Going to try something new this year, we're going to make some completely wild predictions that may have little base in reality. I think they're pretty self-explanatory, and hopefully at the end of the year I'll remember we did this and we can have a good laugh at how wrong we were (or be shocked at how right).

So while these are guaranteed to be wrong, they are my current feelings about the industry from hopefully a non-biased gamer's point of view. Well, non-biased until it comes to BioWare games that is.

Final Fantasy XIII on the Xbox 360 will outsell the PlayStation 3 version

Ignoring the Japanese release (or maybe not?), I believe the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII will sell better than the native PlayStation 3 release. Maybe this has already been bandied about a lot among analysts who know better, but I really think the market is bigger for this type of game on the 360. Plus the controller is just so much more comfortable for a 50+ game like Final Fantasy. If I had the choice of systems, it would be the Xbox 360 for me, but I'm sort of running my own personal boycott against the game for Square's actions against Crimson Echoes.

Project Natal will bomb, PlayStation Motion Controller will be ignored

I know I'm not the target gamer for all these motion control add-ons, but I think the market is already a bit saturated with the Wii. If a family of non-gamers are looking to buy a new console, are they going to buy the Wii that everyone has been talking about for the last few years, or pick up an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 with their tacked on flailing about? I particularly think Project Natal for the 360 is a bit too ambitious, normal households don't have 100 square feet of space to jump around in. The software will be there, but unless some big named games are requiring it, most established Xbox 360 owners will not buy the add-on. Everyone is speculating that games like Burnout or Katamari will be re-imagined using the technology, but isn't that exactly what's going on with all the Wii-makes that no one are playing?

As for Sony's Motion Controller, honestly, we've been there, done that three years ago with the Wii. Oh, we can use "the motion controller as a sword and use DualShock 3 as a shield"? Sounds familiar. And awful.

BioShock 2 will be better than most of us expect

After beating BioShock in 2009, I began to read information on the already announced sequel. Kotaku recently called it one of the most unnecessary sequels in gaming and that just rang perfectly with my thoughts on BioShock 2. The original was just so well contained, the story was complete, what's the point of returning to Rapture? Obviously they're trying to cash-in on the popularity of the first, and it seems BioShock developers 2K Boston has washed their hands of it, but when building on top of a foundation like the first one created, how can things go really wrong? So in no way will BioShock 2 be as good as the first, but it'll play extremely well, be incredibly atmospheric still, and in the end, we'll enjoy it.

God of War III will be the media's Game of the Year

This is a huge year for gaming, with Modern Warfare 2 dominating the late 2009 release schedule, many big games were pushed back to 2010. Just off the top of my head I can think of Mass Effect 2, Final Fantasy XIII, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Epic Mickey, BioShock 2, Lost Planet 2, and Gran Turismo 5. So come December, what will everyone be hailing as the Game of the Year? My prediction goes out to God of War III, while I doubt I'll actually get to play the game this year, it just seems that Sony has one helluva game on their hands. And since it's the supposed final game in the series and the first on the PlayStation 3, things are going to come together for it.

Heavy Rain will convince me to buy a PlayStation 3

I really enjoyed Indigo Prophecy a few years ago, and while the game devolved into an endless Quick Time Event-a-thon at the end, I could tell Quantic Dream was really on to something. That something seems to be Heavy Rain, less of a game and more of an interactive movie. While this has been attempted many times, I like the no-hold barred approach it's taking towards its characters: if they die, they die.

But the real prediction is that I'll own a PlayStation 3 by the end of the year. While there are plenty of games on the platform I would love to play, this may very well push me over the edge on the purchase.

Mass Effect 2 will live up to the hype

Well, this is a bit of a personal wish, I will admit. The last few years I've been hyping up games quite a bit only to be incredibly disappointed when I finally get to play them (see Spore and Scribblenauts). Mass Effect is one of my favorite games of all time, so it's only natural I'm excited for Mass Effect 2, but I'm just a bit worried. It seems they fixed everything I complained about with the first one, including the barren planets and the Mako. But it all just seems a bit too perfect. BioWare tends to know what they're doing though, and I really hope they can pull it off.

I'd like to say that Mass Effect 2 will be my personal game of the year, but if my last three games of the year are of any indication (Portal, Mother 3, and Braid), there's absolutely no way to predict what I'll enjoy before the year begins.

New Zelda trailer at E3

The trailer won't show nearly enough and it won't be coming out this year, that's for sure.

Metroid: Other M will be pushed back

The Team Ninja Metroid game won't see a 2010 release either.

Metal Gear Solid: Chabudai Gaeshi

The young team producing MGS: Rising will have their tea table overturned by Kojima-san, who will then take over the reins as producer and make it much more like MSG4.