Orange Lounge Radio

Time to reckon the predictions from last December! We had a lot, and I’m scoring them this year. Wrong = 0, Sorta = 1, Right = 2. Percentage = points / (2 * no. predictions)

This was a very cynical year for predictions. Please post in the thread if you spot errors in my conclusions. Some more recent dates may require updating.

EDIT: 12/5/07 formatting

Robbway (score: 3, 30%)

prices of the Xbox360 will not change in '07. Instead, the current "Premium" system will become the "Core" system and the new "Premium" will feature a bigger hard drive and wireless adapter (or built-in!).

wrong, wrong, sorta. Elite has a big hard drive, Arcade replaces Core.

Disney DDR will be Wii VC game, since there's already a Mario Mix mat available.

Wrong. No Disney DDR yet! Mario Mix mat compatible was correct for Hottest Party, but that doesn’t count. Who made these stupid predictions? Oh….

Oh, and the Phantom Online service will also disspate in the vapor that legends are made of.

Right! No news since August 2006 (ref. wikipedia)

Yurilover (score: 11, 50%)

Revised Nintendo DS

Wrong, but so close!

Wii-Re-Launch

Sorta, the struggling supply lasted all year as if still the launch!

Sony Abandons the PSP

Wrong. They’ve redesigned it into three awesomely fantastic colors. Everything in the future is metallic!

DDR and Guitar Hero will become available for the Wii

Right and Right!

Konami will not release any Karaoke Revolution games

Wrong. Sorry, but American Idol was released under the Karaoke Revolution monicker.

Konami will release Guitar and Drum Revolution in America

Wrong. They are probably seriously considering it.

Xenesis will be followed by another new version of Pump It Up

Right. I have to give full credit for New Xenesis 2, but I really don’t want to.

In The Groove will come back

Wrong, but some of the full-length songs are on iTunes.

OLR will be high fantastical.

Right and right, both high and fantastical!


NOSTRADAMUS 2007 Winner: Skie (score: 14, 70%)

I don't think a Beatmania 2 will happen after all, sadly.

Right, sadly.

* Despite that, I think Konami will try to extend the Bemani franchise in the US with something else.

Wrong, sadly! You were predicting something competitive to Rock Band, I guess? Keep the flame alive.

* There will be no DDR Xbox this year in favor of a DDR Wii game instead, as Xbox is pretty much dead... The biggest shock of the Wii game will be that it won't use the Wiimote in the main game (because the dance pad will be bluetooth)... but perhaps there will be something like Hands & Feet mode that was saw on PS2. Xbox 360 sequel will certainly happen. And... I don't think DDR will go to PS3 this year, I think we'll have one more PS2 mix.

Right, sorta, right, right (SN2). The “sorta” is because the dance pad was not wireless.

* OLR will get to play more music first (hehehe I hope anyway)

Right, I think

* No new In the Groove in any form (sorry ITG fans). I'll be bold and entertain the notion that the full source code for the game gets "leaked" this year, as an FU to Konami who now owns it.

Right and Wrong. That FU still stands, dammit!

* A new pump release on at least one console (XB360?) and a new arcade mix at years end.

Sorta.

Ssj100matt (score: 4, 33%)

A Guitar Hero Arcade game will be announced but wont be out in arcades till 08

Wrong, but there were Xbox360 arcade machines for GHII in 07. I’m pretty sure this goes afoul of the EULA.

* Super Smash Bros Brawl will be one of the hottest selling games of the year but it wont have Internet play (Little Mac and Simon Belmont will be in it mark my words)

Sorta. The game isn’t coming out this year but it’s hard to deny it was a hot pre-order.

* Killzone 2 for the PS3 will make us drool but we will not see it in 07

Right you are. And the world has an empty void because of it.

* The price of the PS3 will not go down

Sorta! The original 60G didn’t go down in price, but cheaper-and-different models appeared.

* OLR will have the cops called on them for having a too wild and rowdy show

Wrong, but you have 3 weeks, baby!

* The New York Yankees will win the World Series :p

Wrong. I’m sorry, that would be the Boston Red Sox. My condolences!


Gs68 (score: 5, 25%)

Konami releases a non-crappy U.S. mix of Guitar Freaks, but it gets horrible reviews and is called a blatant GH ripoff (screw what X-P*** said about BM!), and everyone forgets that it came before GH forever

Wrong, but it would be considered a GH ripoff by little girly Americans if it had come out.

- Sony releases an accesory that is actually called "PooS" or "PS Infinity"

Sorta. I’m giving you a point because I love the prediction.

- Konami "partners up" with Roxor to create a new mix of ITG...but it's really just DDR with ITG songs and boring notecharts

Wrong. Resistance is futile.

- PIU gets recognized as a sport in Mexico

Sorta! They’re still holding the World Pump Festival with WPF 2007 on the 20th – 22nd December in Mexico City. In a sports stadium.

- OLR makes an apperance on some AM radio station

Wrong, I think. Skie said that static will never be stylish, no matter how many people are doing it.

