McLeoDomas's 2010 Predictions - Bumble14's Blog

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McLeoDomas's 2010 Predictions Stuck

Posted on January 14, 2010 at 05:26 PM.

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2009 was surprisingly enough a pretty good year for sports gamers. With Madden finally hitting it's next gen stride, FIFA 10 making soccer interesting even for the most jaded critic, MLB 09 The Show setting a new standard for the genre as a whole, and two rock solid basketball titles, there really was a lot to love about the end of the decade. With 2010 in full swing I decided it was time to look into my proverbial crystal ball of sports gaming and make some industry and game predictions for the upcoming year. So without further ado, I give you McLeoDomas's 2010 sports gaming predictions.

1.) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 Will Release without a Hitch

By June no one is going to remember about Tiger's holiday "transgressions", as he will be fresh off a Masters victory. Just like Kobe Bryant, the world will quickly forget about all the off the course issues as soon as Tiger returns to his dominant form on the course. EA, unlike Elian, will stand by their man, releasing Tiger 11 for all three systems, even the family friendly Wii.

2.) MLB 2K10 will be the Last Baseball Game Released by 2K Sports

The MLB 2K series is in serious trouble, and Sony's first party MLB The Show series is receiving critical praise throughout the gaming world. Look for an announcement of "2K resource reallocation" (aka cancellation) shortly after MLB 2K10 releases to less than stellar reviews, followed shortly by a press release from the MLB announcing the dissolving of the MLB exclusive license.

3.) MVP Baseball will be Announced by Years End

In a stunning development it will be revealed that EA has been anticipating MLB 2K's failure for over a year and have already begun working on a next gen version of the MVP Baseball series. EA will announce that the game will be released in the Spring of 2011, and baseball gaming fans with 360's will rejoice.

4.) NCAA Football 11 will be a Smash Hit

Coming off a subpar year of little innovation and numerous gameplay issues, the NCAA Football development team will take a cue from the Madden 10 team and deliver the most authentic college football gaming experience this side of NCAA Football 2004. Gamers will be amazed by the game's tagline "We finally took everything from NCAA 06 and added it to current gen systems", and the Operation Sports forums will actually praise the game for at least a week before finding it's flaws. 2011 is going to be the year where NCAA really shines, and it will have nothing to do with the fact that the series will have been renamed Tim Tebow Football 2011 to honor the greatest athlete in the history of the universe.

5.) Nintendo will Announce the Return of Griffey Baseball

Not to be outdone by EA's MVP announcement, the Big N will announce that they too have been hard at work on a baseball title- a fully motioned controlled Wii rendition of the Ken Griffey Baseball series. With Griffey back in Seattle for what looks like his last season, he will be hard at work consulting with Nintendo's Redmond Washington studios to create his video game swan song. The game will actually get hardcore sports gamers interested in the Wii, and interest will peak even further when it is revealed that Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez, and Randy Johnson were all brought in for mo-cap work.

6.) True Broadcast Presentation will be integrated into Multiple EA Titles

Taking a cue from the solid NCAA Basketball 10, EA will finally integrate the ESPN license into all of it's games (with Versus making an appearance in NHL 11). Both the ESPN and the TNT licenses will be added to NBA Live, and CBS will be added to NCAA Football 11. Finally,look for Tom Hammond and Chris Collinsworth to be replaced in Madden 11 with the ESPN trio of Tirico, Jaws, and Chucky.

7.)NHL 11 will mark the Downslide of the Series on the Current Generation of Hardware, and Disappoint Many

Let's face it, aside from the board play and slower gameplay settings, NHL 10 was a bit of a disappointment. NHL 11 will release to much excitement and solid reviews, only to be shelved days later by most of the gaming population due to lack of innovation. The NHL team will state that it is difficult to improve upon such an already solid title, but the statement will not resonate with hardcore hockey gamers who will cite the fact that the core gameplay of the series has not evolved from NHL 09.

