As a gamer, I’m always taking a look into the future because no matter what amazing games we have or know that’s coming now, we always want more. That’s the general attitude of a gamer and that’s perfectly fine because you’re naturally going to want to play an Uncharted 2 if you’ve completed the first game and enjoyed it. And look, here it is, on the way for a Fall 2009 release.

However, while games like Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Final Fantasy XIV (yes, I’m a big fan as you can plainly see), God of War III, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Mass Effect 2, Crackdown 2, The Last Guardian and Halo: Reach (the list goes on) are known about and coming to us soon, I always find that the games I’m looking forward to the most have not even been announced yet.

I was in GameStop today, browsing through the selection of PlayStation 2 titles looking for a copy of Dark Cloud 2 (which I found) to replay it for old times sake when I realized something. The current generation of gaming doesn’t pack the same punch that the last generation (PS2, Xbox, Gamecube) of gaming did. I looked at the PlayStation 2 wall in comparison to that of PlayStation 3 and said to myself “Wow, I can pick at least ten games on just one shelf that are great.” The PlayStation 3 wall wasn’t quite the same. The Xbox 360 brought about almost the same thoughts.

I browsed the PlayStation 2 wall some more. Now keep in mind that the PlayStation 2 has been out since 2000, so it’s had almost nine years to build up such an amazing library of games. Also keep in mind that I’m a big RPG fan, so I’m going to use a lot of RPG examples in this piece as well. What I come to find are the games I love and would still prefer to play in comparison to a lot of current generation games. Dark Cloud 2, Rogue Galaxy, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2, Star Ocean: Till The End of Time, Final Fantasy X, God of War II, Okami, Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, and so many more stared me in the face, reminding me of the good ol’ days of gaming.

So many of these games or series have yet to even make a transition to the current generation. Some have, though. God of War III is on the way to PlayStation 3, Star Ocean: The Last Hope came to Xbox 360, Final Fantasy XIII, Versus XIII and XIV is coming to platforms. Others have not though, making their arrival the biggest games of the next three years. So let’s look into the future.

Kingdom Hearts 3 will finally be announced sooner or later. Square Enix knows their going to do it considering it was such a success on the PlayStation 2 and are even making spin-offs for handheld platforms. Who would have ever thought a Square Enix and Disney crossover can get so much praise? It’s basically a given that the third part to the main series is going to be announced. It’s a matter of when, now, not if.

Dark Cloud 3 has been rumored time and time again. I wouldn’t doubt the game’s creation considering the second title in the series has gotten above great reviews with several sources, including myself in this post, giving the game a perfect score. When Level 5 announces this, fans will go nuts, and expectations will be high. Let’s just not make the main character use a wrench again.

.hack// Next-Gen will also be a hit when the game’s announced. The game’s previous platform, the PS2, did not allow the series to take the game’s concept to it’s highest potential. However, with the networking capabilities found on current generation consoles, like White Knight Chronicles, I feel some actual networking with the game’s in-game “MMO” is bound to happen. That means you’ll probably see your friends playing or be able to do quests with them come the next .hack.

Jet Set Radio Next-Gen will have to be announced sooner or later. Sega can’t just drop one of their most loved franchises. The original Xbox game rocked every gamer’s socks off and a new game will be likely to do the same. We’re all waiting to see Beat grinding rails and tagging walls on our current generation platforms.

Sly Cooper 4 is bound to happen. Everybody’s been asking it, and recent teasing at Sucker Punch (developers of the series) tells us that they know we want it and are probably hard at work developing the next iteration in the sly racoon series.

Shin Megami Tensei Next-Gen should be announced in due time. Considering Atlus confirmed to Famitsu back in 2005 that they were working on a game in the series for PlayStation 3, and the recent teasing of a so called “Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey”, I’d say the announcement for this one is closer than we think. TGS is right around the corner.

Killer Instinct 3 will most likely be announced. With Rare teasing the game title every time they get the chance, one would think they’re working on the game behind the scenes. They could just be teasing us in a way that they’re poking fun at us, but Rare, being the company they are, listens to the fans and the fans have been asking for the third game for quite some time now.

Gears of War 3 is definitely going to be announced within the next three years, I’d guess a year and a half from now. The first two games was well received by gamers getting excellent review scores. For some reason, everybody just loves that Marcus Fenix guy. Even if the story’s a little on the mediocre side, the gameplay is still worth the money, so there’s no doubt that Gears 3 will be another great big game.

Mass Effect 3 should be announced by three years’ time. The second game is on track for 2010 and the first game hit 2007. Since Mass Effect is a trilogy, one where every gamer’s story is different, the last game in the series is going to be the most anticipated, because we all want to know how it ends. Mass Effect 2 isn’t even out the door yet, but here I am thinking about the third game. I’d expect this towards the end of three years.

There will probably be more, but I think it’s safe to say we can expect all these games sooner or later. If you have any more, feel free to drop a line in the comments. I could be wrong though, but this is where I see it going.