Near future probably would go back to traditional mixed in the special effects like lighting from software like Spritelamp and other transparency stuff. Modular animation might also rise. I'm saying this not because it would be better, but with games needing more content to stay competitive in the market, producing enough hand drawn art will get progressively more difficult (not just because of the quantity, but also because taking a long time on a project will often result in the project being cancelled). Games that use methods to ease the process will probably be more likely to be completed, regardless of success. The "going back to traditional" part is me thinking this whole simple style is a temporary trend. I'm sure with the release of games like Owl Boy and Chasm, people will start to revert back. As for further into the future, VR with the Oculus Rift will probably become pretty huge. I'm not quite sure how pixel art could fit into a VR game. The most popular instance would be the textures for Minecraft so I don't think pixels will get too associated with VR. As for more traditional gaming, I'm sure another sort of pixel art trend would pop up further on into the future. Perhaps it would be the opposite of the current one, very detailed and large art with very little animation.