A Game Development Blog

Video Game Trends for 2011 and Beyond

The year 2011 could be quite an interesting year for the video game industry. 2010 gave us a sampling of what was on the minds of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo and should carry forward into 2011 and beyond.

3D Gaming… There might be different approaches to how to properly impliment 3D technology into games, but it’s being pushed by Nintendo and Sony big time in 2011. Nintendo is releasing the Nintendo 3DS handheld that allows a 3D effect without the need for special glasses. Sony with the Playstation 3 is pushing games with 3D support on HDTVs and special glasses. While some think this is a quirky trend that could fizzle out, both Sony and Nintendo are banking on the excitement and boost the movie Avatar gave to the 3D market. Expect Nintendo to push their native 3D possibilities without the need for glasses in 2011, and expect Sony to push the superior visuals teamed up with 3D to create the better 3D experience.

More Power! While it goes without saying that each year produces a step up in technological advances in visuals and the technology behind games, 2011 offers to step it up a notch with Epic games reporting that they will be offering a “next gen” leap with their Unreal engine. It’s also obvious that the PS3 is reaching new heights with games like Uncharted 3 on the horizon. Let’s not forget the beautful visuals being offered by the engine being used with Battlefield 3. To top it all off Sony is finally bringing some serious power to the handheld market with the PSP2. Boasting comparable power to the PS3 (probably a touch below TBH but still very impressive), it’s amazing what Sony has put into such a small package power wise.

Motion Controls: Nintendo started it with the Wii, and Microsoft and Sony hope to master it. Sony got into the motion controls way before Microsoft with the EyeToy on the PS2, but hoped to add some serious refinement and accuracy with the PS Move. While it didn’t sell nearly as well as Microsoft’s Kinect in 2010, the PS Move release did show gamers the accuracy Sony was boasting about. This translated into tight integration possibilities with shooters like Killzone 3 and Socom 4. It also meant comparable mini games like table tennis could capture the subtle movements of the wrist and hands and the Move will having to dumb things down on Kinect. Kinect though seemed to capture the consumers imagination and also capture the consumers money. Expect PS Move to sell well in 2011 and offer strong games that compliment the control scheme. Expect greater sales though for Kinect, and perhaps a few new game genres being presented in 2011. The future for Microsoft is the casual market, so expect to (continue to) see a decline in the hardcore gaming experience coming from the 360.

Games for the Every Day Guy: This generation started with people paying an arm and a leg to get a PS3 or 360. The Wii wasn’t exactly dirt cheap either. With Microsoft needing to kick up sales a notch, they’ve pushed price cuts to try and meet their internal expectations. When sales did pick up? It put pressure on Sony to do something. Despite outselling the Xbox 360 each year worldwide for the last 3 years, Sony has also needed price cuts. Expect the PS3 to reach at least the $249 price point, and expect the Xbox 360 to officially reach $149 for their 4gb Xbox 360 model and $199 for their Elite Model. This is the year the average consumer can easily pick up a console without breaking the bank.

All in all, expect big things in the industry in 2011. While the next generation could be upon us within a few years, it’s still a very exciting time for the gamer and game developers themselves with current hardware and the refinements that have been added.