A Look Back at Geek News Predictions for 2018

2018 is just about over and I don’t need to remind you that it was a pessimistic year. I did mention the year would probably be filled with baffling news, scandals, and crushing disappointment in humanity. Boy, was I right. Unlike 2017, 2018 was a mixed year for the entertainment industry as a whole, but as a consumer it was largely enjoyable. Without further ramble, here’s how I did with my predictions for 2018. Be sure to return tomorrow as I post an entirely new set of predictions for 2019.

 

Nintendo Will Sell 20 Million Switch Units By March:

This prediction did not completely come true. I was right that Nintendo would sell 20 million Switch consoles (worldwide), but it took until October to reach those numbers. So far the Switch has blown past the Wii U and GameCube’s lifetime sales. The console has even outsold the base PS4 and PS4 slim in Japan. Thanks to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the Switch has continued to sell well during the holidays. I might have been too ambitious with my March timeframe, but it’s good to know that I wasn’t completely off the mark for the year.

 

Microsoft Will See Strong Sales of the Xbox One X and Finally Release Sales Numbers:

This prediction turned out to be a mixed bag. Microsoft did see strong sales of the Xbox One X, and the Xbox brand in general, but they’re still far behind Sony and as a result did not publicly release sales numbers. According to VGChartz, as of December 1 of this year, the Xbox One has sold 41.8 million units globally, while its rival the PS4 has sold 88.9 million units. Despite the Xbox One X having a particularly good holiday season, it is nowhere near the glory days of the previous console generation. The serious dearth of exclusives aren’t helping, even if the Xbox One X is the most powerful console to date.

Amazon Will Give Up or Scale Back on Anime Strike:

I nailed it with this prediction. In fact, my prediction came to pass in the same week I posted it. I even wrote a follow-up post on January 11. Basically, my scenario played out exactly as I imagined it would. Anime Strike was folded back into Prime Video and the double paywall was removed. Problems with the service also included a lack of customer service, episode delays, and badly subtitled episodes. While the demise of Anime Strike was inevitable because Amazon rushed into a market they didn’t fully understand, it was far too easy to accurately predict the service’s downfall.

 

Attack on Titan Will Be Pushed Back to 2019:

One anime prediction bullseye is followed up with a complete miss. I predicted that the third season of Attack on Titan would be pushed back until spring 2019, because waiting is something AoT anime fans have come to expect. In this case I’m happy to be wrong, mostly due to me really enjoying the political intricacies of the third season. Season three aired on July 22nd (with the Toonami broadcast airing on August 18), and ran until the fall anime season. We received 12 episodes in total with the remainder of season three to return in April 2019. Fortunately, I doubt there will be further delays with Attack on Titan in the foreseeable future.

Proponents of Net Neutrality Will Fight Hard and Win Some Victories:

This prediction falls into the mixed bag category. On one hand, the rules enacted in 2015 to prevent broadband ISPs from slowing or blocking access to the internet expired earlier this year. On the other hand, Net Neutrality proponents have been leading the way in lawsuits to reverse the FCC’s decision. Additionally, states have enacted their own open internet rules, but the Trump administration included a provision in its regulatory rollbacks that pre-empted these regulations. California went ahead and passed its own version of Net Neutrality rules, but it was quickly sued by the Department of Justice and ISP industry groups, effectively leaving the law on hold. Things get even more frustrating when you consider the repeal of Net Neutrality is already having real world consequences, such as Verizon throttling the Santa Clara fire department’s unlimited data service and charging more to have the throttle lifted during the largest wildfire in state history. It has yet to be seen how the House of Representatives shifting back to Democratic control will mix things up in 2019, but I’m calling the open internet dead for now.