2018 is a thing of the past and we have all collectively stepped into 2019 – not too much: just enough to get a little whiff that we have a new year on our shoes. With the new year in full swing, it’s time to dust off the ol’ NerdBacon crystal ball and figure out just what this new year has in store for us.

First, we have to say that 2019 has the potential to be the wildest year the gaming industry has ever seen. We have the potential for a number of next-gen reveals/launches from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft – not to mention the potential arrival of the titans: Apple, Google, and Amazon in what will be an epic streaming showdown!

With all of these forces set to converge within the same year, every company out there will be pulling out all the stops to capture the most precious resource out there: mindshare.

That means we’ll have more announcements, surprises, and drama in 2019 than perhaps any year in gaming history.

But before we launch into my 2019 predictions, let’s talk a bit about 2018 and how I did on my predictions last year.

There were many items that I got spot on, such as there being one last delay for Red Dead Redemption 2 prior to release, (It was originally scheduled for spring of 2018.. Remember?) an announcement for Dead or Alive 6, and a new Smash being announced in 2018, which I’ll admit, isn’t that hard of a prediction to make; but hey, I DID tell you that Nintendo would try to bridge the gameplay gap between Super Smash Bros Melee and Super Smash Bros for Wii U, and they absolutely did!

I also told you a new Samurai Shodown would be announced, we’d see an Onimusha announcement, Anthem would get delayed, and Sea of Thieves wouldn’t be that great, so there’s that.

Subsequently, there were some items that I missed completely.

• Retro Studios did not announce a new Earthbound title.
• Square Enix didn’t shock the world with an announcement of a Nintendo Switch version of Kingdom Hearts III, although I still think there is a possibility of this happening later on.

But being right isn’t what this annual gaze into the palantir is all about: it’s about having fun, connecting some dots, and trying to make some educated guesses (and some wishful thinking) about this industry that I love so very, very much.

So with that, let me post my annual disclaimer that none of the material I’m posting is based off inside info, unless noted. These are just my thoughts on what we will see in the year ahead.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2019 filled with success, health, and plenty of good gaming!

And with that – here are my 2019 predictions!

Nintendo

It would be an understatement to say that Nintendo’s 2018 was disappointing. Lackluster first party titles throughout the year, mediocre third party support, and an abysmal launch of an online “service” slowed a lot of the momentum that Nintendo had coming out of 2017. At least they finished strong with the launch of Super Smash Bros: Ultimate.

So after a disappointing, and somewhat baffling 2018, what is Nintendo going to do to rebound in 2019?

• First up will be the long-awaited announcement and launch of the N64 Classic in the first quarter. Nintendo has had this in the works for a while, but I believe it was held back because of a couple of factors:
  One – they have been negotiating with Microsoft in order to get the Banjo Kazooie games and Perfect Dark on the throwback machine, but they’ve also been working to make sure that Goldeneye 007 makes the cut as well.
• Two – I believe Nintendo intentionally held back the launch of N64 Classic from a 2018 holiday launch because they were waiting to see how close the Switch was able to hit their 20 million sales target for the fiscal year. My thinking goes that it was held back as a way to give their investors a final push prior to the end of their fiscal year in March.

Because of those two factors, I believe we will see the N64 Classic announced in January, with a launch in February. (For Valentines day perhaps?)

Second quarter is where it gets interesting.

Thanks to our sources, NerdBacon broke the exclusive in August of last year that Nintendo would be launching an upgraded “Pro” version of the Nintendo Switch in 2019. This report was then backed up by the Wall Street Journal in October. We then broke that the unit was internally being referred to as the Nintendo Switch S, and that this naming convention was being reflected through the Switch version of Dragon Quest XI – known as Dragon Quest XI S.

Since that time, more outlets have gotten wind of Nintendo’s 2019 hardware plans and now most analysts accept that new hardware will be arriving this year; however, there is a debate among them as to whether that hardware will be an upgraded Switch, or if that hardware will be a “portable only” version that would sell for less.

