There are a lot of fantastic titles scheduled for release in 2009 and I for one can't wait to play them all. If I had to narrow my list down to five titles that I'm most excited about, it would look like this:
1. Guild Wars 2
Anyone that reads this blog could have guessed that this was going to be my number one most anticipated game. I'm so pumped for this game that this blog will most likely become a shrine to GW2 once it is released. Although there hasn't been an official release date announced yet, I'm confident that GW2 will arrive in 2009. I don't think NCSoft or ArenaNet can last another year without giving GW2 the light of day. I for one can't wait to welcome the new messiah of MMO gaming ;)
2. Star Wars: The Old Republic
Bioware has always made great games, and I know that TOR will be great as well. My only concern is this TOR will launch with EA's stench all over it's business model.
If any game can get my girlfriend interested in MMOs, it will be this one. I hope it doesn't release around the same time as GW2, because I may be 'forced' to play for the gf factor alone ;)
3. Diablo 3
I'm still drooling from viewing the trailer of D3. I know it's not an MMO, but I was a huge (and I mean huge) fan of Diablo 2. It does concern me a little bit that the game will not support LAN play, as D2 LAN parties were always a favorite of mine.
I have a feeling that Blizzard are saving their D3 trump card for the release of GW2 and TOR, so expect to see it in 2009.
4. Aion
If Aion has the gameplay to back up it's amazing looks and list of features, it will do extremely well. Openedge believes that Aion will not be overly successful in the Western markets because of the Anime factor and I'm inclined to agree with him. Won't stop me from playing it though. The character customization technology looks very cool and lets face it, who wouldn't want wings for their character?
5. Jumpgate Evolution
I've got a soft spot for sci-fi games. I enjoyed Eve up to a point, but I wished it was more like Freelancer. JE looks like it might just deliver on my expectations for a sci-fi MMO. I've signed up for the beta, and look forward to firing dual tachyon canons across the hull of some unsuspecting alien battleship ;)
So yeah that's my list. If by some bizarre and cruel twist of fate all five of these games were launched on the same day, you can clearly see my install and play order. Not sure if I would survive the day though... MMO pleasure overload...
I'd be interested to know what other people's top 5 most anticipated games for 2009 are?
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Eve with free flight would be fantastic. I'm looking forward to Jumpgate Evolution as well.
Aion, on the other hand, I'm not sure I care about; it looks like just another static world leveling game. It might be interesting but just tacking on wings to characters isn't really a sufficient step forwards.
When it comes to fantasy games, I'd rather have another game like Guild Wars, with less instancing, and more shared world content. Which it looks like we'll be getting. =)
I'm not sure if you ever played Freelancer, but I though Eve was a step down from it. Where's the fun in a space game if you can't fly the space ship in FPS style mode. Jumpgate is looking really promising for the Freelancer fans like myself.
Your right about Aion. I'm more interested in the aerial combat and PvP side of things. If it goes down the path of WoW, I doubt I will stay playing it long.
Although a lot of people complained about the instancing in Guild Wars, I actually didn't mind it all that much. It meant that you didn't see things like monster respawns, and be annoyed by other players killing the boss moments before you got to him. Saying that, taking GW and giving it a persistent world is going to be amazing. Can't wait!
I'd be very surprised indeed to see Star Wars: The Old Republic or Diablo 3 out in 2009.
I'm afraid Aion will be a grindfest. :(
I'm kind of interested to see how The Agency turns out, but I'm more curious about it than looking forward to it.
Chronicles of Spellborn has me intrigued.
Bah, my list is boring. :)
Guild Wars 2 and Jumpgate Evolution would also be on my list. Why do you think that the Star Wars game would be released in 2009? My impression is that it is still a logn way from getting close to ready.
Champions Online and DC Universe Online are two ther I am curious about and also Fallen Earth and Earthrise on the SciFi side.
