Fresh into a new decade, 2020 promises to be a milestone year for video games, with Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X next-generation consoles coming out toward the end of the year alongside a veritable slew of top-notch games. From software and hardware to profits, everything is bigger, bolder and better.
But before we look to the future, let's take a glance back at 2019, another record-breaking year for the video game industry.
Analytics company Newzoo estimated in October that total U.S. video game sales in 2019 would hit about $35.5 billion, with global revenues at $148.8 billion. For comparison, global box office figures hit a record $42.5 billion in 2019 while U.S. movie profits were $11.4 billion — making the video game industry more than three times larger. When it comes to entertainment, Hollywood is a supporting actor, not the lead role.
"Gaming on the go" continues to drive the industry, however, with Newzoo estimating mobile game revenue in 2019 at $68.2 billion, about 46% of the global market, compared with console and PC games' respective $45.3 billion and $35.3 billion in revenue.
Domestically, the PS4 was the best-selling game console in the past decade, according to industry research firm Vgchartz, selling about 32 million
units, followed by the Xbox One with 27.5 million and Nintendo's 3DS and Switch at 23 million and 17.5 million units sold, respectively. The Switch has been on a hot streak lately though, with recent sales outpacing its console competitors.
Worldwide, the PS4 has about 50% of the console market share with 106 million total units sold, while the Switch and Xbox One are about 25%, according to Vgchartz.
2020 is the year for things to start being shaken up, with the PS5 and Series X scheduled for release about Christmas. Here's what we know so far: Both will be capable of 4K graphics, with processors by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and both will have solid-state drives for faster load times. Microsoft has released details of the Series X console, a sleek, upright, rectangular tower with a top covered in air holes.
PS5 controllers will feature superior haptic feedback, upgrading the "rumble" technology PlayStation currently uses. Even the triggers will have variable sensitivity, to mimic, for example, drawing the string of a bow or firing a pistol. Sony promises its haptics will offer a broader range of sensation, although we're still years away from the sort of full-body, VR-equipped haptic suits seen in sci-fi movies such as Ready Player One.
A new entrant into the competition is Google Stadia. Not quite a console, Stadia is a cloud game service accessible through Chrome browsers on desktop computers, Pixel smartphones, Chrome tablets and TVs through a Chromecast device. Games won't need to be downloaded -- they'll be streamed, much like Netflix or YouTube. Stadia's base price is free, although games must be bought. "Destiny 2" is available for free, however, and for a $10 monthly fee, users get access to a library of free games.
Is it a giant-killer? Jury's still out, but probably not. Microsoft, Sony, Apple and Nintendo have subscription-based game catalogs, too, and Microsoft also has plans for a cloud-based service.
2020 also looks like a great year for games, with these hotly anticipated new titles in the lineup.
◼️ "Nioh 2," PS4, March 13
Similar to its 2017 predecessor, "Nioh 2" is a "Dark Souls"-style action RPG, where players control a half-human, half-demon samurai in Japan's feudal Sengoku era. A "Borderlands"-style loot system, skill trees, leveling systems and challenging boss combat sequences made the first "Nioh" a must-play, and it looks like more of the same is in order. It's also culturally enriching, as you'll battle through a plethora of mythical Japanese monsters from folklore.
◼️ "Doom Eternal," PS4, Switch, Xbox One, Stadia, March 20
Id Software's lead engine programmer Billy Khan took to Twitter earlier this month to brag that "Doom Eternal is the best game we have ever made," with combat as "fluid as silk." The "Doom" franchise, a pioneer of first-person shooters, has been a gamer mainstay since its original 1993 release about fighting the forces of Hell on the moons of Mars. This forthcoming iteration promises maximum carnage, with the demonic horde having found its way to Earth, and adds a two-against-one, demons-versus-space-Marine multiplayer mode.
◼️ "Half-Life: Alyx," PC VR exclusive, March
Gamers have been waiting oh so patiently for the sequel to 2004's "Half-Life 2" and to once again step into the shoes of the crowbar-wielding, alien-battling Dr. Gordon Freeman. And then this comes, a virtual-reality exclusive featuring Alyx Vance, an important character in "HL2." The new game takes place between "HL" and "HL2," but the details are still pretty scarce. Alyx is a PC VR exclusive, so you'll need Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive or the Valve Index system (and a powerful computer) to play it. It's a full story-based game, likely about 15 hours in length and not just a tech demo. The hardware cost is a big barrier to entry, but is 2020 the year that VR will have its breakout moment?
