After making loads of silly predictions on the DarkZero podcast over the last few weeks, I almost forgot to blog about it. I’d like to keep this brief, so I’ll just skim over some general prediction/wish list/wild speculation stuff. UPDATE: Now that E3 is over, I’ll also go through my points and comment on what ACTUALLY happened.

Nintendo

  • There are a lot of rumours flying around that Project Café will include large screens on its controllers. If that’s true, I would suggest that it might not rely on a TV at all – possibly, the handset will offer an individual screen to each player, with the base unit doing all the processing work.
    CORRECT! I am feeling pretty smug about getting this right, although in hindsight it seems obvious. Did nobody else see it coming? Really?
  • I still stand by my 2007 prediction that it will launch SOMEWHERE this year!
    INCORRECT! Nintendo have really committed themselves to a 2012 launch, making me look like a chump.
  • Skyward Sword will not be a dual-platform release as per Twilight Princess
    SEEMS CORRECT! I certainly haven’t heard anything about a dual release, and – unlike the Wii U – it’s due out before Christmas, so unless they’re planning to launch a flagship game for one console and then release a surprise upgraded version just a few months later, I’d say this is a done deal.
  • Animal Crossing 3DS will convince me to buy a 3DS
    UNCLEAR! All they showed was the Animal Crossing logo, and I’m still put off by the current lack of games, but it was basically enough to put me off the PS Vita at least.
  • Most/all of the Pokémon news will relate to spin-off games – we’ll see some stuff about the 3DS generation next year
    CORRECT! The only time Pokémon came up in the press conference was in relation to the new 3DS Pokédex.
  • They’ll say that the Wii’s not dead yet, claiming that the recent price reductions and a new Zelda mean sales will give it a strong boost during its ‘autumn year’; they’re probably wrong, and they probably know that.
    CORRECT! See below.
  • Similarly they’ll continue to talk up the DS, since it’s still way more popular than the 3DS. Their heart isn’t really in it though – remember that talk about how the DS was going to be a ‘third pillar’ next to the GameCube and GBA? Look how that turned out.
    CORRECT! They didn’t use quite those words, but they’ve definitely been pushing the idea that the Wii, Wii U, DS and 3DS are all going concerns right now, which is ridiculous. Nobody can spread resources adequately across two pairs of directly competing formats, but I guess they need to keep ‘supporting’ their older systems until enough consumers are ready to upgrade.
  • All Kid Icarus games announced will look utter forgettable, as ever
    CORRECT! So correct.
  • They’ll make a point of showcasing a lot of big third party games like Call of Duty, to show that their new console is more mainstream.
    CORRECT! They probably did a good job of getting the message out to the mainstream media, although a lot of games journalists have been focusing on the quality of these ports. Nintendo have been VERY cagey about the hardware specs of the Wii U, and won’t be drawn on much other than the fact that it supports 1080p. Suspicion abounds that the Wii U versions of these big-name games will be in a similar vein to the Wii versions of Call of Duty, Dead Rising, etc… 

    For a good ‘gamer’s eye’ perspective on the Nintendo conference, check out Geoff Keighley’s interview with Reggie Fils-Aime on GameTrailers.com.

     

