Looking over how well I did with my 2013 game predictions (>50% accuracy, thank you very much), the pressure is on for this year. Do I play it safe (e.g., say Zynga will shed another 25% of its staff in layoffs) or throw caution in the wind?You know the answer. Let's go game prediction crazy!"
Making predictions can always be a dangerous thing, because when you're actually right about something, there's no quicker way to making you feel like the next Nostradamus. Well right now, I think there's only one gaming prediction that can be made with 100% certainty of it actually happening: 2014 is going to bring some wonderful new gaming experiences! But you didn't need me to tell you that, now did you? Let's try and make some more specific predictions about the future of video games, shall we?Yesterday we got to see some 2014 predictions from Gamezebo's Editor-in-Chief Jim Squires, but today it's my turn. And I've decided to delve into everything from book publishers creating more video games, to Nintendo's reluctant future in the mobile games space. Think I'm right? Think I couldn't be more wrong? Weigh in with your thoughts on my predictions down in the replies, and let us know what YOU think the gaming world will have in store for 2014!"
I'm entering into this year's predictions far more humble than I did 2013's. Why? Because I got everything wrong last year. But that's ok - life is a learning experience, and I've learned to keep my predictions a tad more realistic. So with that in mind, I'M GONNA PREDICT SO HARD YOUR FACE IS GOING TO MELT.Can I break the bad predictions curse? We'll find out in twelve months. See you in 2015, doubters!!(Geez, I really hope I got it right this time).
Now that another successful year in the video game world has nearly come to a close, it's time we start looking ahead to 2014 and all of the potential the future can bring. So many big things have already happened in gaming throughout the course of 2013, so what could possibly be next for gaming staples like microtransactions and cross-platform experiences? While Gamezebo's predictions for 2014 are already on the way, we thought we'd get a real expert in the field to weigh in with some of his own predictions before then, and to let us gamers know just what might be in store for 2014. To that end, I recently had a chance to speak with Kenny Rosenblatt, the CEO of hugely successful game development studio Arkadium, and to find out just how he thinks the next year of gaming is going to pan out.For starters, Rosenblatt predicts that there will continue to be consolidations throughout the gaming industry in the forms of mergers and acquisitions, although nothing too crazy like we saw in the days back when Facebook gaming was really taking off. And while we're on that subject, he also feels that Facebook gaming will continue to stick around in 2014, although developers won't have big success unless they go cross-platform with a mobile release. But regardless of Facebook or mobile, Rosenblatt still predicts that casual games in general will begin to have similar marketing campaigns as some of today's biggest console game franchises like Assassin's Creed or Call of Duty, with big investments in both TV and print ads."According to Rosenblatt, a revamp of the Apple "Top Charts" is likely in order for 2014, specifically with the "Top Grossing Chart" either being heavily changed or removed altogether. The reason for this, Rosenblatt asserts, is that paid games are no longer on this list as they were in the days before the free-to-play model became cemented in the industry. And furthermore, in what could likely be a game-changing move in the mobile games business, Rosenblatt also thinks that one of the big players like Apple or Google will reduce the 30% fee or tax from game purchases on their respective platforms.