Topic: So how will this gen play out? Post your predictions here.

[UncleBob]

I don't know what Nintendo's going to do, but I agree with Ymeegod.  I foresee PS4/Xbox One doing similar next gen as this gen.  PS4 will rule in Japan while the Xbox One shows that Microsoft knows how to cater to American audiences.  Sure, MS pulled some blunders before the race started, but I think most folks won't hold a grudge once the MS exclusive moneyhat titles hit.

As for Nintendo...Would it be crazy to predict a fairly close three-way race in world-wide sales?  I don't see Wii U picking up Wii-esque numbers, but I can honestly see it being the in-demand family console for first party titles and the go-to second choice for gamers with what Nintendo is trying on the indy scene.

[Luigi Dude]

As for Nintendo...Would it be crazy to predict a fairly close three-way race in world-wide sales?  I don't see Wii U picking up Wii-esque numbers, but I can honestly see it being the in-demand family console for first party titles and the go-to second choice for gamers with what Nintendo is trying on the indy scene.

Nintendo still has the strongest lineup of family oriented games so it's not crazy to imagine the Wii U doing that. They sold 100 million Wii's off the backs of nothing but families, so it's not hard to imagine that once the Wii U price drops and more of their major series start showing up then the Wii U will start achieving much better sales.

Even though some people love to say the Wii's audience has left Nintendo, there isn't a single shred of evidence to support this.  The same people said the DS audience left Nintendo for smartphones, and yet the 3DS have proven that false.  So it's not hard to believe that in the coming months with a cheaper price and more major titles, the Wii U will finally start appealing more to many of current Wii owners since it'll have the newest installment for many of the Wii games they loved.

Something like Mario Kart Wii doesn't sell 35 million copies only to have most of the people who played it never care for the series again.  The fact that Mario Kart 7 is already over 8 million on a handheld system where Mario Kart is less popular, shows just how huge Mario Kart 8 will be when it's released on the Wii U next year.

[ThePerm]

yeah, I knew he was animecyberrat, but like a gasoline soaked towel on fire, I knew he would run his course.

predictions. Wii U will actually be successful, just not initially. It will take time. In fact they really wont ramp up until the 3rd year. A number of things will happen that will make people really want a wii u.

1 the price will be very low 3 years from now. The first price drop will create a small boost in sales, but the second price drop will create a BIG boost in sales. By then Nintendo will have its game development back together and will be pumping out more titles than it had previously. It will get in the groove so to say. I predict that this next e3 that the good stuff won't be coming from the western subsidaries as we thought, but straight from the source. There will be a big Zelda game, but the with X, the RPG train will have kicked in. There may be a new RPG renaissance. I don't even like RPGs, but I predict this.

Eventually a couple of things that haven't really been represented on a Nintendo platform in a while will become again very Nintendo. I can imagine Square Enix will jump ship for money reasons. Either Nintendo will money hat them, or they will find Super HD games to high cost(considering they overspent). If square jumps ship, Konami probably will too. Capcom will still be confused. It won't matter though because Capcom will eventually be bough by Shinji Mikami's company.

[Stogi]

The Wii U will be profitable. The Xbox One won't, at least for a long time. The PS4 will dominate.

Sadly, almost all games will play just like they do today. They will be more expensive. More companies will collapse, but indie titles will take off but become unprofitable because of a crowded market.

All-n-all, this generation might be one of the worst in history.

[Ceric]

Sony doesn't seem to really be looking to target the PS4 for Japan.  I think thats what the Vita TV is really for.  Sony knows that the Western market is now more lucrative and just a look at the Weekly sells charts for Japan shows the utter domination that Nintendo has over Japan.  Nintendo really needs to leverage that in the west to be the niche machine.

Now XBox as a brand plays well in the US and thats about it.  Playstation as a brand plays fairly well in all of the West.  This gives them an advantage.  Couple that with a few strategic price drops, whenever the XBox One drops or the Wii U Drops, I think its their race to lose predictively.  This may all change once we have our hands on actual hardware but I don't think so.

[broodwars]

The way I see it, both platforms will start off strong because both have sold out their pre-order shipments. Once we roll into 2014, though, it's Sony's game to lose. Infamous Second Son is probably going to sell a lot of PS4s in those first few months of 2014, and Titanfall will sell some Xbones as well.  However, Titanfall won't be a huge Xbone system-seller because it will also be out on the 360.  Looking further ahead, Sony has a good track record of supporting their consoles with software (something Nintendo could learn to do).  Microsoft does not, and their studios can't compete with Sony's either in terms of numbers of quality of output.  Undoubtably, Microsoft will have a Halo for Holiday 2014, so it'll be interesting to see how the two systems shake-out for end of year 2014.

Overall, I think Sony will hover between "decent" and "strong" for most of 2014, whereas Microsoft will hover between "poor" and "decent" in that same period until they inevitably release a Kinect-less SKU for $400.

[Ceric]

I don't think the Kinect-Less SKU is going to happen.  I do see a drop in price but they are really betting Kinect to be the true Differentiator to PS4 and WiiU.