by Cody "Micajah" Bye,
Managing Editor
The heralding of a new year is always an exciting time in the gaming
industry. Those games we’ve been waiting years to get our
hands on are now just a few months away from their release dates.
Companies that have held onto the names and ideas behind their products
are finally given the green light to unveil their masterpiece to the
world. More titles and companies emerge from the market miasma, and
gamers swoon at all the news.
Since it’s only been a few days since the start of 2008, I
figured it would be best to issue my own predictions for 2008 and touch
on some topics that my colleagues
href="http://loading.blogs.tentonhammer.com/?p=410#more-410">John
“Boomjack” Hoskin and
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/16310">Garrett Fuller
did not. These “predictions” are in no particular
order, but are merely a few of the “big items” that
may be trolling across computer screens throughout the year. I have
laid out eight of these “predictions” (to represent
2008) so sit back, relax, then proceed to throw rotten food at me when
you finish reading.
1. With the release of style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Jumpgate
Evolution,
NetDevil will find some well-received success and reinvent how to
create a “massive” game.
border="1">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/16060"
title="Solarain Figher Battle">
src="/image/view/16060/preview"
width="200">
style="font-style: italic;">Jumpgate Evolution
will finally bring a massive element to outer space combat.
From what I’ve seen of this upcoming title,
style="font-style: italic;">
href="http://www.jumpgateevolution.com">Jumpgate Evolution
will be what fans of Wing
Commander, X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, and
style="font-style: italic;">Privateer have long
been waiting for. The fast-paced space-flight combat system - along
with a super-intelligent NPC AI configuration - will bring life to the
depths of space, while the incredibly impressive graphics will awe even
low-spec gamers. From all of the screenshots we've seen, the graphics
that the NetDevil team is producing are absolutely fantastic, and
they've assured the public that the game can run on a wide range of
machines. Combine graphics with massively multiplayer space combat and
you've got a winning combo.
On top of that, the folks at NetDevil are building the entire game with
an incredibly small crew. At the last count, there were only 10
employees working on the game, and the content they were producing was
absolutely staggering. Set for a late 2008 release,
style="font-style: italic;">Jumpgate Evolution
should provide dog-fighters with a venue that has long been restricted
for them.
2. Details will begin to
emerge concerning CCP|WhiteWolf’s upcoming
style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">World of
Darkness MMOG
.
With a whole year of silence concerning the WoD game (except for the
talk of using EVE Online's Ambulation engine to get a jump start on the
human motions needed in the WoD), the folks at CCP|WhiteWolf will
finally open up and tell the fanatic
href="http://www.worldofdarkness.com">vampire / werewolf /
fairy folks out there exactly what sort of game they will be
playing in the near future. Will player's experience points accrue like
that in EVE, on a time based system? Or will it be part of the combat
function? How will combat work in a world where the supernatural
creatures live in constant hiding? Will there be day/night cycles
(severely limiting when a vampire can play)? Many of these questions
will be answered, and we'll begin to have some coherent conclusion on
what the World of Darkness MMOG will look like as a final product.
3. Cryptic Studios will
finally release information concerning Marvel Universe Online, which
will not be canceled.
Despite the constant
rumor mongering, Marvel Universe Online will not be canceled,
and I expect that a large chunk of information will be headed to the
public in the early part of 2008. Although I’ve yet to see
any concrete proof that the game even exists (the Cryptic AR
doesn’t count), I hold a lot of trust in the Cryptic staff,
and I know that the crew there would be aghast if they didn’t
release the best Marvel game ever created. To get the marketing buzz
going early, players will probably see some iconic characters
(Spider-man, Wolverine, the Hulk) causing havoc in a cityscape of some
kind. However, only the most basic of details will be leaked, and
gamers will need to wait until the later part of the year to hear any
"big" news.
border="1">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/16044"
title="Crazy Looking Tribal Warrior">
src="/image/view/16044/preview"
width="200">
style="font-style: italic;">With its beautiful
graphics and stellar storyline, Aion
will be a surprise hit in 2008.
4. The name and basic
details of 38 Studios’s MMORPG will be unveiled. Terms like
“ambitious” and “revolutionary”
will be bantered about as the forum-goers try to determine what the
game will consist of.
The crew
at 38 Studios has kept the premise behind their upcoming game
under such tight wraps that I’m surprised we’ve
heard as much about the general premise of the game as we have. Unlike
the MMOG studios of yesteryear, Curt Schilling and his crew have
learned to weigh the interest of the consumer and really look like
they’re going to release information in a gradual manner to
build up as much excitement for the title as possible. From what
we’ve heard, however, the game is going to be exceptionally
cool.
5. Aion will be a
surprise hit in 2008.
Although I’m not certain of the release date of
style="font-style: italic;"
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/16108">Aion,
I’ve heard that it’s going to be entering a
progressed phase of testing in the very near future. If this is true,
Aion could be hitting stores as early as fall 2008. In Asia, Aion will
most certainly be the unofficial successor to Lineage II and will scoop
up a horde of fans in North America as well. It won’t beat
out Warhammer or Age of Conan, but it will certainly be another money
maker for NCsoft.
6. Sony Online
Entertainment will regain their lost reputation with the release of
style="font-style: italic;">Pirates of the Burning Sea
and the rising popularity of The Agency and FreeRealms.
For SOE, this year may allow them to totally regain any lost reputation
they may have incurred with their previous debacles if they can
successfully release Pirates
of the Burning Sea and promote
style="font-style: italic;"
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/9411">The Agency
and
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/8376">FreeRealms
during their pre-release period. Both of these games - unlike many of
SOE’s previous releases - look like fun, simple,
action-packed games. If SOE does a fantastic job with these two titles,
the world will be their playground again.
7. K2 Networks will
continue to dominate the free-to-play MMOG market in North America,
although Acclaim will gain more headway in 2008.
border="1">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/12338"
title="Quite the view">
src="/image/view/12338/preview"
width="200">
style="font-style: italic;">SOE's 2008 releases
will certainly help their future and allow them to gain a few more
notches in the MMO market race.
This prediction was a tough one for me, because I feel that 2007 was a
slightly unstable year for these two contenders. Free-to-play games are
hitting the market at an incredibly rapid rate, and I think
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/15016">K2 Network
will need to really step up their game to continue dominating the once
open market. However, the foundation for this company has already been
established and they’ll continue to lead in that sector.
To me, Acclaim had a rough year in 2007, but I feel that
they’ll continue to make headway on the free-to-play sector
in 2008. If they can nab a few more of the “high
end” free-to-play games, they’ll be on their way to
a very profitable year.
8. One studio will go
under, leaving nothing but scattered ashes and dust.
The unthinkable happened in 2007. A MMOG development studio dissolved
and the game was shelved. The dissolution of
style="font-style: italic;"> Gods
and Heroes and Perpetual was a shocking blow to the
industry, and it will likely happen again in
2008. However, I’ll contend that the studio to fail this
coming year will be one that hasn’t put as much time and
effort into their product as Perpetual did with G&H. One of the
smaller, independent studios will lose funding (or find capital from an
untrustworthy source) and proceed to fall into the quagmire of
bankruptcy. With so many up and coming studios, it’s only a
matter of time before we see this story hit the news cycle. It happens
in every industry, and I’ve been surprised that it
hasn’t happened to more MMOG developers.
That’s the list! If you have any other suggestions,
predictions, or complaints, feel free to
href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=22607">voice
them in our forums. Have
a jolly 2008 and keep reading Ten Ton Hammer!
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