- Nintendo releases a new Mario Kart title with more emphasis on snaking than ever.

Wrong. They released an old Mario Kart.

- J.T. is stripped of his license and imprisoned

I’m giving you a sorta. Since the hearing is going on, the first part may be true. He won’t be imprisoned unless he chains himself to the ESRB sign in Best Buy and refuses to budge until they stop selling Bully online. He never liked that game! Oh yeah, and M-Rated games.

- Completely drunk OLR show, complete with DMN as a special guest. DMN spills an assload of Nintendo secrets. NINTENDO WILL SUE.

Wrong, but you have three weeks. Three weeks.

- DarkSakura goes on a road rampage and tapes it for all to see on YouTube

Wrong, but I’d love to see what she sees as she curses her way down the road! Heart!

Rob ends up in a psychiatric ward after one too many Rob floods.

Right! If by “psychiatric ward” you mean “LTR.” No pressure, Rob!

Mikew0440 (score: 11, 69% for playing the “safe” cards)

*Halo 3 will disappoint

Sorta. Single-Player is deemed “too short.”

*360 will own the console market share

Sorta, no single console pwned yet.

*The DS will NOT have another redux

Right, but only because of timing.

*GoW downloadable content will suck

Wrong. Co-op mode was a welcome edition

*PS3 will be better than the Wii

Sorta, to some. It has better hardware and online, but my library is still only 4 games, and its my list.

*Wii owners experience nothing but problems

Right! Stupidity is a big factor here. Flying Wiimotes, broken TVs, new straps, controller condoms, and the forums went away on Nintendo.com for the longest time. Can you say “compromised?” Good.

*Lots of sequels (keepin it safe)

Right. Yawn.

*Madden '08 will come out (I rule)

Right. Wake me up when it’s over.


Sephiroth1215 (score: 1, 25%)

* ITG will make its return (this is judging by the fact that I know an arcade that just got a new ITG2 and said that they somehow already knew about ITG3 and will be upgrading when it comes out)

Wrong. Fresh on the heels of the news ITG was acquired by Konami in settlement, everybody wanted it’s return. Sorry, but if wishes were fishes the world hunger problem would be solved—sorta.

* Some company makes a control box for metal pads that works on all the next gen consoles......or since I have to keep my old consoles around and never be able to play universe on a pad, then I cry.

Sorta. You cried, right?


Mr. Wonderful (score: 8, 11%)

-Nintendo is going to announce an exclusive deal with a major developer, similiar in nature to the "Capcom 5", but they will make sure that these remain exclusive.

Wrong. Games were not sorted into groups of exclusives for Nintendo.

-This time next year, MGS4 will be running on 360 dev kits, for a march release.

Wrong. Everything’s so arcane with MGS. The current estimate is June, but I thought I heard 2009 on OLR.

-Devil May Cry 4 will continue the tradition of even numbered DMC games sucking.

Sorry, not in 2007. The “sucking” is not yet determined.

-PS3 will get it's next Killer App in the form of WarDevil, an original IP from a new developer. Sony will then lock them in as a second party.

Wrong. www.wardevil.com. Same as it ever was, but it looks very sweet.

-(Bobby Blackwolf said this, I think, but it totally rings true) The Wii Friend Codes wil work on every game, the only reason Pokemon doesn't is because it requires interaction with the DS game, which has, you guessed it, 12 digit friend codes.

Wrong. I really wish common sense had prevailed. We have to wait for Super Smash Bros Brawl for an example of a game that even uses an online component.

-PSP drops to under a hundred bucks.

Wrong, but I’d like to buy chocolate for 99 cents a pound. I like the way you think! The PSP 2000 ceramic white with Star Wars and the silver with Daxter are $200. The black one is $169. The black one is essentially the I-need-a-replacement-PSP-since-I-unwittingly-ran-over-it-with-my-car-one-morning-when-I-was-running-late-for-my-flight.

-There will be a price cut on the ps3. Sony will leak news about another price cut after that, but it will be a new package, PS3 + PSP for $600.

Wrong, but you are definitely someone who smokes the goooooooood stuff.

-Banpresto will continue to rock my socks right the hell off with Super Robot Wars OGS and DS.

Right. You have to import them, though! DS is region free for now.

-The predicted "1st Party Title for each Quarter" schedule is true.

Wrong. This is a vague prediction, but there was no official program to my knowledge. Game publishers always try to put out their good titles a month before each fiscal quarter is done.

-DS becomes the platform of choice. If not next year, in 08, expect the DS to outsell every other platform.

Right. Dragon Warrior will publish their next game for DS, making it a platform of choice for Squeenix, anyway.

-to combat the "gaming draught", Nintendo releases the independant development software. Wii Ware becomes the breakout hit of 07.

Right and Wrong. They released a cheaper dev kit, but Wii Ware isn’t a separate store section yet. Plus, the dev kit was not really priced for consumers. Sony has the “gaming drought” now.

-I fail completely at my new years resolution to stop drinking coffee.