We at NerdBacon stand by our original report: Nintendo WILL launch an upgraded version of the Nintendo Switch this year. We believe that the reveal announcement will take place early in the second quarter of the year, followed by a full blowout of info at E3 2019.

The big question surrounding this year’s launch of the Nintendo Switch S will be what software will support it.

We believe that third parties have been holding out larger Switch support in anticipation of the improved memory and GPU that will be featured in the Switch S.

As we stated previously, Dragon Quest XI S is going to be a Switch S title, and early videos show it as being on par visually with the PS4 version. Other Nintendo Switch S titles that I expect to be announced are:

• Persona 5 will arrive on Switch S as Persona 5 S, (which is a registered trademark now) will also launch later this year.
• Overwatch will FINALLY make its debut on Nintendo’s machine. (and hopefully bring with it an Overwatch character included in Super Smash Bros Ultimate)
• Mortal Kombat 11, which was announced as part of the Game Awards in December, will most definitely take advantage of the new Switch S.
• I still believe Square Enix would like to see Kingdom Hearts III on Nintendo’s system, and I’d place this as a strong Switch S candidate, but probably not until 2020.

With all the potential Switch S third party support, where does that leave Nintendo?

You can expect Metroid Prime 4 will take heavy advantage of the additional power. While we will finally get a look at the game this year, I’m betting we won’t see it launched until 2020.

Let’s talk a bit about Retro.

Last year I hypothesized that the elite Texas studio was hard at work on a revival of the Earthbound series. My reasoning was that they had hired a significant number of writers and had stayed silent for four long years – more than enough time required to develop a deep role playing title. Given Retro’s mission of reviving dormant Nintendo franchises, the natural conclusion I arrived at was that Retro would shock the world with a new Earthbound.

And then news dropped that they were working on a Star Fox racing game of all things.

So that’s a surprise, and I’m still not entirely convinced it’s real yet, but time will tell.

The big thing to note about Retro is that they have multiple projects ongoing – one of which might be a 2D game.

And as for Earthbound, I still believe a new game is in development somewhere within the halls of Nintnedo.

Elsewhere, Platinum Games is hard at work on Bayonetta 3, which I REALLY hope makes it in 2019. Fans will at least get to bask in an announcement of a port of Wonderful 101, which we should hear about in the first quarter.

I also believe Platinum is hard at work on at least one other top secret Switch exclusive:
Viewtiful Joe 3!

That’s right, I believe Platinum will reunite with Capcom to revive the much beloved cult classic for a new generation! Hard to believe it’s already been nearly 20 years since the 2d action classic debuted on Gamecube. Who knows, maybe this will eventually lead to a new Okami!

Nintendo is also working with third parties to secure additional exclusives for the Switch/Switch S.

I also expect that there will be further collaborations with Ubisoft announced this year. Mario x Rabbids: Kingdom Battle and Starlink: Battle for Atlas are only the beginning of a strong relationship between the two, and that’s a very good thing!

Finally, we all know that an animated Super Mario Bros. movie is in the works, but that isn’t the only movie idea being kicked around in the halls of Nintendo. Word on the street is that Nintendo is looking for cinematic adaptations for a number of their franchises. Remember the announcement of that Legend of Zelda series for Netflix? That would make a nice companion to the launch of a new Legend of Zelda title, don’t you think?
By the way, I still believe we see a title in the series staring a playable Zelda at some point in the near future.

It will be an intriguing year for Nintendo as they attempt to introduce a major hardware upgrade in 2019. The benefits for third party developers and consumers will be clear. While the company has introduced upgraded versions of hardware previously, in the form of the “New” Nintendo 3DS, this will be the first time that they’ve attempted a mid-generation upgrade on this scale. If they can clearly communicate the advantages of the Switch S to their hardcore audience, introduce enticing trade-in offers on current Switch hardware, and position that current Switch hardware into a lower cost entry-level system, then there’s no doubt that the big N will regain some of the momentum lost in 2018.

Sony

Sony’s 2018 was punctuated by more amazing exclusives, and rather odd disappointments.

