It ’s my pet fourth dimension of the year at Digital Trends . Every metre a year ends , I like play prognosticator and predict what ’s going to encounter in video games the next class . I’verun this series for the retiring few yearsand I often see that my hypothesis are smear - on come December . That ’s always a rewarding instant as I reflect on a foresighted 12 months . On the impudent side , sometimes I ’m so embarrassingly wrong that I get a safe gag to end the class .
This twelvemonth , it ’s the latter .
Back in January , I madefour predictions for 2024 in gaming . They were bold guesswork about where Sony , Microsoft , and Nintendo would be by the end of the year — and many of them were preposterously wrong . To keep myself good , I ’ve analyzed those prediction here and break down where exactly I was off ( and what I was technically correct about , too ) . If anything , I go for this teaches readers a valuable deterrent example : The video game industry is very volatile . While it may seem predictable at times , left - field annunciation or surprisal hits can change a twelvemonth on a dime . That ’s exactly what went down in 2024 .
The big game cycle slows way down
The prediction : While 2023 was an tremendous class for major franchise , 2024 would see a significant slowdown for grownup - budget secret plan . There was good cause to think that at the time . We had just gotten a barrage fire of major release that had been hyped for years , fromThe Legend of Zelda : Tears of the KingdomtoStarfield . WithGrand Theft Auto 6andMonster Hunter Wildsconfirmed for 2025 at that point , there were n’t a peck of big game leave behind on the agenda for 2024 aside fromFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth . That seemed to indicate what was probable to be a more down to earth yr for AAA game .
What really happened : While there will always be public debate about how great a year was for plot , I do n’t think anyone could disaccord about the cadence of tentpole games in 2024 liken to 2023 . It was a number of a less consequential year overall just in terms of hyped - up releases . While we still puzzle a few of those thanks toIndiana Jones and the Great CircleandCall of Duty : Black Ops 6 , major studios like Nintendo used 2024 as an chance to experiment with B vitamin - games or else .
Part of what made 2024 palpate so light source for AAA was that the year was fill with expectant flops . Suicide Squad : Kill the Justice Leaguestarted the yr with a bomb calorimeter , Star Wars Outlawsfailed to live up to expectations , andConcord‘s launching went so poorly that Sonyshuttered the full secret plan within weeks . These were all game that were supposed to delimit the year for those who mostly pose to the most intemperately commercialise games out there . The fact that they landed with a thud made 2024 feel soft at a open level .
That ’s not to say that it was a spoilt year for game , though ; in fact , it was the best in recent memory . It was a fantastic twelvemonth for both RPGs and main games , which filled in the void leave by a deficiency of spectacular Western games . Sony also pulled out plenty of surprises , include what would become this class ’s Game of the Year , Astro Bot . secret plan likePalworldandBlack Myth : Wukongalso wax as international hits . It was a yr that examine that we do n’t postulate Mario or Zelda to make a year neat ( though , astonishingly enough , we did get those , too ) .
Right or wrong?Right .
Nintendo’s next console takes center stage
The prediction : Heading into 2024 , we treated the Nintendo Switch 2 ’s launch as a foregone ending . Our prevision was n’t even that it would launch so much that it would be an instant sensation . We even predicted that we might be talking about game likeMario Kart 9come Game of the Year season ! All of that was round out out by an acknowledgment that the Switch 2 could be a surprise collapse if it failed to distinguish itself from its predecessor enough . Either way , we expected it to be 2024 ’s undivided - most defining news story .
What really happened : OK , listen .
Who among us did not think that theNintendo Switch 2would launching in 2024 ? The departure windowpane had been rumored for what mat up like a full year and it was bolstered by rumors that Nintendo had begunshowing the console to developer during Gamescom 2023 . That ’s not to refer that Nintendo had almost no games announced for the back one-half of 2024 , fueling the prevailing idea that it was redeem something big for the Switch 2 ’s launching .
None of that was the causa . While Nintendo did acknowledge that the Switch 2 exists , it quickly became well-defined that the console was n’t coming until 2025 . Nintendo was prepared for that wait , unleashing a barrage of surprise games that gave the current Switch an accidentally engaged vacation time of year . With rumors heating up , the cabinet ’s launch feel imminent , but our 2024 prediction was jump the gun just a bit .
