Predictions, Review And New
What I Did This Week:
Wesley: I Did This
- Played FTL
- Watched Neverland
- Watched Toy Story 3
- Watched The Muppets
Bob: Geekery
- - Played out? I watched The Walking Dead, seasons 1 and 2
- - Played Descent: Journey in the Dark
- - Played XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Jeffrey: Stuffs I Dood
- Smart Ass
- angry birds star wars HD
General:
Wesley: Our 2012 Predictions
- JEFFREY: A new president will be elected, but we’ll be screwed either way.
- WRONG (0/1). It’s impossible to quantify “screwed” but I think things are going at LEAST okay.
- WESLEY: Netflix will continue to hemorrhage money, but will continue to add amazing content to streaming. By the end of the year, they will show promising numbers but will still be deep in the red. Their original programming will get good reviews, and will be good, but won’t have an appreciable effect on their bottom line.
- WRONG (0/1). They are not “deep” in the red, though the rest of this is pretty spot on. I gave this a WRONG instead of a SO/SO to have ammunition for later.
- BOB: Rock Band 4 rejuvenates rhythm games genre
- WRONG (0/1). It didn’t even release, likely due to the rhythm games genre dying.
- JEFFREY: It will be a great year for movies for geeks.
- RIGHT (1/2). So good I haven’t had time to see all the movies yet.
- WESLEY: Apple TV will become Apple’s Wii. It will sell great, even though nobody knows why they’re buying it. It will be generally reported that it’s no better than a regular TV, and the extra stuff will not see great use. Many people who get it will express “buyer’s remorse†and will end up using it as a regular TV. It will essentially be a built-in Xbox without the games, and with an interface. And in 5 years you won’t be able to replace it with the new model without getting a new TV.
- WRONG (0/2). It didn’t een come out.
- BOB: The Death of PC Gaming(tm) is once again wrongly proclaimed
- N/A (0/1). Not really a prediction.
- JEFFREY: With the exception of Mass Effect 3, This year will suck for video games.
- WRONG (1/3). There were a ton of great games this year. Borderlands 2, FTL, AC3, Halo 4, and Diablo 3 just to name a few.
- WESLEY: Microsoft’s next console, dubbed by me as the Xbox 420, will be available for purchase by Christmas. It will come with a Kinect bundled but you can buy an “arcade†version without one. Cost? $500 for the “standard†model.
- WRONG (0/3). It wasn’t even announced.
- BOB: News makes the rounds of a man in a serious romantic relationship with Siri
- WRONG (0/2). It’s kinda failed as a product. Nobody CAN get in a relationship with Siri because half the time she doesn’t even talk back.
- JEFFREY: Netflix will be going strong.
- WRONG (1/4) for the same reason mine was wrong. They’re not hurting, but not going strong.
- WESLEY: Mass Effect 3 will be good, but nowhere near expectations. It will sell very well, and Mass Effect 4 will be announced by the end of the year. It will be the start of a new trilogy in the same universe, with a totally different character. Why? Because Shepard will die at the end of ME3.
- SO/SO (.5/4) I won’t comment on Shepard’s dying or not as Jeffrey hasn’t played it yet, but I think in general I was right on the first part and wrong on the 2nd part.
- BOB: Facebook and Twitter both peak in number of users and begin decline ,
- WRONG (0/3). Twitter announced 140 million active ui: Iii March, 200 million in December. Facebook went from 900 million in April to 1 billion active users in Octobei,
- Both Wesley and Jeffrey agreed that it was a bold prediction, with the obvious implication that we thought Bob was dead wrong.
- Jeffrey: The Olympics will bring a controversy outside of an event- Fite.tr wittl building not being finished, or a tragedy, or even a conflict between nations.
- WRONG (1/5) I don’t remember anything with that.
- Jeffrey: Armeggeddon will NOT happen.
- N/A (1.5/5). This isn’t actually a prediction.
- Wesley: SOPA will fail after losing so much support from .Q.clapaniargho are afraid of custoMer backlash. This will start’ a promising trend in Internet legislation.
- RIGHT (2/5). Since SOPA failed, PIPA has also failed. I thin there was another that alao failed.
- Bob said that was youthful optimism, and that things would just get worse and worse.
- Jeffrey: There will be virtually no improvement in the US economy
- SO/SO (2/6). Unemployment went from 8.3 to 7.8, and other economic indicators are positive as well. However, it’s not fantastic and it could be argued that there is VIRTUALLY no improvement.
- Bob: U.S. has no manned space flights
- RIGHT. (1/3): I was going to say this was N/A but I suppose NASA could have changed their minds, developed a new spacecraft, tested it, and gotten people into space in 12 months. Plus I don’t want Bob to go home with 0 points.
- Jeffrey: NASA/Seti will choose an extrasolar planet within 300 light years to concentrate on for proving the existence of intelligent extra terrestrial life. But will not yet be able to prove incontrovertably on that planet.
- WRONG (2/6): I don’t recall ever reading this.
- Wesley: Kepler will discover at least one planet within 2.5 Gf Earth’s size, orbiting in the Habitable zone of a star within 25% the size of Earth’s sun.
- WRONG (2/6): This did not happen.
- Jeffrey said this was a shoe-in.
- Final verdict: We tied!
Jeffrey: 2012 – predictions recapped
- A new president will be elected but we’ll be screwed either way. – Not True and TBD
- It will be a great year for movies for geeks. – Accurate
- With the exception of Mass Effect 3, This year will suck for video games. – Accurate
- Netflix will be going strong. – Accurate
- The Olympics will bring a controversy outside of an event. Either with building not being finished, or a tragedy, or even a conflict between nations. -False – South Korean soccer flag. Media Coverage – NBC commentators and overall coverage. Athlete got booted for racist tweet.