While God of War and Spider-Man both exceeded everyone’s expectations, there was still the sense that the company was holding back.

• First, their E3 2018 presentation was just badly planned.
• Then they cancelled the 2018 PlayStation Experience and capped off the year by announcing they were going to skip E3 2019.

The reason for holding off on both events is that they don’t have enough to show at the moment, which is pretty unfathomable.

The real reason, as everyone knows, is that they are preparing for the PlayStation 5.

All hands are on deck at Sony, as they are VERY nervous behind the scenes right now regarding the prospect of Google, Amazon, and Apple officially entering the fray.

Just holding off the loss of market share against one of those companies would be enough to keep an executive wide awake at night, but the prospect of all three within a year’s time span? I imagine there are some intense gut checks happening at Sony HQ right now.

With that said, it’s no secret that Sony’s 2019 will be dominated by PlayStation 5 rumors.

The three big remaining Sony titles: Death Stranding, Ghosts of Tsushima, and The Last of Us: Part II  will all arrive in some form on the PlayStation 5 soon after the system’s launch.

It’s 100% certain that we will see PlayStation 5 revealed at some point in 2019. The big question is when.

First, it’s important to nail down their expected launch window. Sources have told me that Sony is targeting the launch of PlayStation 5 between October 2019 through the end of March 2020.

I know there are those that feel Sony would never launch in the spring; however, if there’s anything that Nintendo proved with the early March launch of the Switch in 2017, it’s that the gaming industry is now large enough to be able to move beyond the confines of the holiday season.

My thoughts are that Sony waits until after E3 2019 to show the system off – probably in September. This would give them enough of a window to launch as early as November should they feel that games are ready and enough units are manufactured. Otherwise, if the machine isn’t ready until March, then expect the reveal a revised PlayStation Experience BEFORE Thanksgiving.

If I was Sony, I would be doing my best to leverage the 90 million PlayStation Network users and revitalize that network into something that feels like a community, rather than just a subscription service. If they are able to give customers the sense that they have a stake in PSN, then they will be much less likely to leave the ecosystem for a competitor.

Sony will also be introducing their next-gen PlayStation VR with PS5, perhaps even bundled in with the system. After all, if VR is somehow part of the future of gaming, then it’s going to need to be thought of as an integral part of the experience, rather than a novel side-show.

The big things I expect from PlayStation 5 are:

• Some sort of portable aspect to their next-generation plans. – A number of patents filed by Sony point towards exotic touch screens and cameras playing a part in the PS5. Perhaps the Dual Shock 5 controller will act as a sort of portable system? Maybe there is another portable system that’s entirely separate from the PS5?
• Backwards compatibility playing a key part in PlayStation 5. – Sony filed a deliciously intriguing patent recently for a new process of remastering older games through emulation. According to this patent, each texture is marked with an asset tag, and this new process would be able to seek out these asset tags and replace them with higher quality assets.
  What if PlayStation 5 launched with full backwards compatibility for ALL of your disk-based PlayStation games? That would be pretty amazing!
• Streaming everywhere. –  With streaming becoming the latest battleground in gaming, it will be essential for them to have a viable streaming platform – whether players are streaming to a new Sony handheld, a PC, or cell phone. With this in mind, I expect Sony will announce a partnership with Verizon which will allow them to take advantage of Verizon’s emerging 5G infrastructure, while also allowing a few Sony exclusives to show up on Verizon’s own game streaming platform: Verizon Gaming.

Whatever the case may be, the big story for 2019 will be how long they can keep the lid on PlayStation 5 secrets until they’re ready to be revealed by Sony.

Microsoft

Microsoft’s 2018 was spent spending dump trucks full of money buying various studios around the world such as, Playgound Games, Obsidian, and Ninja Theory. All of these are fine studios, however, the fruits of their labor will not be ripe until 2020 at the earliest.

This leaves a gaping hole in Microsoft’s lineup; one that will be filled with hype towards their next generation console launch, which we expect to happen next year.