Freelancer was awesome. Privateer is still better in my mind, though. ;) I'm looking forward to JE, but I'll be sad if it's a sub game.
GW2, obviously, too... and SWTOR. If they do a sub on SWTOR, though, I'm out.
Other than that... um... Puzzle Quest: Galactrix looks good. StarCraft 2 is a maybe, we'll see. I loved the first, but something about this one has me wary.
@Pete
I've got this gut feeling that SW:TOR will release around Nov/Dec next year and Diablo 3 shortly after. My money is on an Oct/Sept release for GW2 and a June/July release for JE. We should see Aion sometime before March.
I was looking forward to Chronicles of Spellborn, but I've developed a bit of a low tolerance policy toward unfinished and low polish games (mostly WAR's fault). I'll likely check out CoS, but only after it's been released for 3 months (assuming it's still going strong).
@Sente
The only thing I'm worried about with Champions Online and DC Universe Online is that they will be grind fests. Might check them out if the reviews turn out promising.
@Tesh
Yeah Privateer was a fun game, but I actually preferred Freelancer. My bother and I used to play it multilayer. Seriously awesome fun.
If Jumpgate turns out to be a sub game, then it better be damn good. ArenaNet have already stated that GW2 will not be a sub game. Who knows what will happen to TOR with EA behind the business wheel. I'm hoping it will be micro-transaction only, but I won't hold my breath.
Not too fussed about Starcraft 2. It's one of those games I'll probably buy on special in 2 years or so.
I'll most likely pass on Jumpgate. I may end up giving it a peek if I read good things but every single aerial and/or space combat game I've ever played or seen devolves into circle-jerk combat. That may have been fine when I was a little kid, but I'm an actual real-life pilot and I just can't go there anymore. Not to mention the boredom of every single fight ending up in a circle-jerk til finally someone gets a lucky shot in.
Aion... sorry, it looks like "ooooh aaaaah look at our wonderful character creation" then it just plops you into a Lineage2 clone game with better (well, if full-on anime is "better") graphics and wings. CoH has good (apparently I'm the only person on the planet who doesn't think so) character creation and flight, and it's also a shallow grinder. For that matter Perfect World has winged elves who can fly with aerial combat too and it's F2P. So Aion gets a huge "meh" from me. Oh and it's NCsoft who after the Tabula Rasa fiasco I'm becoming rapidly disenchanted with...
Of course that leaves GW2 in NCsoft's stable that will keep me there. Kinda a shame, I wish Arena.net had the ability to take the GW IP and move to a different publisher... but really, really looking forward to seeing what they do with GW2. Probably the only game I'm actively looking forward to, in fact.
I've heard good things about DCUO in terms of control and how sandboxy it is in terms of what you can do with your powers. My main problem is that it's in the DC universe, which I never cared for. Oh, and it's SOE who I have very limited faith in but that's another story.
I've been following Earthrise (not very hardcore though) since it was announced. In many ways it sounds like the spiritual successor to the original SWG with many improvements. However, the focus on PvP and corpse looting tends to attract a certain type of player (refer to the average Darkfall fanboi as an example) which is right up there with Halo Kiddies or your typical XBL kid who makes you want to forsake online gaming forever. Not exactly people I would care to spend time with or be forced to tolerate.
Nice list of games. I have to agree with TOR coming out 2009, it would just make good business sense to get fans excited about it, and give people time to get bored of Wrath of the Lich King.
Earthrise is worth keeping an eye on, which I will ;). But I think the game I'm looking forward to the most is JumpGate. I just hope it doesn't flop.
@scott
Never actually played Lineage 2, so Aion might be a bit of a new experience for me.
Kinda a shame, I wish Arena.net had the ability to take the GW IP and move to a different publisher
Yeah I'd have to agree with you on that one. Although I'd rather NCsoft than EA.
I'm going to keep my eye on Earthrise, but it hasn't really grabbed me yet. If Darkfall ever makes it to the shelves and manages to get one review above 80%, I might just check it out.