- There will be virtually no improvement in the US economy. – Debatable
- Armeggeddon will NOT happen. – Accurate
- NASA/Seti will choose an extra solar planet within 300 light years to focus their attention on for proving the existence of intelligent extra terrestrial life. But will not yet be able to prove life exists incontrovertibly on that planet. -Partially true, but basically False
- No new x-box console – Accurate
Top 5 – #5:
Bob: Google
- - Massive last-mile fiber rollout
- - Will become US’s largest ISP
- - – For sake of correctness: 8 major cities
- - Votes?
- - – Jeffrey: No
- - – Wesley: No
Jeffrey: New Consoles
- More than one new console will be unveiled at E3 (Microsoft and something else)
- The new Forza will be coded for the new xbox console (720) and released with it’s launch.
- Wesley – Agree but not at E3
- Bob – Disagree on both
Wesley: Microsoft
- Microsoft’s next console, dubbed by me as the Xbox 420, will be announced at or near E3, and will be available by Christmas. It will come with a Kinect bundle but you can buy an “arcade” version without one. Cost? $500 for the “Standard” model. Bonus: I won’t buy one.
- Both said $500 was to much, Bob thinks after the year.
Top 5 – #4:
Bob: Microsoft’s Next-Gen Console
- - Unveiled this year
- - Won’t be called “Xbox 720″
- - On sale in 2014
- - Votes?
- - – Jeffrey: Yes
- - – Wesley: Yes: 2/3
- - – - Wesley also says it’ll be called Y-Box
Jeffrey: Star wars
- Details and cast announcements for the sequel to the original trilogy will be leaked or announced and will include Harrison Ford but not Mark Hamill. This will cause geeks everywhere to freak out and state Disney ruined the franchise..again.
- Wesley – Agree on both
- Bob – Thinks Mark Hamill will be involved otherwise agree.
Wesley: Mobile
- One of the major players will produce a wearable cell phone. I’m talking a watch, belt buckle, glasses, or something similar that you’ll just wear at all times. It will sell well enough to not be pulled from shelves or panned by critics.
- Bob agreed, Jeffrey did not.
Top 5 – #3:
Bob: GTA V
- - Release delayed (presently scheduled for Spring ’13)
- - – Expect Summer
- - – Worth the wait
- - Votes?
- - – Jeffrey: Yes
- - – Wesley: Yes
Jeffrey: Vidja Games
- This year leaves gamers with another feeling of meh for existing consoles.
- Bob – Disagree
- Wesley – Abstain
Wesley: Law
- Laws will be passed that will start us down the road to major patent reform. I’m talking something like making 50% or more of all software patents invalid.
- Bob says naive optimism.
- Jeffrey says it’s part of the economy. Not gonna happen.
Top 5 – #2:
Bob: Battery Technology
- - We’re going to see a significant advancement made in electrical energy storage
- - – Your laptops, tablets, smart phones, and hybrid cars will be obsolete
- - – - Again
- - For sake of correctness: At least 30% energy density increase
- - Votes?
- - – Jeffrey: Yes
- - – Wesley: No
Jeffrey: Movies
- Man of Steel surprises geeks everywhere by being awesome.
- Ditto Kick Ass 2
- Wesley -disagree man if steel and Kick Ass 2 will be as expected
- Bob – Agree on both
Wesley: Television
- None of the recently proposed a la carte TV options will pan out. In 12 months Cable TV will be about where it is right now.
- Everybody agrees.
Top 5 – #1:
Bob: SpaceShip Two
- - First powered flight will be a success
- - First customer flight by end of year
- - Votes?
- - – Jeffrey: 1/2
- - – Wesley: No
Jeffrey: J.K. Rowling
- With her new series falling out of interest, J.K. will begin to authorize books by other authors within the HP universe for some heavy royalty fees.
- Wesley – yes
- Bob – no
Wesley: Kickstarter
- A major (over $100,000) Kickstarter winner will either announce that they cannot meet their stated project goals with the money they earned, or will simply disappear. The people who invested will not get their money back or anything else.
- Both say sure.
Top 5 – Honorable Mention:
Bob: Honorable Mentions
- - The Stargate Cafe returns as a Pulp Audio production
Jeffrey: Poker
- Online poker legislation passes legalizing online poker.
- Bob – Yes
- Wesley – No
On Kickstarter:
* Richard Cheese’s last few albums have been funded via kickstarter in much the way Bob describes.
* The first podcast to be released on vinyl was also kickstarted.
* I’ve supported some weird kickstarter projects.
* I predict Wes will finish a kick-ass Crimson Lien book.
** Then accidentally delete it. (Grudges never die)
I almost predicted your Crimson Lien prediction (though I’m modest enough to not say it’ll be kick-ass. Think it? Sure. Just not say it) but I don’t want to shoot myself in the foot.
I was not however going to predict I’d delete it. Every day I write, I back up what I wrote that day to 2 other places, one of which is not in my possession.
Interesting show, some thoughtful predictions and some wild cards.
Not going to attempt any predictions but what I did recently, spent a lot of money on games in the Steam and GoG sales and trying to get the most out of Dead Island on the PC.
Steam and GoG are going to be the death of me.
And those bundles. I can’t seem to stop buying them. I have a disturbing number of non-redeemed Steam codes. I’m starting to think about giving them away in contests.
It’s a little too big, and discovered a little too late (though they likely knew about it before announcing it), but Kepler scientists just announced they found “KOI-172.02… the closest analogue to Earth yet found. It lies in the habitable zone of a G-type star similar to our sun and is just 1.5 times the radius of Earth, orbiting its star every 242 days.”
http://www.tgdaily.com/space-brief/68676-newfound-planet-is-best-candidate-yet-for-life