What is the Next Hot Game? 2014 version

Back in 2012, we wrote this:
http://darwinstheoryrocks.blogspot.com/search?q=what+is+next+hot+game

We thought that Temple Run would be the next hot game.  Well, we were right and wrong.  Temple Run did enjoy immense popularity.  Actually, up to now, people still play.  But it never reached the levels of PvZ or Angry Birds.

We never thought that it would be Candy Crush which would take over in 2012 and 2013.  Primarily because we thought, we saw both aesthetics and movements in other games, like Bejewelled for example, a PopCap game first made available early 2000.

We also found ourselves addicted to Candy Crush, even reaching level 250+, and sometimes still play.  We attribute it to Candy Crush's innovation and reinvention.  There is always something new.  Plus some levels are really challenging, some taking a week or 2 to finish.  We theorized before that Candy Crush would not be the favorite of Millenials.  It requires a lot of patience, repetition, and resiliency.   Early 2013, it was not surprising that the entire row of a night PAL flight from Cebu to Manila would have almost everyone playing Candy Crush.  It must have appealed to GenXers.


Late 2012, we also saw the emergence of Clash of Clans, at least in iOS.  Clash of Clans(CoC) is an MMO strategy game developed by SuperCell.  MMO stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Game.  We are not sure whether they coined that term or before the reported 8Million daily players.  Without a doubt, CoC is the hot game.  From a business perspective, SuperCell reported earnings of $892 Million, for 2013.  That is more than 2Million dollars a day of revenue!

We will write a separate (special??) blogpost on ClashofClans, as we already started to become addicted to it (now level 71).

Which leads us to our title question, what is the next hot game after Angry Birds, PvZ, Temple Run, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans?   Our answer is we don't know.  lol.

We actually predict (or maybe wish) that CoC would continue until 2015.  And the next Hot Game would start to surface in May/June 2015, which will peak in 2016.

What is the Next Hot Game?

So ano kaya ang susunod na magiging pinaka-sikat na game? 

Ang Plants vs. Zombies ay unang lumabas nung 2009.  Ang ganitong laro ay tinatawag na "Tower Defense" na uri ng laro.  Nag-bu-build ka kasi ng defense sa paggamit ng mga plants laban sa umaatakeng mga zombies.

Ang Plants vs. Zombies ang pinakasikat at pinaka-successful na video game na gawa ng PopCap.  Tinatayang lagpas 1Billion na tayo sa buong mundo ang nakalaro na nito.  May cute appeal kasi ito e, kaya nga patok sa mga bata pero patok din sa mga matatanda.

December 2009 naman unang lumabas ang Angry Birds.  Sinasabi ngang ito na ang mas malking import ng bansang Finland, kasi di ba papalubog na ang Nokia.  Tinatayang 700 Million na tao sa buong mundo ang nakalaro na ng Angry Birds.

Sa striktong klasipikasyon ng mga laro, eto ay isang "Video Puzzle Game".  Gagamit ka kasi ng konting strategy, konting physics, at maraming suwerte para matamaan ang mga baboy, sa pamamagitan ng kakaibang tirador.

Ang PvZ at Angry Birds, parehas simpleng laro na merong magandang graphics.  Ang Angry Birds meron pa ngang parang back-end story - eto yung ninakaw ng mga baboy ang mga itlog ng mga birds.  Pero ang PvZ, mas straight-forward.  Lulusob ang mga zombies, kaya kelangan mong depensahan ang bahay mo.  Parehas hindi mahirap matutunang laruin, at may addiction factor.

Sa PvZ, dahil sa dami ng Plants na puwedeng gamitin, parang milyon-milyong combinasyon ng laro ang meron.  Ang Angry Birds naman, e madali na mahirap.  Simple lang naman kasi ang dapat mong gawin, tiradorin ang mga baboy.  Kaso yun nga, kelangan ng precision, o malakas na tsamba.

Ano kaya ang next game craze?  Will it be Temple Run?  Pansin ko kasi ang daming naglalaro nito.  Di ito defense, di rin ito puzzle game.  Parang adventure naman.  Simple din ang concept, at may adik factor din.  Sobrang dali ng simula, pero pag na-addict ka na, yun na pahirap na ng pahirap talaga, so nakaka-engganyo talagang maglaro.

Malaki ang chances na eto na nga ang susunod na Hot Video Game.