For 2019, we expect:

• The Battletoads revival will make it to market.
• Crackdown 3 will be be okay, and get a 72 Metacritic score.
• We will not have a new Forza in 2019, which will be a shock since pretty much the only consistent thing Microsoft has had has been the annual racing powerhouse; however, Microsoft is saving the next entry for the release of their new console next year.
• Microsoft is still not finished with their buying spree. They have assembled an assortment of talented houses capable of delivering some very interesting games, but there’s still more to go. I would not be surprised to see them buy, or at least partner with a Japanese studio or two.
• I also expect a closer relationship developing between Microsoft and Nintendo.
  Both companies could certainly benefit from a closer relationship; allowing them to “survive together” against the coming of the titans, and I expect that we will see the partnership between Microsoft and Nintendo continue to blossom in 2019.

This means we will also start seeing more crossovers and crossplay between Microsoft and Nintendo. Yes, there will be further Microsoft representation in Super Smash Bros Ultimate (remember, we already have K. Rool, who is a Rare character).

I also expect a full Microsoft game to show up on the Switch as well. While many have speculated that Rare’s Sea of Thieves wold be a prime candidate to arrive, I’m not so sure a persistent online game would be the ideal game to debut this partnership, given the state of Nintendo Online.

My guess is that Ori and the Will of the Wisps will be on the Switch by the end of 2019.

Also, with MS’s desire to see their streaming service, or Game Pass on any system, could it be out of the realm of possibility to see either of these two services show up on the Switch?

Otherwise, expect most of the Xbox news this year to surround technology and services. Game Pass will continue to grow and Project xCloud will get a major test in 2019.

There won’t be much in the way of major titles announced for Xbox One in 2019, with one exception: Banjo Kazooie 3.

Wouldn’t that be a retro revival we’d all like to see? Think of the potential crossover appeal!

The Others

This is the part where we dream about what exciting third party projects we might see in 2019.

EA

For years EA has been taking a beating from gamers for a number of less than consumer friendly practices, and now the chickens are finally starting to come home to roost.

It’s very interesting to see how sharply EA’s stock price has fallen in the past several months, after the public relations debacle that was Battlefield V.

In early January, their share price was sitting at approximately $78. This represented a nearly 50% drop in value from their all-time high, which had only come in August of 2018. A 50% drop in less than 6 months is absolutely horrible! Share prices have risen since that point, however, one has to wonder how much time the board of directors is going to allow.

EA is also off to yet another bad start in 2019, after the reported cancellation of their single-player Star Wars game, which was being developed by their Vancouver.

I wouldn’t be surprised if EA’s CEO, Andrew Wilson, is shown the door before the end of the year.

Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts III is really, finally happening!

As I’m writing these words, we are now a little over one week away from the release of the final chapter in the KH saga, which means Square can finally focus on other things.

The two projects on at the front of everyone’s mind will be”

• Final Fantasy VII: Remake
• The Avengers project.

The problem is, both of these projects are now a lock for next gen, so depending on when those announcements come, we may not hear about them until the end of 2019.

As I said before, Dragon Quest S is coming to Nintendo’s upgraded Switch S machine, so we won’t see a release date on this until later in the year.

There are two deeper questions out there regarding Square Enix.

1. What is the Octopath Traveler team doing
2. What is the word on Final Fantasy XVI?

I still say the Octopath team is working on a new Chrono Trigger title. Okay, I pray to God that they are working on a new Chrono Trigger title!

As for Final Fantasy XVI – This one is in a tough spot already after the departure of FFXV’s director, Hajime Tabata.

My guess is that we are still a loooong ways off from talking about Final Fantasy XVI; however, I will throw two predictions your way that you can seal away in a time capsule and dig up 40 years from now when they finally announce the game:

1. It will be a “retro”, return to basics game – sort of like Final Fantasy IX.
2. Wouldn’t be something if they turned to Hironobu Sakaguchi and asked him to come back for one last run?

I know that second one is wild; however, Square Enix needs someone who knows what they are doing (NOT NOMURA!) to right the Final Fantasy ship – and who better than the series’ father? And for Sakaguchi, who is probably eyeing retirement – what better way to wrap up your career than by returning to rescue the series you started?