Right! That’s like saying you’re swearing off sex. It’s just a bad idea all around.


VxJasonxV (score: 4, 18%)

Sony is going to cite 'slower than expected sales' after the fiscal year ends (That's around July, IIRC), in order to shake up the styles of PS3s. The shake up will offer revamped/upgraded feature offerings. Larger HDs across the board, among other minor (but helpful) changes.

Wrong, wrong, and right! Sony never admitted to being behind. Sony only released downgraded PS3s. Sony did release PS3 with 80Gb hard drive. Sony did not talk about Fight Club. Repeat: Sony did NOT talk about Fight Club.

New colors will come before that announcement, however.

Wrong. I thought this was a sure thing. Sorry!

Microsoft will release a new WiFi adapter, that does 802.11a/b/g/n (I hope they don't make an n specific one...)

Wrong. They really need to integrate the wireless.

Vista's gold/final release will bring a firmware update to the 360 not soon after. Probably adding "Console<->PC registration" for some bonus web content. (Get 360 content on your PC, flah flah flah)

Sorta. Windows Live connects the gameplay elements in some games.

This will likely be limited to themes/gamerpics you've purchased for your 360, will be usable in your Vista theme. At least at first.

Wrong. I believe they will eventually premiere “Live Anywhere.”

People will compromise the 360 with Vista utilities (via WMP11 sharing, for example). Probably leading to massive homebrew developments and such. (XNA ftl!)

Wrong. I don’t think the hacks are at this level.

Wiimotes will become inundated with custom cases to 'enhance the experience of games'. This will be VERY popular with Metroid, and one big corporate site will hit the bandwagon, and make a nice chunk of money developing wiimote cases for many games. Even some that don't really need it. Probably something like a unique wheel for every game, in which case the only difference will be artwork. All functionality will be identical. (In terms of, button location and some such.)

Sorta. The all sports accessories kit and other knockoffs are useless. I don’t think we’re “inundated” at this point.

A 3rd party game developer will come along and proceed to release a racing game, fucking up the above 'identical design' possibility. This will immensely piss off both consumers, and the business making those stock wiimote cases. In the process, their game will manage to play like shit, because it can't be controlled worth a damn.

Wrong. I believe this began in 2006.

RoXoR's Road Rebel will enjoy only a fraction of the success as ITG did, and the "Road Rebel is just a clone of Tux Racer" jokes, whether substantiated or not, will become the new meme around the time of the first arcade release. Oh yeah, and again when the home version comes out.

Wrong. Is this out in arcades? It looks like Gripshift. “Tux Racer 2 is just a clone of Tux Racer” are the actual jokes.

hahhahah wow this was a real fun read... thank you Robbway for compiling all of this .... hmmm 3 weeks to get DMN down here and get him good and drunk, eh? ;D

I'll try and make this into a sound file with "The Game Counsellor [sic]" and other assorted funny voices. I'll post a link when I do!

robbway wrote:VxJasonxV (score: 4, 18%)

Woooo, I didn't fail hardcore!
Kinda .

robbway wrote:Vista's gold/final release will bring a firmware update to the 360 not soon after. Probably adding "Console<->PC registration" for some bonus web content. (Get 360 content on your PC, flah flah flah)

Sorta. Windows Live connects the gameplay elements in some games.

I would suggest you change this to Wrong. Games for Windows/Windows Live has no integration back to the 360 in and of itself.
(... right?)

robbway wrote:Wiimotes will become inundated with custom cases to 'enhance the experience of games'. This will be VERY popular with Metroid, and one big corporate site will hit the bandwagon, and make a nice chunk of money developing wiimote cases for many games. Even some that don't really need it. Probably something like a unique wheel for every game, in which case the only difference will be artwork. All functionality will be identical. (In terms of, button location and some such.)

Sorta. The all sports accessories kit and other knockoffs are useless. I don’t think we’re “inundated” at this point.

Yeah, I agree. There's a lot of cute things, but they didn't flood the market like I thought they would.
I'm VERY VERY surprised that there's no metroid "arm" for Wiimotes.
I guess we did get the WII ZAPPER though .

robbway wrote:RoXoR's Road Rebel will enjoy only a fraction of the success as ITG did, and the "Road Rebel is just a clone of Tux Racer" jokes, whether substantiated or not, will become the new meme around the time of the first arcade release. Oh yeah, and again when the home version comes out.

Wrong. Is this out in arcades? It looks like Gripshift. “Tux Racer 2 is just a clone of Tux Racer” are the actual jokes.

Nah, never came out.
Well, it hasn't come out yet. But it's making trade shows, local demos, etc.

IIRC, Pump Pro is battling with it for engineer/employee work time.


This was really fun... I forgot practically all of it, it was a great time reading through it again.

Any suggestions on a timeline for 2008 predictions?
Might I suggest;
Make any/all predictions for events *IN 2008 ONLY* (i.e. things you predict now, and happen before new years, will be WRONG) starting now, all predictions due by HAPPY 2008!
?