I ’m going to give myself some cheap credit here . My exact words were that the Switch 2 would “ take midway point ” in 2024 . One could argue that did find . Switch 2 rumors were top of nous throughout the yr , from afake exit date reveal in Januaryto arecent Reddit leakthat teased its dorm effect joysticks . The console table for certain had a spotlight this year in some elbow room , but I ’ll take the deprivation on this one .
Right or wrong?Wrong .
PlayStation sinks, Xbox swims
The prognostication : We expected PlayStation and Xbox to end 2024 in very unlike positions free-base on what we knew blend into the twelvemonth . At the fourth dimension , we knew very minuscule about PlayStation ’s 2024 lineup , but we knew the system would have a tentpole game likeMarvel ’s Spider - Man 2to anchorman its holiday season . With an untested live help plan set to roll out in its place , we figured PS5 would have a down year . On the other hand , we expected a lot from Xbox . That was thanks to a meddling class of releases , fromHellblade 2toStalker 2 . The prediction was basically that the systems ’ fortunes would flip .
What really happened : This is another one of those things that could be pick apart in any turn of way to bear wildly different results . One could sure make the case that this follow to fruition depending on how they sliced the data point . Sony had the biggest washout of the year inConcord , which in effect torpedoed its lively divine service dream . ThePS5 Procould have reinvigorated Sony , but its high price tag crowd it into ecological niche status . Meanwhile , Xbox delivered some major hitting thanks toIndiana Jones and the Great Circle , Call of Duty : Black Ops 6 , and more . If I was endeavor to protect my egotism , I ’d leave it at that and say I was right .
I ca n’t do that in undecomposed faith , though . Both system had fairly safe eld overall , even if both face serious struggles . PlayStation games eclipse 2024 , from the Game of the Year - winningAstro Botto springy service bang up hitHelldivers 2.Final Fantasy VII RebirthandSilent Hill 2both grow out to be fantastic third - political party exclusives , whileStellar BladeandBlack Myth : Wukongwere tremendous hits from outside partners . It may have been the best twelvemonth for PS5 since its launch , even withConcord .
I ca n’t say that Xbox sunk by comparison , but it did have an odd year . Avowedwas detain to 2025,Hellblade 2didn’t attain the vital heights many expect , and several holiday time of year going were run across with buggy launch . Most notable of all was a wave of layoff at Xbox that complain off 2024 . In one case , the layoffs led to the temporaryshutdown ofHi - Fi Rushdeveloper Tango Gameworks(it has since been bought by Krafton and reestablished ) . Plus , Xbox Game Pass set out a complicated price hikethat left players furious . If it were n’t forCall of DutyandIndiana Jones , it might have been a black year , but those two game and a great summer case serve keep it afloat .
Right or Wrong?Wrong .
Summer Game Fest takes E3’s throne
The foretelling : With E3 officially dead , Geoff Keighley ’s Summer Game Fest would instal itself as the central point in time of video game events . That was already true to an extent , but the expected value was that the result would have a more mainstream bit that brought it to the stratum of E3 . We expected Keighley to go all - out for both his live stream and his private child’s play Days demo event that ’s open to imperativeness and creators each class , take in 2024 the year that Summer Game Fest became a household name .
What really happened : I’ll be dependable and say that this was a easy prevision when looking back on it . Of of course , Summer Game Fest would take E3 ’s throne ; E3 was dead and there was no competition ! I ’m sure I just wanted to give myself an easy win that I would n’t be mortified about later with this one , so I ’ll be a short coarse on myself here even if I was technically correct .
I would n’t say thatSummer Game Festfully replaced E3 , either in scope or cultural relevancy . In fact , this twelvemonth ’s event was more niche than previous years . It lacked a lot of monolithic video game reveals , and or else play up independent game . That made it an idealistic show for instrumentalist like me , but not on the nose the variety of magnet that your local newscasters were talking about at 6 a.m. Unless Keighley decides to move everything into a convention center and get every major publisher back on display board to pass keynote speeches , I ’m not certain that Summer Game Fest will ever fully substitute E3 . However , it ’s still the cheeseparing thing we have for now .
Right or wrong?Let ’s call it a neutral resolution .
