Let me just start off by saying that these predictions will be rather low on the Wii side of things since I really don't pay too much attention to the Wii. And with that, I'll begin this blog.

GDC 08 is really, in my opinion, going to be one of the biggest gaming events this year. 2008 has started off quickly and things are really looking up for the PS3. First month of 2008 it beats 360 in sales in US for the first time. On top of that, Blu-ray has all but destroyed HD DVD with analysts expecting Toshiba's withdrawl from format wars by Tuesday. Also, theres been talk of price drops, new 120GB sku's, dualshock 3, and of course the growing hype for giants like MGS4 and GTA IV which are going to be heavy sellers. However, even with such a great start to the year does PS3 have GDC 08 in the bag?

I really would have to say no on this one. Sony will have a great GDC. They will show off new Haze, Singstar, LittleBig Planet and other games. Then they will bring in the show stoppers with a new FFXIII trailer. I believe that the new trailer for FFXIII will not only show actual gameplay of the game but new areas of the game, reveal more story info and state a December 2008 release date. While this will be one of the biggest things for them to show off at GDC, there are still many other. For the first time since E3 07, we will get new Killzone 2 footage. This is vital. Not so much to PS3's success but to Killzone 2's success. While there was a lot of hype for this game back at E3, it slowly died down and Resistance 2 has taken almost all the attention now. Sony really needs to show off more levels of the game, have a playable demo, and show some info on the online portion of the game. And while we're on the topic of Resistance 2, that will be at GDC for sure. It will have an epic trailer that will truly set this game apart from anything else you'll see just on the sheer scale of the game. RFoM was great; Resistance 2 will be an epic masterpiece. And then of course lets not forget MGS4. what i really want to see from MGS4 at GDC is new areas of the game. I'm kinda getting tired of seeing the same old middle east background. i wanna see some of the other locations like the mentioned africa and south america settings. And i'm almost 100% sure that Konami will finally set a release date for it. My guess: June 20th 2008. Lastly, but of course not least, Home. Sony needs to confirm a release date and make it soon. I believe that they will announce it for early March. And i want them to show off just how well it will run and how it will improve the Playstation Network by showing off how easy it is to join a start or join a game with a group of friends directly from Home. And of course along with this, I'd like to see In Game XMB, hopefully launching with home. My last wish for the PS3 would be some God of War 3 footage. Now, i'm not really confident it'll be there, but i hope so. At the very least, I want a trailer with Kratos standing atop a burning mount olympus with something like "the battle with the gods, ends here" said.

Now with all of this from the Sony side, how can they not dominate GDC? Very simple. Microsoft, I believe, has GDC taken. And all they need to do is show off one thing: Gears of War 2. MGS4, FFXIII, Resistance 2, Killzone 2 and LittleBig Planet are all awesome games that are better than Gears of War 2 (for the most part) but I predict that just like RFoM, Uncharted, Heavenly Sword, and Ratchet, they won't be able to deal with the gorery, every-fratboys-dream, hype machine that is Gears of War. With its slick visuals, intense gore and overall badass-ness, it will steal the show just like Gears of War 1 did. And despite Epic saying that they are not working on Gears 2, come on. Who really believes that? Now what else does Microsoft have planned for GDC? Banjo-Threeie and a new KOTOR would be my prime bets. Now, there is a chance that the new KOTOR could end up on PS3 since Bioware was bought by EA and well, its EA, but at least for GDC, it might be a 360 exclusive. Then there will also be Too Human of course but I really dont see it hitting off too well. There will be news on Fable 2 but probably nothing more than trailers. Then stuff on Alan Wake and Splinter Cell. What I'm most about from Microsoft at GDC though (besides Gears 2) is Ninja Gaiden 2. This game will probably very well end up being my 360 GOTY 08. Now other games that could be there will be Halo Wars but I really dont see people getting to excited about that and I believe possibly another Halo spin off. Maybe Forza 3 but I doubt it. Game wise, Microsoft really doesn't look as strong as Sony going into GDC. However, I believe that they will show off new Live features that will continue to put Live ahead of Playstation Network, even after Home. And while I don't believe that we will see it at GDC, i do believe that Microsoft are working on a new sku, either that or a Blu-ray drive. By E3 08 we will know for sure though.

Lastly, there's Nintendo. Now, I really can't predict much on the Nintendo side of things just cuz they tend to think completely opposite of what I would think. But my predictions are more demos of Wii Fit and other "Wii" style games. Among those Wii games I'm sure will be Wii Sports 2. This one will support online play and will feature new additions like basketball and possibly football. It will also feature overall a lot more content than Wii Sports 1. Then they will show off sales numbers like always and more non gamers playing games. Of course they will also show off SSBB but theres really not to much left to be said about it. I think that they might also reveal future plans for downloadable content for games like GH3 and soon to come Rock Band and possibly even SSBB. Overall, Nintendo will have about the same show they always do except that this time they wont have SMG or MP3 there anymore.

Overall, expect to see alot of games like GTA IV, GT5, SSBB, Halo Wars, Alan Wake, Too Human, Haze, and Wii Fit but not really get too much new info on them. However, the big news will be around MGS4, FFXIII, Resistance 2, Killzone 2, Gears of War 2, Wii Sports 2, and possibly a new Halo game of God of War 3.