Gaming Predictions of the Year (Currently Featuring... Whichever Year It Is Now)

Well Balla, New Year means new


Nintendo
1. Switch 2 will cost over £379.99
2. Switch 2 will launch before June 30th 2025
3. A New Mario Kart will come out before December 31st 2025
4. Breath of the Wild 4K/Enhanced will be a thing
5. Ports Galore including Final Fantasy VII Remake
6. Splatoon 4 is announced

PlayStation
1. Bend will announce their new game, and it will come out in 2025 will be tad like The Division
2. Cory Barlog will show his new game, at a Geoff Keighley show
3. PSVR2 to get zero games using a PlayStation IP
4. Horizon Monster Hunter-like game is announced for 2025
5. Bloodborne 10th Anniversary Edition happens it's at 60fps
6. Final Fantasy IX remake is a PS5 exclusive, even with Square saying they're done with exclusive games

Xbox
1. Over seven games will come to PS5 in 2025
2. Sea of Thieves comes to Switch 2
3. 1v100 is back for the 20th anniversary of the Xbox 360
4. Xbox (Microsoft Gaming) licensed systems to come out from other companies e.g. Samsung
5. DOOM x Halo event to happen in Call of Duty
6. Forza Horizon 6 is announced, and finally it's in Japan  

Other
1. Steam OS consoles come out
2. Half-Life 3 comes out to go alongside the above new PC consoles
3. New Bioshock is shown
4. Resident Evil Code Veronica Remake is the next Resident Evil game
5. Ubisoft are bought by Tencent
6. Square remember Parasite Eve

Gurgle.  Fine.  Rehashing time.

1. Switch 2 releases in Q2, with a Direct this month or the first week of Feb.  I don't think it'll be March, not with nothing known about it yet.  The Switch had had an investors' briefing by this point.
2. Switch 2 launches with a 3D Mario (new) or a 3D Zelda (remake/remaster), and a party game that's better than 1-2-Switch was.
3. Price: £280-£370.  I think much higher and you're losing that family appeal.  I have added an extra £20 on last year to allow for inflation/chip difficulties.
4. The Joy-Con aren't much of a stretch over the Switch's, and the first reports of some hardware fail like Joy-Con drift are out before the end of the year.
5. New Kirby game released in the autumnal slump.  It'll be another 3D game and a little less kindly received than Forgotten Land now that the gloss has worn off.
6. New Xenoblade game announced but not released this year.  It does not have a 4 in the title.
7. New Animal Crossing announced!  But bereft of COVID conditions, nobody really cares.
8. Metroid Prime 4 and Pokémon Legends Z-A both have some sort of "enhanced on Switch 2" feature, although at least one of them will release on base Switch.  Probably Pokémon.
9. Metroid Prime 4 still has loading rooms that are noticeable as such.  They're not as frequent as the GC games but they're still too common.
10. Either WW/TP or Kid Icarus Uprising OR Kirby Planet Robobot gets a remaster on Switch to keep those left behind by Nintendo quiet.  Half points if any of them come to Switch 2 only.
11. The Yakuza franchise ports 0 or multiple lesser entries to Switch (or Switch 2).
12. The following games DO NOT come to Switch 2 (or Switch): Yakuza Black Flag, UFO 50, the new MonHan, Lights Off Locks Locked.  No half points here, if one makes it over that's me out.
13. We see nothing of Okami 2 at all this year.  (It's Okami 3, Okamiden exists and was good actually.)
14. SILKSONG.  HAPPEN.  THIS YEAR.  IT HAPPEN.  IT HAPPEN!!!  (Half a point for a month in 2026 or 2026Q1 release date announcement.)
15. MMG's Earthblade not so much.  We'll see another trailer and a 2026 release.

METASCORE CORNER

16. Metroid Prime 4 Beyond - 82-89 (which I will think is too low)
17. Pokémon Legends Z-A - higher than the original (i.e. 82+)
18. Steamy Layton - 75-84
19. Fantasy Life 2 - 71-79 (or it doesn't ralease, not confident about this)
20. The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy - 69 or below


The more I think about the Mario Kart prediction, the more sensible it feels.  Might come quite shortly after the machine's release.

Decapolice is 2026, I believe, that's half a point already.

Oh is it? Bah, I can't benefit from that. I'll reduce it to a Fantasy Life 2 prediction only, for a game I'll never play. (Fantasy Life 1 a.k.a. Busywork The Game wasn't actually that good y'all. )

They've done predictions over at that GGS

Balladeer wrote:

 I'd apologise to Buska for all the Metascore predictions if I thought he even read this thread.

I do read and I expect a very humble apology

I'll do one better than that - after listening to the Back Page predictions episode I came to the conclusion that my predictions were extremely boring.  So, I'm going to fully revamp them and relegate the Metascores to their own bonus section where you can ignore them.  Time for some big swings!

EDIT: okay not many of them were that big actually