10 bold Microsoft gaming predictions for 2014

Xbox received a superior port of San Andreas back in the day, GTA IV’s DLC was a timed-exclusive for Xbox 360 and now GTA V, while clearly brilliant, is starting to fade from the public consciousness. Rockstar has said that GTA Online will continue to be developed, but let’s face it, it's only going to survive on last-gen tech for so long.

No, it needs to come to next-gen, Microsoft needs exclusives… I predict XBO will get at least GTA Online announced at E3 this year, and released in time for Christmas.

Xbox Live's Games with Gold service is currently inferior to PS Plus' Instant Games Collection. No 'arguably', it just is. But this is the year that could all change. Microsoft could well be looking to use E3 and the next holiday season as a launchpad for an improved Xbox Live Gold membership. One that gives you enough features to win eyes away from PS Plus. And that means full-fat Xbox One games for 'free'. We already know they're coming, just not which ones.

Even though Dead Rising 3 carries an 18 certificate, I think it's the launch title most likely to be the first to go free on the service. It's a decent technical showcase, is published by Microsoft (so they should have the rights already), offers mindless zombie-mashing fun and is a big enough franchise name to make people think 'ooh, now that's pretty good for free'. I also suspect Assassin's Creed IV will appear on the service, maybe around the same time.

I don’t think Microsoft will--or even needs to--reduce the price of XBO just yet.Reports suggest the consoles are keeping relative pace with each other right now and the higher price point for Microsoft’s new console is arguably necessary when you consider the pack-in Kinect peripheral.

Obviously there’s no way Microsoft will drop Kinect as a pack-in any time soon. The entire history of Xbox for the past decade+ has hinged on getting a device into your living room that can see who is watching/playing and charge them for licenses. It's always been the plan. But I do think Microsoft will add more incentive to buy the machine over a PS4, such as free Gold membership or Netflix subscriptions. And these will be announced at E3.

The handheld gaming market is all sewn up thanks to Nintendo and smartphones. If smartphone gaming isn't dedicated enough for you, 3DS should be. And if 3DS isn't advanced enough, there's PS Vita. But even Sony appears to have re-angled that to make it a partner machine for PS4 instead of a must-own games machine in its own right (even though it is brilliant and deserves far more plaudits than it’s getting right now).

So my point? There’s absolutely no niche left from Microsoft’s point of view in which to force another handheld device. It wouldn’t sell. And Microsoft's already investing in Surface and Windows Phone, which will do everything just fine in terms of second screen functionality. Even though a Windows/Xbox/Phone hybrid has been on the cards for years, I am certain it will not be revealed this year. Especially not a handheld Xbox 360 that plays downloaded games, even though that would be the most awesome thing ever. You have my complete confidence in that.

I really, really, really want a next-gen version of Skyrim. A new Fallout will be great, sure, but I still love the Elder Scrolls universe enough to want to play it again in glorious next-gen shinyvision. However, Microsoft’s Windows-based OS for Xbox One means there is a slim but definite chance that modding could play a part in any conversion. That's right, I'm going one further.

Maybe some of the best/most popular PC mods could be made official and offered as an add-on pack? They could even charge for it and split revenue with the modders. I think XBO Skyrim will be announced at E3 2014 and some sort of modding pack will be available with it. That’s my prediction. And I've got a fully-charged Fus Ro Dah waiting for anyone who says otherwise.

Kinect’s voice control may be intuitive and useful when it’s correctly calibrated, but trying to navigate the user interface with a pad is what I would call ‘counter-intuitive’. Or even ‘bewildering’. I'll stop short of ‘unfathomable’, but you just try finding out how much storage space you have left on your hard drive by pressing buttons. Exactly.

Major Nelson has already said that Microsoft is listening to what gamers want to see, so expect rollouts throughout the year. The small updates will tweak minor things, but I suspect we'll see a 'New Xbox Experience'-sized dashboard rejig before the year is out--but it probably won't come with much fanfare from Microsoft. Not unless it adds anything significantly more useful than just fixing the original version.

All signs point to this being a certainty. Developer CVs have hinted at undisclosed next-gen Forza titles, car manufacture leaks of a new licensed Forza game were hastily covered up and suggestions of a new Project Gotham Racing have been met with ‘we don’t need three racing franchises’.

Why? Because (apparently) Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon count as two separate, active Xbox franchises, according to Phil Spencer. Go figure. So I predict we’ll be playing Forza Horizon II by the end of November. It’ll have seamless online integration, more Drivatar shenanigans and a game world rivalling Ubisoft’s The Crew in scale. Get excited.

Even though Xbox One needs new games and the big-hitters must surely be on their way I don’t think the Gears series is anywhere ready for another installment. Now that Cliff Bleszinski is no longer at the helm, the series needs a rethink, and recent interviews suggest it could go grittier. And bigger in terms of scale.

No, it doesn't fill me with confidence, either. Still, the Gears of War name is big and the action even bigger, so wherever the series goes on Xbox One, I will follow. Like a young Bono. But it needs too much work to reboot after Judgment.