Post by Chase on Dec 24, 2008 20:45:26 GMT -5
Some guy from GAF was bored and since I just registered at GAF with a proper e-mail account (and have to now wait months for confirmation), I decided to steal his post and post it here. :^)
Audio Link: Click here
Garnett Lee:
Simon Cox:
John Davison:
Shane Bettenhausen:
Group Predictions:
Audio Link: Click here
Garnett Lee:
- Biggest Game of the Year (2008 Sales Wise): GTA 4
- Most Looked Forwarded to Game in 2008: Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway (answer would be Alan Wake if it was coming out in 08)
- APB release chances are equal to Huxley’s chance for release
- Microsoft is going to start to unveil the next Xbox in before the end of 2008 (Group: Disagrees)
- Even if they don’t unveil it at least devs will know about the next Xbox in 2008
- GTA4 and MGS4 will have Christmas releases (Group: Vehemently Disagrees)
- Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2 to release in 2009
- Killzone 2 will release before MGS4 (Group: Disagrees)
- Too Human = Xbox 360’s Brute Force
- Doesn’t think Ensamble is going to pull off the controls on Halo Wars
- LBP and Home Betas won’t launch together
- Doesn’t agree that Gears 2 can fill the Halo void in the Xbox calendar
- Microsoft will still be marketing and actively perusing exclusives in Japan in Dec 2008
Simon Cox:
- Biggest Game of the Year (2008 Sales Wise): GTA 4
- Most Looked Forwarded to Game in 2008: Mirror’s Edge
- iPhone to become a viable gaming platform in 2008 (John Agrees)
- Independent Games are going to ramp up in 2008
- GTA 4 May/June Release Window
- By the end of the year, Sony’s Home is going to completely change the game/perception as far as Xbox Live is concerned.
- Home to become a social network. But not to be very good at launch because all social networks suck at launch.
- Sony to occupy the space inbetween the 360 as a hardcore gaming machine and the Wii as a toy. PS3 is the best of both worlds and that is why he thinks the PS3 is ultimately going to win this console generation.
- PS3 to have a soul by the end of the year. As in there will be an emotional attachment to the system.
- Microsoft has no interest in iterating on the 360 in 2008. They’re going to remain focused on just raking in the cash.
- PS3 will eventually eat some of the Wii’s lunch down the line if it gains a soul coupled with Home/LBP. Conversely, the 360 won’t be able to break out of the hardcore gaming niche.
- The problem with PC gaming is piracy.
- There will be no change to Blizzard due to the ActiBlizz merger. Activision has no control over Blizzard plans.
John Davison:
- Biggest Game of the Year (2008 Sales Wise): Wii Fit
- Most Looked Forwarded to Game in 2008: LBP and GTA4 (tie)
- New DS in 2008 with no GBA Slot. (John and Shane: Agree that new DS would have storage)
- Next Nintendo System will be a iteration on the Wii (ex. Super Wii or Wii HD)
- Wii Fit will be one of the best selling games in 2008, if not the best selling game of 2008.
- Fitness games will be a new hot genre with publishers buying up lots of fitness brands to make their games (ex. Reebok/Nike)
- Hardcore gamers are going to buy No More Heroes (Shane disagrees)
- Halo 3 was the pinnacle for the hardcore on 360
- GTA 4 May Release Date
- Killzone 2 September
- Alan Wake to be “colossally disappointing”
- Battlefield: Bad Company is going to be awesome but he’s unsure about its sales potential
- People are done keeping up with hardware for PC gaming.
- If Microsoft doesn’t release an Xbox Ultimate its over for them in Japan.
- We’re going to start to see more mature implementations of Sex and Relationships (treating the topic in a mature manner) in games in 2008 with something in GTA 4 acting as a catalyst.
Shane Bettenhausen:
- Biggest Game of the Year (2008 Sales Wise): GTA 4
- Most Looked Forwarded to Game in 2008: MGS4 and LBP (tie)
- WiiWare is going to disappoint everybody because of the size limit and prohibitly priced games
- Animal Crossing to come out in November 2008
- Mario Kart in September 2008 (he then says maybe it’ll surprise us with a March release)
- GTA 4 June 2008 Release Date
- MGS4 to release in June 2008
- Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2 in November 2008
- Killzone 2 will UNDER deliver and Resistance 2 will OVER deliver
- Motorstrom 2 will be shown in 2008 but will release in 2009
- Street Fighter 4 is an 2009 Game (Simon agrees)
- Resident Evil 5 will not become a platform exclusive and will not come out in 2008
- Ninja Gaiden 2 before the Summer 08. Will be good, huge success but won’t reinvent the wheel
- Flop Genre of 2008 = RTS’s on 360
- Magic combination: LBP and Home launching with 6 months of each other. Both products to be linked together.
- LBP Beta = Feburary 2008 GDC
- We’re going to start hearing rumblings of the new Xbox in 2008 but nothing will be announced.
- Talks doom and gloom for the Xbox in Japan.
- Thinks we’re done with $100+ collector editions
- Piracy Litmus Test: If Crisis Core and God of War: PSP don’t sell well then the PSP as a software platform is done. (John agrees)
- Advance Wars Days of Ruin won’t sell as well as Crisis Core or God of War PSP.
Group Predictions:
- No Microsoft Response to Home/LBP/PSN in 2008
- Nobody agrees that 360 or PS3 will outsell the Wii in any month of 2008
- Status Quo for 360 in 2008. Steady momentum and a lot of good releases
- PS3 is on a completely different cycle and has a different trajectory then the other consoles due to its slow start.
- Starcraft II will release in 2008
- APB won’t release In 2008
- Unreal Engine 3 to finally be complete and meet its goal in 2008. UE3 to be outclassed by other engines in 2008.
- News of the next generation middleware engines will start to release in 2008
- Halo 4 for the next Xbox
- The group won’t predict the results of the Epic Vs. Silicon Knights lawsuit.
- John and Garnett think Fracture will flop hard
- Smash Bros is going to do really well.