The Opinion Herd: Predictions For 2012
On Monday we took a look back at some of the predictions we made for 2011. Now that the week and the year is over it’s time to take a look forward to 2012. It’s going to be a very interesting year. There is one new console scheduled to be released with rumors of two more being revealed at some point. There are a lot of games that people are looking forward to and many other things we could prognosticate about.
What does the Nintendo Okie staff (and friends) think is going to happen in 2012? Let’s find out.
Tony Says:
1. Nintendo will officially unveil the final details of the Wii U at E3. We’ll learn how many of the controllers the system supports, the release date and the retail price of the system. I think we’ll see a September release with a price of $299.
2. The 3DS will outsell the PS Vita for 2012. We’ve already seen the chinks in the armor of the Vita from the launch in Japan as the sales figures for that system plummeted after the first week and were outsold by the Wii, 3DS, PS3 and PSP.
3. There will be a new side scrolling Metroid game announced that will be released in 2012.
4. Xenoblade Chronicles sells better than Nintendo expected in North America prompting the other two Project Rainfall titles to be localized for the region.
5. It is revealed the Kid Icarus: Uprising was delayed to March in order to get Circle Pad Pro support removing any complaints that people have had about the controls.
Gaz Says:
1. Wii U will be released in either Q3 or Q4, with a Japanese release coming in September (25th is my guess, not sure why, just have a feeling).
2. Nintendo will have learnt their lesson from the 3DS (hence the mid-late release) and will launch Wii U alongside a big, first-party title and a compilation of the tech demos we’ve seen so far. The first party title? New Super Mario Bros Mii.
3. The 3DS will have another games drought during the Summer as Wii U coverage builds up, only to have Paper Mario 3DS and Luigi’s Mansion 2 save it in Q4.
4. Nintendo’s stock will rise before E3, drop after E3 and then rise sharply after the Wii U proves to be a success.
5. Zelda Wii U will be the big reveal at the end of Nintendo’s 2012 E3 Press Conference in teaser trailer form only.
Shelby Says:
1. The Wii U will launch in North America for a price between $350 and $400 (USD) while the tablet controllers will individually cost $80 to $120.
2. Fable: The Journey will either be canceled or reduced to a glorified, mini-game collection.
3. Sony will announce a new Infamous game for Vita being developed by Ready At Dawn.
4. Insomniac Games’ Overstrike will sell at least 50% better on 360 than it will on PS3.
5. Tony’s game of the year 2012 will not be Luigi’s Mansion 2.
Steve Conger Says:
1. WiiU will release to beefier specs than assumed. What we saw at E3 2011 was nothing more than old Xbox 360 components someone had left lying in the discard pile- essentially. Nintendo’s newest home console entry will contain extra processing cores for running most of the next-gen games’ scripts/routines, plus have more GDDR that will allow for advanced texturing techniques, but will ultimately not raise the polygon count all that much.
2. Mass Effect 3 will be RPG-free. We’ve seen the steady decline of role-playing elements in the series thus far, so why should this time be any different? Mass Effect games have become shooter-first, RPG-second with the release of the second installment. The melee move makes this one a no-brainer. How sad.
3. Xenoblade and The Last Story make it to North America, but Pandora’s Tower gets left out in the cold. Pre-orders/purchases of Xenoblade Chronicles won’t even come close to the numbers of involvement in Operation Rainfall. Numbers will, however, be strong enough for NOA and GameStop to take a chance on the Mistwalker ARPG, if only for the clout that names like Sakaguchi and Uematsu carry.
4. PlayStation Vita will have a strong year in North America. Why? Because it defies all logic, that’s why!
5. Mario Galaxy 3 exists and releases in early Summer. Reggie Fils-Aime stated that Skyward Sword is not the end for great games on Wii, but did he mean this or the Rainfall titles? I think both. Two years is more than enough for an EAD skeleton crew to put together yet another perfect platformer to keep the seat warm for WiiU.
Brandon Says:
1. I think that when Halo 4 releases, the multiplayer is going to be just as good as Reach but the campaign and storyline is going to be terrible and Halo fans around the world are going to be disappointed.
2. SWTOR (Star Wars: The Old Republic) is going to have a surge in fans and be on par with World of Warcraft.
3. I predict a new Call of Duty will be released…again.
4. I HOPE that Guild Wars 2 is going to come out.
5. New Pokemon gen will be announced.
Micah Says:
1. Traveller’s Tales will announce a Lego Hobbit or Lord of the Rings game for Holiday 2012.
2. Nintendo will release the Wii U at $249 for Holiday 2012
3. Nintendo will unify their point system and eShop services.
4. Capcom will announce a new Darkstalkers game.
5. We won’t hear anything official about the next PlayStation or Xbox
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Here are my predictions for 2012. I’ll put them one my blog later, but you get see them first. Think you could put them with your’s at the end of the year?
1: The WiiU will have a Mario or Zelda launch title so it gets of to a good start.
2: The 3DS will overshadow the PSvita becuase it’s better.
3: SEGA will anouce Shadow The Hedgehog 2 for the WiiU.
4: The next Smash Bros. will released and cause a big increase for 3DS sales.
5: Shelby will buy a 3DS.
I’m not sure how likely that last one is to happen. He’ll get one eventually, but I think he might jump on the Vita bandwagon before the 3DS. Of course, that all could change if Kid Icarus is a mind blowingly awesome game.
Well Icarus is mindblowingly annoying so we’re a way off awesome yet
And Shelby will be the only one on the Vita bandwagon if Japan sales are anything to go by!
Dont forget, though, that the 3DS had a similar nose dive in terms of sales after the initial rush as well so the Vita isnt doomed just yet. If they can take the things they learned about the hardware and fix it in time for the North American launch it could be a different story over here.
I still think in terms of a dedicated handheld gaming device its going to be a long time before anyone really wrestles the crown away from Nintendo. They have the properties that people want and the game play that people still like to have in a mobile gaming device. I also think Sony just doesnt quite understand what people want in the handheld market. Nintendo is priced right, now, and the games are there that people want to play.