XIII – Sales for the Xbox 360 will be better in America than the PlayStation 3, however all other territories will have a great lead on PlayStation 3.
3. Natal – Will receive greater sales, coverage and buzz as it’s a brand new concept, but then will die out pretty quickly and be an ultimate disappointment.

Murdo

1. EU Qore – A slightly higher price than Qore, with a strong OPM presence and will include trailers, features and exclusive downloads.
2. Improved Home Integration – The allowance of avatars as profile pictures will be the start, with the PlayStation 3 even logging into Home direct from boot. Making users utilise game-launching features and Home spaces even more so than before.
3. New Xbox – Announcement of a new Xbox with a late 2010/early 2011 release date. To have fully integrated Natal, ensuring all games can be played without a controller if wanted. Priced at the current price of the PS3.

Zuler

1. New Wii – With Wii sales stagnating, the WiiHD is announced at E3 with a planned release of late 2010/early 2011.
2. Killzone 3 – Announced at E3 and dated as early 2011.
3. GTA V – Announced at E3 and date for early 2011.

Rob

1. Star Wars – At least three new Star Wars games will be announced, on top of the current ones expected for 2010.
2. Monkey Island – The Special Edition version of Monkey Island will be released on the PSN.
3. Media Molecule – The developer will continue to work solely on LittleBigPlanet titles and DLC.

Tom

1. Year of the PS3 – It will be proclaimed by writers and analysts, however with the slim, a reduced price and a wealth of exclusive releases, it will begin to pull ahead of it’s competitors.
2. PlayStation Motion Controller – Will launch and do well, as will Natal, however both become a passing fad and the novelty will wear off by 2011.
3. Delays – As games were pushed back to March, more will now be pushed back to April/May to avoid the Spring

TuffCub

1. Online Multiplayer – Will become even more of a necessity and games that don’t require it, not that it makes sense for, will still include it.
2. Original IPs – More and more sequels will hit the charts as original IPs are not a viable revenue stream for puslishers.
3. Natal – Will be released and the Daily Mail will have a field day with linking reports to paedophilia

Lee

1. Mass Effect 2 – To be announced for release on the PlayStation 3 due to EA’s low recent revenue streams. A Mass Effects – Animated movie will be released on Blu-Ray to fill in the gaps for PS3 owners.
2. Splinter Cell: Conviction – Will release on the Xbox 360 but as a timed exclusive. Will be announced for the PS3 shortly after release.
3. PlayStation Motion Controller – Will release in Spring 2010 but will be marketed so poorly it will struggle in sales.