8.) There will be Another NCAA Basketball Game from EA

Amid rumors swirling that NCAA Basketball 10 would be EA's last entry into the series, NCAA Basketball 11 will be announced in the Summer, and will feature John Wall on the cover. This version of the collegiate hoopster will actually iron out many of the gameplay issues seen in both the 09 and 10 versions of the game, but will once again leave the bland offline dynasty mode unchanged. Thankfully the new addition of an Online Dynasty mode will make everyone forget how lame offline dynasty is (I hope the NCAA team is reading this).

9.) Madden 11 will Win Multiple Sports GOTY Awards

After a solid gridiron campaign in Madden 10, Madden 11 will blow football gaming fans out of the water with it's fully fleshed out Online Franchise, and polished gameplay and graphics. Look for weekly highlight shows from around the league, a refined and more realistic pro-tak system, stunning dynamic lighting, and "over 200 new gameplay refinements" that no one even knew existed. The game everyone loves to hate will finally get some well deserved street cred from the OS community. This credibility will propel the game into the "Greatest Football Game of All Time" discussion by the year 2015 after a bare bones version of Madden is released for the Playstation 5. Soon after this discussion begins the OS forums will erupt into a go nowhere flame war between Madden fans and some very disgruntled graybearded NFL 2K5 fans. Some things will never change....

So there you have it my sports minions, all the twists and turns that you will see in the year 2010. Have a great year all, and leave your predictions and feedback below.
Last edited by ChristianMcLeod : 01-07-2010 at 10

Comments

# 1 CarryTheWeight @ Jan 14

I agree with the prediction about NHL 11. Without NHL 2K on the market (as most sources have hypothesized), the series has one of two directions to go: sideways or down.

I'll be REALLY surprised if EA overhauls anything, seeing as there isn't any competition in the hockey gaming market and because, like Madden, they may be the only game in town next year. I hope a publisher like SCEA breaks into the hockey market down the road if VC and 2K drop out. It doesn't have to be a perfect game, but if it lights a fire under EA's NHL in some way, we'll be seeing continued innovation in the NHL series for years to come.

# 2 Bumble14 @ Jan 14

Come on Shy, don't take it there.

# 3 CommunityCollege @ Jan 14

if MVP Baseball comes back it will be a lot more commercial with the ESPN and all that other crap.

# 4 shiftay @ Jan 14

I really hope that some of these are on the mark. I would hate to see NCAA Basketball disappear and to have a next-gen Madden game win Sports GotY, would be a dream come true.

However, I would hate to see NHL drop out, though I do see your point that they can't really go anywhere but down after putting in some amazing elements. I would still hate to see it flounder.

# 5 Whitesox @ Jan 14

While I feel a some of these are lofty at best, I wouldn't mind to see most of them happen. Some good competition is always nice for the consumer.

# 6 luv_mist @ Jan 14

I see what you did there. I commend you on those predictions. Only three I agree with and Madden ain't one of them, but I commend you on those predictions.......

# 7 ps3veron @ Jan 15

Interesting, where do you see the NBA 2K/Live series headed?

# 8 UF Fan @ Jan 15

Overall I thought this was insightful. I would say that most of these are probable and honestly are predictions that most gamers have. I will add this point: There is now a "hidden" competitor for EA and its called economics. EA can't afford to have any franchise continue downward in sales and the development teams would be wise to produce the best game possible. When companies don't increase sales teams will either be replaced or dissolved all together.

# 9 hawkeye2188 @ Jan 15

I pray #4 and #6 are true.

# 10 RaychelSnr @ Jan 15

Christian = much more positive than me.

Bravo to that I say

# 11 Bumble14 @ Jan 15

M3-

NHL 10 was a great game, but just never seemed to reach the level of magin NHL 09 was able to accomplish for me. I was pretty bummed that the EASHL was dumbed down with the various equipment "perks", and the presentation is extremely stale- actually has been since 07. Not a bad game by any means, there just wasn't enough new and exciting content to keep me coming back.

# 12 Bumble14 @ Jan 17

Chris-

What can I say, I'm a positive guy! :-)