I’m certainly not afraid to have opinions. Just ask anyone who knows me. In something of a Christmas tradition here at eTeknix, however, when the year comes to a close I put my supposed expertise and knowledge on the line and make a number of major predictions for the coming year. Have I always been proven right? Hell no! – But then what fun would that be if I was?…
Let us, therefore, take a look at some of the predictions I made for 2020 and see if my crystal ball needs some fresh batteries for 2021. And yes, I will be making predictions for next year too, but that’s another story for another day!
So in establishing what I got right and wrong, I suppose the best place to start would be to see exactly what I predicted. Well, here we go, and at a glance, I can already see that I might have been a little enthusiastic about certain aspects.
So, now you know what I said, let’s take a look at where I went right, wrong, or instances where I can (attempt to) justify myself as being technically correct. The best kind of correct!
If you had told anyone back in 2016 that within 4 years AMD would be on a near parity with Intel in terms of desktop PC ownership figures, people would’ve laughed at you! – Thanks to the launch of Ryzen, however, it clearly highlights just how quickly things can change in the tech world!
While I predicted the desktop market share would hit something around 45%, even I’ll admit that I didn’t expect it to be sitting at 48.9% by the end of this year. Put simply, if this trend continues (and we see no reason why not) AMD will, for the first time in 14 years, actually be the dominant (in terms of market share) CPU manufacturer. Something that, even despite owning and using 2 Ryzen CPUs in my own home systems, still boggles my mind a little!
Of all the predictions I made last year, I’ll freely admit that this was the most fanciful, and, under a different less COVID-19 related scenario, there was every possibility that Intel may have released their first gaming-based dedicated graphics card this year.
I suppose I could claim a small moral victory over the fact that various samples were found featuring their Xe graphics architecture in a dedicated design. Maybe also in the fact that when compared to AMD’s Vega APUs, Xe is notably better. In all honesty, though, I think claiming I was right under those definitions would simply be cheating!
Will it come in 2021 though? – Well, at this point, I’d rather just keep my opinions to myself.
In terms of the ‘next-gen’ console war, that I suppose is now technically current-gen, we are clearly still in the early days of seeing how this will truly pan out. There is little doubt, however, that while demand has been high for both consoles (as you might expect) the PS5 has undoubtedly been the vastly more popular (and harder to get) console for this Christmas.
Don’t get me wrong though, I think that between the two companies Microsoft has certainly been making more and better overtures towards consumers and, particularly with the Xbox Series S, I can still see their systems selling well, if not better, than their Xbox One line-up. Based on the early doors figures and consumer reaction, however, it seems abundantly clear that Sony is set to, yet again, dominate the next 5-7 years of console gaming.
I have to admit that one of my biggest disappointments of the year was that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics were (quite rightly) postponed until next year. While part of that disappointment was clearly down to the fact that I like athletics and, all going well, Great Britain was (and hopefully is when it actually starts) going to do well, it was pretty clear that Japan was pumping a lot of money into technology to showcase at the event.
Yes, admittedly, this was mostly robots, but if you don’t think robots are cool then I can’t help you! – In terms of whether I was right or wrong, however, I’m going to put this down as a DNQ (did not qualify). All going well though, I might be set to be proven right when, fingers crossed, the Olympics do successfully kick-off this Summer!
I should start by noting that I made and took no joy in making this prediction. Not, however, because I care much about the companies as a whole. In fact, specifically regarding their senior management, I suspect that when a vacancy at the top opens up, the description reads that knowing anything about gaming isn’t necessary, and lacking a heart is a ‘desirable, but not essential’ skill.
While neither company did quite go belly up this year, it’s undeniable that both organizations have had a very tough time of it. In regards to GameStop specifically, however, it has been a horrific year in terms of profitability, store closures, public relation disasters, and the amazing (and potentially borderline illegal) manner in which they attempted to bypass COVID-19 restrictions.
Put simply, while it didn’t quite happen this year, the writing remains firmly on the wall for both of these companies. Unless, of course, they finally get some people in at the top who both know how to run a business, understand the industry, and care about its staff and consumers. Forgive me though if I don’t hold my breath!
Ok, so in conclusion, I have to admit that overall I haven’t done particularly well this year. Albeit, there have certainly been more than a few instances here where I was (for better or worse) so very nearly right. All going well though, with 2021 on the horizon, maybe a more sensible year in terms of pandemics and disasters might help me get back on track!
What do you think about 2021? – Let us know YOUR predictions in the comments!
For more Mikes Rants check out the link here! – For his Ranty Christmas 2020 specific content, you can check here for the latest release! – They’ll be one every day over the holiday period!
NB. Mikes Rant is a semi-comedic opinion piece and may not reflect the opinion of eTeknix as a whole!
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