





Hopes & Expectations for 2016
GameReviewPad contributors give their hopes and expectations for 2016 in the world of video games.
Sean Kromrey says:
There is so much riding on this year for companies like Square Enix, who may falter if their upcoming games bomb. This is the year or gambles, and I myself think that it makes this upcoming year one of the most exciting in years. Which series will rise above the others, and which will tarnish their reputation? I don’t know! That is the beauty of it, even games like No Man’s Sky, Mighty Number 9, and The Last Guardian have a lot to live up to. The VR circle is getting bigger and we could see something evolutionary happen in the gaming industry. I am a gambling man, in mentality of course, and I love me some big gambles. That is why I expect this year to be one of the best in entertainment for the longest time, or it could be one of the biggest disappointments of the decade. All I know is that for the longest time, I am actually begging this next year to be good.
Oliver Prevost says:
Louis Hughes says:
As for me, the elephant in the room is of course the NX. Before passing away, Satoru Iwata stated that more about the platform will be revealed at E3 2016. What I hope happens is that they learned their lesson from the Project Café reveal (Wii U), and be broad with the information so the gaming press doesn’t get confused. Will this mean that Nintendo will return to doing an on stage presentation, or will they continue with the pre-taped format? I hope they continue with the “Direct” approach since everybody has grown accustomed to them and they keep the gif creators busy. I also hope that the platform is released in fall of 2017 to give the Wii U the normal five year cycle of previous Nintendo hardware.
Andre Calvert says:
Although 2015 seemed a bit better than 2014 on the technical side of gaming, there were still issues concerning unplayable games, or games with game breaking or game haulting bugs, particularly on the PC side. In 2016 I would like to see developers and publishers respect the PC release of their games, and would much rather prefer the game be delayed past their console version release, than see a bug riddled PC version on release day.
I think 2016 is a really important year for Nintendo’s existence because very few people (I’m even discouraged) will invest in a Wii U with the NX announcement (and possible release) this year right around the corner. The NX release needs to happen this year in order to make up the lost sales for the Wii U. I would also like to see Nintendo have a live stage presentation at E3 2016. I admire Nintendo for wanting to do something different with their E3 approach (Treehouse and recorded video), but sometimes you have to just go with the current flow to get to the masses. I thought the public was too harsh on Nintendo for E3 2015 and that they actually had a better 2015 than they are being given credit for, but Nintendo still has a lot to work on when it comes to promoting. Previously, The Legend of Zelda games came out at the very end of that console’s life cycle, and most people expect the new one to be a Wii U game, but I personally think that is a very bad business decision. For Nintendo’s sake, I hope that the new Zelda game is a NX launch title.
As someone who is still a ‘console free agent,’ I’m hoping 2016 is the year that moves me. For specific games, I’m nervous about the quality of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and No Man’s Sky, but highly optimistic about The Last Guardian and Horizon Zero Dawn. Usually the fall contains a lot of anticipated titles (for most people), but oddly enough, January and February contain most of them for me; I am very much looking forward to The Witness, Firewatch, Unravel, Street Fighter V, and whenever Cuphead releases.