Microsoft

  • Apparently Microsoft have been sending out early development hardware out for a ‘new’ Xbox to certain developers. I don’t expect to see it mentioned this year. Possibly these rumours are an ‘official’ leak – their way of announcing it without having to show the finished product.
    CORRECT! Well, correct in the sense that they didn’t reveal any new hardware, at least. I think there’s a good chance they’ll be announcing their new console next year – perhaps to scupper the Wii U’s launch? – but we’ll see. WE’LL SEE.
  • IF I WERE MICROSOFT I would make an effort to show Kinect being used in some traditional games, to show core gamers why they should go out and buy it. I think I said this last year though, and they didn’t really show anything like that, so I am keeping my expectations low.
    CORRECT! Mass Effect 3, Fable: The Journey and others will all be using Kinect functionality. Oh, and a word on Mass Effect 3: A lot of people (myself included) have been asking whether they could use Xbox Live headsets to give voice commands and stuff, but APPARENTLY it only works with Kinect because it uses the Kinect hardware to process the speech recognition, so it doesn’t affect the Xbox system resources.
  • Would a joke about the PSN outage be in too bad taste? You know if they said “At least Live is secure!” they would immediately be targeted by Anon teens.
    PROBABLY! I certainly didn’t notice any references to the PSN outage in their press conference.
  • Kudo Tsunoda’s very presence will continue to infuriate me
    CORRECT!
  • Is GTA5 is out this year? I would expect MS to pursue another timed exclusivity deal, like with GTA4‘s DLC. Sony couldn’t afford to bid for something like that right now, surely??
    INCORRECT! There has been real news about the next GTA from anyone, as far as I can see.
  • Here is a thing: Most of the big-name game series you associate with the Xbox/360 (Halo, Fable, Gears of War, Mass Effect, etc) are trilogies, and most of them have either already finished or are close to the end. What comes next? I’d be surprised if any of these franchises were laid to rest - Halo has already had a spin-off, a prequel and an RTS midprequel.
    CORRECT! Fable: The Journey and a new Halo trilogy (!!!) look set to keep Microsoft’s press conferences looking near-identical for the next few years. What are the bets that E3 2013 includes a PC/Xbox exclusive Mass Effect deathmatch game?
  • On that note, I have no idea what Lionhead are currently working on, but I think we’ll see Molyneux show off something interesting that is neither Fable nor Milo. Whatever it is, it will probably come out in 2014 and look nothing like it does now.
    INCORRECT! I really was not expecting another Fable-brand game so soon, but there you go. All I can say in my defence is that it looks like a totally different kind of game that just happens to have the Fable name slapped on it – I’m taking it as a moral victory, although I shouldn’t have explicitly ruled out a franchise tie-in!

Sony

  • It is difficult to predict what Sony will do with a 5-hour presentation!
    INCORRECT! This whole business of a 5-hour presentation turned out to be nonsense, and really threw my predictions off this year – I’m beginning to wonder where that rumour started?!
  • At least two hours will be spent talking about the NGP  – or the PSVita, as they’re supposedly calling it now.
    MIXED! Look: proportionally speaking they did devote about 2/5ths of the presentation to it, which is the important point.
  • I am expecting them to talk about the PSN outage and explain why it’s all the fault of filthy hackers, but I guess the PR men might think it better to not mention it at all, considering how embarrassing it’s been.
    TERRIBLY UNCLEAR PREDICTION! Repeated apologies from multiple speakers. They were some sorry puppies this year.
  • Lots of HD remakes for the PS3 – hopefully they’ll give a cast-iron date for Shadow of the Colossus HD
    CORRECT! If Shadow of the Colossus is the first game I would buy for the PS3, I think remakes of the PSP Metal Gear Solid games would come immediately after that. Conversely, I now have no reason to buy a PSP.

Other Things I Want To See

  • Street Fighter 3 HD for XBLA/PSN
    SUCCESS! Although now I’ve seen the trailer, I’m starting to wonder whether it’s really worth competing with Street Fighter IV, Marvel vs Capcom 3, etc. The only people who are going to really get into it are the kind of hardcore players who I will never beat!
  • Some good 3DS games (that aren’t just remakes)
    Uh-oh!
  • A sequel to Daggerdale
    Nothing yet! Although Dragon’s Crown looks like it could be the kind of fantasy beat-em-up I’m looking for. I am LOVING the beefcake Amazon.
  • Does anyone really think Square-Enix are desperate enough to remake FFVII now? They must be getting pretty nervous after FFXIV‘s massive flop, but I would think even a remake would take them at least 4 years to make. Unless they’ve been secretly working on it since the PS3′s launch, it won’t be coming any time soon.
    No news! I think they really would make a lot of money from a high quality re-release, but it would be terrible news from anyone who wants them to make new games. What would be next? FFVIII?

In a word: REMAKES! Also: REBOOTS!