Bigwigs make predictions for 2009

Some top industry executives have been talking to the BBC about what gamers can look forward to this year.

Not a lot, according to Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux. "It's all looking a bit dry," he said. "All the triple-A titles came out this Christmas and while there is stuff in 2010 we can look forward to, off the top of my head I cannot think of anything next year that really excites me."

Molyneux also questioned whether games offer good value for money, stating, "I'm not so sure. I think we're going to see a lot of price pressure put on games."

Meanwhile, Tabula Rasa creator Richard Garriott praised Blizzard for expanding the MMO market with World of Warcraft. "They have shown all of us what good game development is all about," he said.

So much for rival NCsoft, then, who Garriott worked for up until last year. He made no mention of them, but did say he's ready to get back into game development. His new game is likely to have a "medieval fantasy" theme and will probably be online; "There's something very powerful about getting people together," according to Garriott.

Sims and Spore creator Will Wright reckons we'll see "more connected games" this year, with "more social networking rather than just multiplayer". He also said they'll be "more fractal in nature" - so where you play will affect how you interact with the game as much as what you're playing it on, or something.

Eurogamer predicts 2009 is likely to see more games where you shoot things, plus some games with cars in. What are your predictions, readers?