Every year, the Ten Ton Hammer staff has a little competition. We take
a look at the upcoming year, take out our magic crystal ball of +1
divination, and attempt to predict the results of the MMOs for the
coming year. Last year the competition was between John "Boomjack"
Hoskin and Cody "Micajah" Bye, and after a year of industry-wide ups
and downs,
target="_blank">Boomjack came out the clear and unabashed
winner while Cody hung his head in shame.
This year, we've got at least five network participants: Eric
"Dalmarus" Campbell, Tony "RadarX" Jones, Reuben "Sardu" Waters, Danny
"Ralsu" Gourley, and Cody "Micajah" Bye.
While the results of the contest won't be in for a year, we are happy
to present you with four sets of our individual predictions. Leading
the list are Star Trek Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic,
Champions Online, and DC Universe with a
few remarks made here and there about the two upcoming NCsoft titles, Aion
and Guild Wars 2.
Danny "Ralsu" Gourley Reasons...
1. Runes of Magic will be a huge success for a free-to-play game, and
it will grease the wheels for microtransactions in the West.
2. The servers for EverQuest Online Adventures will shut down for good.
The Station Pass has given EQOA life support for all of 2008, but SOE
will pull the plug in 2009.
3. Turbine or SOE will release a good MMOG for the console that will
cause other companies to take a closer look at that market. Since all
of the current generation consoles have online capability, someone will
look to cash in on that player base.