@Danshir
Yeah I really hope Jumpgate doesn't flop. I won't be getting my hopes up too high though.
Well, good list, but lets look at this honestly.
1. NCSoft is on thin ice right now with no major MMO bringing in money. CoH/CoV is not doing well and too many closures equals too many fails.
With ZERO data on GW2 out there, and Aion being the main focus, I think we can say goodbye to GW2 in '09 (and believe me..GW2 is the ONLY game that has a chance to be worth ANYTHING to the genre right now)
2. SWTOR - Has been noted multiple times as a 2010 release through several sources. I do expect it.
3. Diablo 3 - Ok...yes, I will most definitely play, but again, 2010
So, what does that leave for '09?
Aion - Niche, with WoW influence in an Anime world. FFXI players will most likely flock there, and it could do a brisk 250k-500k scrips. This needs to succeed for NCSoft, or we may see their North American business go bye bye.
Jumpgate - EVE alreadys has this market. It also is Sci-Fi. Can you show me ANY other popular sci-fi game in existence?
Nope...
Big Niche game here..
I still call 2009 the "Year of Single Player game"...
Forget about MMO's and make developers answer for the crap they keep giving us.
Go play an SPG, and save 15 a month.
@Openedge, I agree with you (surprising to say this) I really hope Aeon does well just so NCSoft doesn't leave these shores for the grey havens of Korea and China. Anyways Will be looking forward to seeing what Guild Wars 2 has to offer, even if it may not actually come out right away. Champions Online should also be a treat.
@Openedge
Lol, stop applying logic to my careless visions of gaming delight ;)
You're probably right about SW:TOR and D3 although I still say Nov/Dec 2009 release. I'm confident that GW2 will be released this year. NCSoft need the cash right now and so they will be putting enormous pressure on ArenaNet to deliver ASAP. I can't see either company lasting another year without GW2 hitting the shelves (unless Aion is a huge success). Plus given the rate at which ArenaNet was able to churn out GW campaigns, I can't see why GW2 would take another year to complete.
Jumpgate has a few things to offer that Eve doesn't, but you're right it will be in direct competition with Eve. I probably wouldn't call the sci-fi MMO market niche. There are a lot of Star Wars fans out there that just want something to help them pretend they're flying the X-wing down the trenches of the Death Star. If Jumpgate delivers on the game play, it will break 1 million sales no problem.
I still call 2009 the "Year of Single Player game"...
You might be right, although I've been playing SPGs since I stopped with WAR and I'm really enjoying it. So I won't complain too much if this tuns out to be true. Might have to change the text at the top of my blog though.
@Thallian
Champions Online could turn out to be successful. It appeals to the comic book super hero market, which is huge. It's not on my immediate list, but I won't hesitate to pick up a copy if the grind is small and the PvP is great.
I'm curious to see how Champions Online will work with the console players in the mix, both from a game design standpoint and a business model standpoint. Or did they drop that part of the design?
I guess I should catch up and see...
I'm oddly not really looking toward the future much right now... Wrath is out, and while I have a few issues with the phasing that everyone and their mother seems to love, it's a solid chunk of new content to wade through. There's still a whole zone I haven't touched (Scholozar Basin), and my guild is going through the growing pains to get rolling in 25 mans regularly.
Diablo 3 is going to be a HUGE deal for me as well, but getting excited about it now is like sitting at home with my eyed shut and fists clenched just WAITING for flying cars. It's a long way off.
The most recent other game I was really excited about was Little Big Planet, but that kinda came in the mail, and I played it for two days.. and it.. uhh.. yeah. I just don't really get too excited about stuff not out yet : /
Although I never really got into Guild Wars (tried the beta, it just didn't do it for me), I'm interested in seeing what ArenaNet does with Guild Wars 2 and I think it's likely I'll pick it up just on curiosity factor alone.
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