Ubisoft

Yves Guillimont is on record that this next console generation is the last.
While there are plenty of  self-proclaimed expert forum detractors out on the forums who dispute him, my money is always going to be on the guy that has built a multi-billion dollar company, and fought off take over bids from larger companies. Yves knows the players in the game, he’s seen a few of the cards, I’d listen to the man.

As for Ubisoft’s software lineup:

• New Splinter Cell!
• Watchdogs 3.
• New Rayman announced.

I believe Beyond Good and Evil 2 has always been intended as a next-gen title, so I’m not expecting it until 2020. I also think Skull and Bones was either moved to next-gen, or might be in danger of being canceled altogether.

Bethesda

Holy buckets, how the mighty have fallen!

While the number of company detractors has been growing for the past few years, Fallout 76 has really tarnished Bethesda’s image, and there is no question that they need to do something to get back into the public’s good graces.

The problem is: both of their next big projects – Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI – are years away. Fallout 76 was supposed to sustain the company during the development of the next two hits, but how likely is it that Fallout 76 can be rectified enough to overcome the bad word of mouth that has rightfully befallen it since release?

So what does Bethesda do? Do they rush Starfield or Elder Scrolls?

Those are the big questions that are being asked in Todd Howard’s office right now.

At least they have Doom: Eternal on tap for 2019, and Rage 2 looks pretty good as well.

One thing is for sure: I don’t think there will be a Bethesda E3 conference in 2019.

Capcom

Capcom is already primed to have a big year with the impending launch of the Resident Evil 2 remake, but there’s more exciting stuff on the horizon!

It was a big shock in the fighting game community when Capcom announced there would be no “season pass” for Street Fighter V this year. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t more content coming though.

X Kira has been hard at work uncovering a plethora of data hiding deep within Street Fighter V test servers.
His efforts have revealed the existence of so much additional content, that it goes beyond the parameters of a mere “season” – it’s going to be an all new release version: Super Street Fighter V!

What’s more – Super Street Fighter V will be multi-platform!

It’s the last big push of the game we will will see, as the wheels are already in motion for Street Fighter VI.

I also still believe Capcom has a new Darkstalkers game in the works. I know I’m repeating this prediction from last year, but I still believe this is happening.

Hey – Remember how I was the first one, in January 2017, to predict that Capcom was going to revive the Mega Man series – and then late that year, we got the Mega Man 11 announcement?

Let’s double down!

This year we get Mega Man X announced!

Valve

This is it – this is finally the year we see Half Life 3 announced!

As Jepheroth noted in our predictions episode of the Game Tasty show, Valve is facing serious competition from the launch of the new Epic store. The increased margins that Epic is offering is a HUGE deal for all developers, and we’re already starting to see major titles, like the Division 2, skipping over Steam in favor of Epic.

While I don’t think Steam will ever go away, an additional major competitor in the marketplace is certainly going to cut into Valve’s bottom line.

So something will have to be done to reassert the Steam eco-system’s dominance, and giving the fans what they have been begging for for so long is the best way to do that. Valve also recently hired back Half Life series writer Eric Wolpaw – so that is a pretty big indication that there is something up.

It’s for those reasons, as well as the emergence of new VR technology this year, that I firmly believe that Valve will announce VR remasters of the first two Half Life titles, accompanied by a Half Life 3 announcement by the end of the year.

Final tidbits:

• Samurai Spirits will be the best fighting game of the year.
• Remakes of Metal Gear Solid will be announced.
• Riot will finally show the League of Legends Fighting game.
• Google will continue their tests of Project Stream and will have a presence at E3 2019.
  Google’s 2019 will culminate in a partnership announcement and release date announcement.
• Apple will announce their entry into gaming later this year, after E3 2019.
• ToeJam & Earl will be one of the biggest indie games of the year! I predict we will see them on stage at The Game Awards 2019.

 

There you have it – my 2019 predictions. What do you think? Do you think I’m on the money, or full of beans?

Let me know what your predictions, hopes, and dreams in the comments section below!