2008 is the year of gaming

Every year, the technology industry tries to crown the one attribute that dominated the landscape all year. And while it may be early to decide what 2008 will be defined as when it's all said and done, I think gaming has taken the prize already.

Let's face it--what else could possibly take the cake? Will it be the year of mergers just because Microsoft and Yahoo may join up while Circuit City and Blockbuster do the same thing? Boring. Will 2008 be the year of computers? Try one decade ago. Will it be the year of Web 2.0? Who cares.

Halo isn't nearly as important as it once was.

(Credit: Gamespot)

The fact of the matter is that in 2008, nothing will be nearly as important or groundbreaking in this industry as gaming. Whether it's the fact that the Playstation made a huge turnaround this year or that a new DS will hit store shelves or even the fact that this year's line up of games is simply better than any other year in recent memory, 2008 will be big and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens from here on out.

The games! The games!

Although I'm not even going to try to mention every major title to hit store shelves this year, I can say with total certainty that 2008 is a major year for gaming. This year alone, we have either welcomed or are about to welcome the following titles:

• Grand Theft Auto IV
• Ninja Gaiden 2
• Ghostbusters: The Video Game
• Devil May Cry 4
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• Killzone 2
• Far Cry 2
• Rainbow Six Vegas 2
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl
• Mario Kart Wii
• Fallout 3
• Lost Odyssey
• Fable 2
• Starcraft 2
• Gran Turismo 5
• Little Big Planet
• Spore

Looking at that list of a small portion of what we will (and have) enjoyed during 2008, is it even possible that someone could contend that 2008 will be the year of anything else? Over the course of the next few months, we'll be inundated with titles that will let us explore totally new worlds and enjoy totally new ways of playing video games. Unlike many other years where most of the titles were derivative, this year we may have something to propel creativity in the industry.

The indicators already suggest that this year will be huge for gaming. According to one analyst, video game sales rose 35 percent in March, bucking the trend being witnessed in other areas of the technology industry and representing another strong month after February's 34 percent hardware and software sales increase. Even better for the industry, there doesn't seem to be any slowdown in the works.

But aside from the games, the video game industry is becoming a major powerhouse for the first time. Much like the computing industry years ago, the entertainment world is slowly catching up to the times and video games have become the norm, not the exception, in the average person's home. And as the industry continues to rake in billions each month, there's no reason to suggest it can't become one of the most important in the entire business.

Unlike every other facet of the tech industry, video games seem almost impervious to the impending economic issues that are ready to plague the United States. With titles that are obviously going to make a huge imprint on the entire industry, there's no reason to suggest anything else will be as important as gaming. If nothing else, gaming may keep some companies alive and others afloat as they count on video games to carry them through rough times.

As the popularity of video games continues to soar, so will the popularity of all facets of the industry. And although the gaming business has been booming for years, 2008 will surely prove to be its breakout year.

[Mam00th]

Ghostbusters: The Video Game?????? Who cares?

2007 had a lot more great games then this especially Q4 2007. Not saying those arent great though, many very interesting titles especially the last two. This time though it's the PS3's turn to get its share of great games.

[KeeganHill]

What, isn't Lair awesome though! Come on, no decent gamer cares about that dead system. Metal Gear is the only game that makes it slightly interesting.

[Tomoliveri]

dude this is one of the worst articles i've ever.

sounds like a 14 year old kid's blog

what is your point? what are you informing us?
ask yourself these questions before writing an article just because *you needed something to write about*

[fmb43]

Re: ebook readers.
I disagree with the idea that there is no place for ebook readers. Whether it be a Kindle, or some other variation of the technology, I can see numerous advantages to such readers. First and foremost, there's the area of the advantage of ebook readers for the textbook and topical commentary side of the publishing industry. While it may be hard to justify an "expensive" reader for use with typical paperback literature (and I even disagree with this notion), it certainly makes sense to have the ability to read textbooks--costing $50 to $150 or more--and which have a high degree of "perishability." (When was the last time you heard of a textbook being used for more than a few semesters?)
Additionally, I see the ability to use the ebook reader in a much more dynamic fashion (think of all the Web 2.0 possibilities) than is possible with a traditional paper-delivered work. But that is a subject for another time. The economics of ebook readers make sense now in publishing fields requiring timely, scholarly writing (i.e., writings more editorialized than mere RSS feeds), and when they are used to their full "digital" advantage, I believe they may truly make the traditional paper product obsolete.

[slimpunk]

While I'd love for Starcraft 2 to come out in 2008, if the previous releases from Blizzard say anything, it'll probably be pushed back to 2009.

[zgreenwell]

2007 was the year for gaming. 2008 is going to be good and it might sell more, but a lot of those sales are from games that came out in 2007 like Rock Band and Guitar Hero 3. Personally, I'm still playing Halo 3 and Mass Effect from the end of last year, even though I didn't get Mass Effect until this month.

[C433Z]

I don't know how much bigger you can get than: Halo 3, Mass Effect, COD4, Bioshock, Orange Box, Crysis, Mario Galaxy, God of War 2, Pokemon, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Rock Band, Guitar Hero 3. (Phew!)

I mean, that's a lot of REALLY good games. Not saying that I don't love Smash Bros. Brawl, or that Starcraft 2 won't be awesome, it's just that 2007 had an enormous amount of good games that are hard to top.

I wish he could've put Too Human in that list for 2008.

(Ghostbusters?)

[ggguy77]

How could you mention some of those games and forget the Stargate game that will be launched this year??????

[cube3]

LOL

12 of the titles mentioned have a SEQUEL number attached to them! The others are based on a 20 year old movie or video coin op franchise....,

Non Derivative and Creative? ?????

Youre a paid columnist>? Dont you have an Editor? I mean come on, this "story" even if its "opinon blog" paid for from your pals PR company paid for by EA... that list and that headline should be obviously embarassingly contradictory to post.

Sadley the only "YEAR OF THE GAME" blog report thats accurate or important.would be "the GAMING of the NEWS of 2008" by google adword click hungry companies like Cnet..

I cant wait to rss this blog for laughs...

c3

[Pard68]

Halo Wars?

Endwar?

Maybe a sequel to Assassin's Creed?

Force Unleashed?

Bad Company?

Too Human?

Sequel to Lost Planet?

Tom Clancy's Fighter pilot game?

Sequel to Crackdown?

Splinter Cell Conviction?

Frontline?

World in Conflict?

Turoc?

Conan RPG?

Saboteur?

Resident Evil 5?

Sequel to FEAR?

Dar Sector?

Soul Caliber IV?

Fracture?

Metal Gear Online?

SSBB?

Prototype?

Saints Row 2?

Mercs 2?

GoW 2?

God of War Olympus?

Unreal 3?

Borderlands?

legendary?

Indiana Jones?

Mario Kart?

FF XIII?

Tekken 6?

Just a few I think you missed...

[Aelwrath]

All hail Don Reisinger, CNET's resident video game facist!

[KeeganHill]

Killzone 2? That game sucks, no one is anticipating that. And so does the PS3 compared to the 360 and Wii. Honestly everyone says that some year will be the 'year of the games' but it never works that way. (Although 2007 had an amazing lineup) I think it will be the year of open source as things like Linux start to make their way into the average consumers household. But, I'm probably wrong.

[cmpbllman9]

I think the article should have been based around that 2007-2008 are the two big years for games. missed a lot of big titles too. think this was written up just before the weekend.

[crasher7]

Ghostbusters??? Haze is a better choice....