Bioshock. Mass Effect. Halo 3. GTA IV. MSG 4. Crysis. UT3. Wii Fit (why not?). What do all these games have in common? They are all (unless some sort of a catastrophe happens) amazing, innovative games that push the way their respective genres and gaming conventions as a whole.

With a pseudo-E3 happening right now, there are a lot of predictions being made. Some are ridiculous (That things will super awful for Sony) others, like the one I made in the beginning, are almost a sure thing. I have another prediction that is actually not that far-fetched. That games will get better.

I remember that, after Game Informer gave Resident Evil 4 and God of War perfect scores, a reader asked about the sanctity of the perfect score. He said that a perfect score was not something to be given to any ol' game, but something that was truly espectacular. The GI staff answered: Games are getting better.

It's not just that games are getting better. Bad games are becoming less frequent. Okay we still have Shreks and Pirates of the Caribbean, but there's is a movement towards less bad games. So my prediction, which will probably not be completely true until the next generation is: More innovative, great games, less crappy games. This is why:

1. Age: Time is an unstoppable monster that keeps on rolling. Until we all become Dorian Grays we will all have to deal with this fact. Like it or not, the passing of time will affect the industry tremendously. Back in the old, golden days of gaming, there was a lot of crap out there. For every Double Dragon there was some piece of worthless garbage. And games were not that innovative (sorry Duck Hunt). They were merely laying down the foundation for what games could be. By the time we get to the N64 and the PS, it's all about dealing with 3D and about starting to think about pondering about taking games more seriously. Now it's all about doing the unexpected, giving players choices and telling really good stories. Now every game is like this though. There are alot of games that are stuck in the past (The Spiderman series is just one recent example) or are just not fun. Still costumers had to take what they could get in the past. Now, costumers are much savvier and, with the rise in game costs, less willing to just shell out their hard-earned bucks for something with Star Wars in the title (even though a lot of people do). By the next generation of gaming, I predict that video game companies will consiously start making their games better, simply because smarter costumers won't buy their product. Also, developers will know better what works in a game and what doesn't (i.e. jumping puzzles in a FPS no, interactive cut-scenes yes). This will be like natural selection for games. Those that are good get bought, those that aren't don't. It hasn't been that way in the past, but it will be by the time the next-gen rolls around.

2. Money: Games are more expensive. This makes the costumer much pickier about what he or she buys. Video game companies who have to pay a lot of money to have a game made and are gambling millions on the success of a game, will be more conscious of this and strive for more innovative, more fun games.

The video game industry is also growing at a huge rate (relative to the other art industries). This will make more people (like Spielberg) enter the game industry, leading to better and better games.

Boy was I wordy. Anyways, what does this mean for the average Joe like me or you? It means that in the future, we'll be playing great games in a regular basis. You really couldn't ask for a better outlook. Get out there and enjoy it.