◼️ "Resident Evil 3," PC, PS4, Xbox One, April 3
After the critical and commercial success of the "Resident Evil 2" remake last year, Capcom is giving the third installment in the series the same treatment. Set during the outbreak of Umbrella Corporation's zombifying T-virus in Raccoon City, "RE3" follows Jill Valentine as she tries to escape from the Nemesis, a relentless, unkillable pursuer. Using the same engine as "RE7" and "RE2," this remake of the 1999 game will have modernized gameplay mechanics and high-definition graphics. "RE3" will also have an online, asymmetrical multiplayer mode called Resistance, where a team of four survivors must escape through a series of puzzle-filled rooms while a player-controlled entity called the Mastermind terrorizes them.
◼️ "Gears Tactics," PC, April 28
Unlike the earlier five "Gears of War" games, which are real-time, third-person action games, "Tactics" is a turn-based strategy game. I love the gritty "Gears of War" franchise, and I'm a total diehard for X-COM-style games, so this is near the top of my list to check out. "Tactics" is set 12 years before the first "Gears of War" and follows a group of soldiers trying to survive as the Locust Horde bursts out from the underground and begins toppling cities around the globe. Considering the events of the next five games, it likely doesn't have a happy ending, but "Gears" isn't about joy, it's about using your chainsaw bayonet on underground-dwelling reptilian monsters that should have stayed where they belonged. OK, maybe it is about joy.
◼️ "The Last of Us: Part II," PS4, May 29
I bought my PlayStation just to play Naughty Dog's "The Last of Us," and it didn't disappoint, quickly becoming one of my favorite games. An intensely story-driven action-adventure game with stealth gameplay elements, in "TLOU," players controlled Joel, a smuggler still struggling to deal with the loss of his daughter after a zombie-like outbreak decades earlier. Joel is tasked to bring Ellie, a teenage girl, across a post-apocalyptic United States in hope of a cure. In this long-awaited sequel set five years after the first game, players control Ellie, who must fight against deranged cultists and monsters — human and nonhuman. Sadly, the game will lack one of the best features of the original — an unrivaled multiplayer mode requiring teamwork and strategy.
◼️ "Marvel's Avengers," Xbox One, PS4, PC, Stadia, Sept. 4
The ultimate Avengers game experience is still coming in 2020, but Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics this month pushed back the release date to Sept. 4. It'll feature a story-driven campaign along with cooperative play, and its creators are looking for it to become a flagship product, with downloadable content and other new features planned for the years to come. "Marvel's Avengers" is set during a time when superheroes have been outlawed after a catastrophe causes widespread devastation, but with the world in peril, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk and others must once again assemble.
◼️ "Cyberpunk 2077," Xbox One, PS4, PC, Stadia, Sept. 17
Based on the eponymous tabletop role-playing game from decades ago, which was itself inspired by dystopian sci-fi books from authors such as William Gibson and Walter Jon Williams, "Cyberpunk 2077" is a hugely ambitious game by developer CD Projekt Red, also responsible for the critically acclaimed "Witcher" franchise. The first-person action RPG features a Keanu Reeves cameo and a cybernetically enhanced protagonist. The futuristic open world of Night City looks to be massive in scale, and the game will likely take dozens of hours — if not hundreds of hours — to complete. It's good that the studio is taking its time to get it right.
◼️ "Halo Infinite," Xbox Series X, PC, late 2020
There aren't a lot of details available yet for Microsoft's big military sci-fi franchise series, but what the tech giant has said is that the game and the Series X console will release during "holiday 2020," and they're probably not talking about Halloween — although that'd be a pretty nice treat. The franchise goes back to its roots with the return of The Master Chief, continues the "Halo 5" storyline and is powered by an all-new game engine. For Xbox players, it's pretty much a must-have title.
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Style on 01/27/2020