Jan 17, 2008

Each and every New Year, members of the gaming press begin tripping over themselves in hopes of predicting the big things in the coming dozen. Be it right, wrong, vague or obvious - you're sick of reading them, we're sick of reading them. So in one fell swoop, GamesRadar has told every other aspiring '08 Nostradamus to suck it long, and suck it hard: We got psychics.

Ignoring the tired tradition of basing predictions on facts, intuition or consulting with experts, we went to three bonafide, honest-to-God clairvoyants to deliver you The Truth about what's in store for 2008. Super market tabloids do it. Even the cops have been known to refer to a medium once the corpse-sniffing dog shits the bed. And we're proud to declare it just as applicable to our goofy little Business of Game.

First we visited Ann Ronzo, Bay Area psychic. She assured us she was "not a gamer," but it'd be hard to tell that based on her predictions. So, behold: the newly christened Official Paranormal Consultant of GamesRadar. WARNING: Some of her visions may amaze you. Or confuse you. Whatever - check back with us in December.

Above: Actual location, fictional patronage

After laying out a series of Tarot cards, Ann Ronzo begins the reading:

"Seven out of ten games you’re rooting for will actually be successful and prosperous... in high demand.

"The market is going to see a complete turnaround... Things that people have liked for the last couple of years are going to be changing dramatically. Right now, the war games are very popular – fighting, the machine guns, and the killing of things – this is going to start going away. I don't see continuous high demand. They will take a bit of a nosedive. I see some new games coming out connected to this, but I don't see them being very successful.

"I see a lot of hype behind them, games connected to army and fighting, but I don't see them turning our successful or in high demand."

GamesRadar: So like Army of Two? Halo Wars?
AR: Those don't ring a bell. Bringing out more games connecting to the old: Vintage. Anything connected to Mario is very positive. Mario Tetris, Pac-Man, etc. Vintage games people used to play long ago.

GR: Super Smash Bros Brawl?
AR: It'll be good. The energy around that one is definitely ringing a bell. Do you have any other specific titles?

GR: Yes! Metal Gear Solid 4?
AR: This a fighting game, an army game, once again. There's always someone who wants to play it, but I don't see it as a big success.

GR: Do you see it exclusive to a single system?
AR:Yes. I don't see it as something that will be spread out a lot, and that's why it probably won't be as popular.

GR: When do you see it?
AR: This will be at the end of this year, possibly spilling over into next year. At the earliest, September or November. At the earliest. Right now I see the main game console as the... Xbox. The Xbox 360. I see everyone heading towards those.

And a while ago back I see that it was going to be towards the Wii. I feel like there's going to be something new coming out as far as new technology. A new gaming technology, but not this year. Have you heard anything about a new console coming out?

GR: No.
AR: Something is going to be coming out around 2009. But I don't see it as a game system...

GR: Do you see it as something portable?
AR: Were they planning on making a new PS-something?

GR: That's likely, but we haven't heard anything.
AR: That's what shows up. And it looks to be positive.