Not much stood still in 2009, not the economy, not the exchange rates and not the unemployment graph. Much of the same, in sectors far and wide, will be the case as the new decade begins. Of the more exciting of sectors, the continuously revolutionising, improving and breathtaking world of gaming will follow suit.
The rise of RPGs, of virtual worlds and of motion controls allowed the new generation gamers to be light years ahead of their last-decade predecessors. However, 2010 promises a journey far and beyond, a journey where controllers will become obsolete (ever imagined that?) and a journey, despite the slow-down in the games production industry, that will move away from the annoyance that is music-related titles.
Project Natal, the controller-free gaming plan by Microsoft for the Xbox 360, will arguably be the biggest wait of the year. It will enable users to control and interact with the console by using gestures, spoken commands, or presented objects and images—a worthy move up from the revolutionary Wii's controls.
Revolutions aside, the economic gloom engulfing the world will also take its toll on the gaming industry. Quantity will increase, paving way for quality, a move that will set the gamers aside from the thrill-seekers. Talks of new consoles are far and wide, especially given the fact that it will be five years since the launch of the Xbox 360, a new console coinciding with the launch of Project Natal perhaps?
Social networking sites witnessed the rise of games like Farmville and Mafia Wars. The trend promises to continue and despite the economy, producers are more likely to spend on those in the coming twelve months, especially given the fact that the two titles brought in $3billion last year.
To end it all, the Nintendo DS is poised to become the best selling handheld system ever. Nintendo software regularly features in the monthly Top 10 charts and Wii is still the talk of the town. While Microsoft will make inroads via Project Natal, it surely will not be enough to topple Nintendo's dominance this year.
© Faras Ghani 2010.
Published in Sci-Tech World (Dawn), Jan 3, 2010.
