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Numerous video games were released in 2012. Many awards went to games such as Madden NFL 13 , NBA 2K13 , WWE '13 , Borderlands 2 , Far Cry 3 , Journey , Mass Effect 3 , Dishonored , The Walking Dead and XCOM: Enemy Unknown . The year began with the worldwide release of Sony's handheld game console, the PlayStation Vita, originally launched in Japan in December 2011. The end of the year marked the worldwide release of Nintendo's home game console, the Wii U.
Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
The following were 2012's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide revenue (including physical sales, digital purchases, subscriptions, microtransactions, free-to-play and pay-to-play) across all platforms (including mobile, PC and console platforms).
| No. | Game | Revenue | Publisher(s) | Genre | Platform(s) | Business model | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Call of Duty: Black Ops II | $1,000,000,000 | Activision (Activision Blizzard) | FPS | Multi-platform | Buy-to-play | [9] |
| Crossfire | $1,000,000,000 | Smilegate / Tencent | FPS | PC | Free-to-play | [10] | |
| 3 | World of Warcraft | $986,000,000 | Blizzard Entertainment (Activision Blizzard) | MMORPG | PC | Subscription | [11] |
| 4 | FIFA 13 | $444,000,000 | EA Sports (Electronic Arts) | Sports | Multi-platform | Buy-to-play | [12] [13] |
| 5 | Borderlands 2 | $300,000,000 | 2K Games | ARPG | Multi-platform | Buy-to-play | [14] [15] |
| 6 | World of Tanks | $280,000,000 | Wargaming.net | Vehicular combat | PC | Free-to-play | [16] |
| 7 | Pokémon Black 2 / White 2 | $267,000,000 | Nintendo / The Pokémon Company | RPG | DS | Buy-to-play | [17] [18] |
| 8 | New Super Mario Bros. 2 | $238,000,000 | Nintendo | Platformer | 3DS | Buy-to-play | [17] [19] |
| 9 | Minecraft | $237,000,000 | Mojang | Sandbox | Multi-platform | Buy-to-play | [20] |
| 10 | League of Legends | $200,000,000 | Riot Games / Tencent | MOBA | PC | Free-to-play | [21] |
| Month | Day(s) | Event |
|---|---|---|
| February | 3-29 | Sega reduces western business after the release of Binary Domain, and focuses on digital on PC and Mobile |
| March | 5–9 | Game Developers Conference 2012 held in San Francisco, California. |
| April | 6–8 | PAX East 2012 held in Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. |
| May | 2-5 | Korean e-Sports Association, Ongamenet, Blizzard Entertainment and GOM TV announced the introduction of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty to professional competitions in South Korea with StarCraft: Brood War being completely phased out in October. [22] |
| June | 5–7 | E3 2012 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. [23] |
| July | 7-9 | Metal Gear franchise completes 25 years. |
| August | 2–5 | QuakeCon 2012: The massive annual LAN party held in Dallas, Texas. |
| 15–19 | Gamescom 2012 held in Cologne, Germany. | |
| 24-31 | Street Fighter franchise completes 25 years. | |
| September | 20-23 | Tokyo Game Show 2012 held in Chiba, Japan. |
| 26-29 | Eurogamer Expo 2012 held in Earls Court, London. | |
| October | 24 | Polygon is launched. |
| December | 7-9 | Spike Video Game Awards |
| 17-19 | Mega Man franchise completes 25 years. |
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2024) |
The list of game consoles released in 2012 in North America.
| Month | Day | Console |
|---|---|---|
| February | 15 | PlayStation Vita |
| August | 19 | Nintendo 3DS XL |
| September | 25 | PlayStation 3 Super Slim |
| November | 18 | Wii U |
| December | 7 | Wii mini (Canada only) |
| 18 | Neo Geo X |
Series with new installments in 2012 include Alan Wake , Assassin's Creed , Borderlands , Call of Duty , Counter-Strike , Darksiders , Dead or Alive , Diablo , Fable , Far Cry , Forza Motorsport , Guild Wars , Halo , Hitman , Mario Party , Marvel vs. Capcom , Mass Effect , Max Payne , Medal of Honor , Modern Combat , Need for Speed , Ninja Gaiden , PlanetSide , Pokémon , Prototype , Resident Evil , Silent Hill , Sniper Elite , Spec Ops , Super Mario , Tekken , The Darkness , Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon , Transformers , Trials, X-COM and Yakuza.
In addition, 2012 saw the introduction of several new properties, including Asura's Wrath , Dishonored , Gravity Rush , Journey , Lollipop Chainsaw , Sleeping Dogs and Forza Horizon .
The list of games released in 2012 in North America.
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2003 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Tony Hawk's Underground, Madden NFL 2004, NBA Live 2004, ESPN NBA Basketball, Saya no Uta: The Song of Saya, Final Fantasy X-2, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Sonic Heroes, Postal 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, and WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain. New intellectual properties included Beyond Good & Evil, Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand, Call of Duty, Disgaea, Drakengard, Manhunt, PlanetSide, TrackMania, True Crime: Streets of LA, and Viewtiful Joe.
2005 saw the release of many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, Resident Evil 4, Black & White 2, Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, Mario Kart DS, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Myst V: End of Ages, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, alongside prominent new releases including Brain Age, F.E.A.R., Forza Motorsport, Dinosaur King, God of War, Guild Wars, Guitar Hero, Nintendogs, Onechanbara, Shadow of the Colossus, Madden NFL 06, NBA Live 06, NBA 2K6, WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2006, and Sniper Elite. The seventh generation of video game consoles also began with the launch of the Xbox 360, while the Nintendo DS launched in PAL regions.
Gearbox Software is an American video game development company based in Frisco, Texas. It was established as a limited liability company in February 1999 by five developers formerly of Rebel Boat Rocker. Randy Pitchford, one of the founders, serves as president and chief executive officer. Gearbox initially created expansions for the Valve game Half-Life, then ported that game and others to console platforms. In 2005, Gearbox launched its first independent set of games, Brothers in Arms, on console and mobile devices. It became their flagship franchise and spun off a comic book series, television documentary, books, and action figures. Their second original game series, Borderlands, commenced in 2009, and by 2015 had sold over 26 million copies. The company also owns the intellectual property of Duke Nukem and Homeworld.
The year 2000 saw the release of numerous video games as well as the launch of the PlayStation 2. Critically acclaimed games originally released in 2000 include sequels such as Madden NFL 2001, NBA Live 2001, NBA 2K1, WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role, Baldur's Gate II, Diablo II, Dragon Quest VII, Final Fantasy IX, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, NFL 2K1, Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, Spyro: Year of the Dragon, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, along with new intellectual properties such as Deus Ex, Jet Set Radio, Perfect Dark, Skies of Arcadia, The Sims, SSX, Vagrant Story, and Sin and Punishment. The year's best-selling home video games worldwide were Pokémon games for the third year in a row, while the highest-grossing arcade game in Japan was Virtua Striker 2.
1998 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as F-Zero X, Marvel vs. Capcom, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil 2, Metal Gear Solid, Glover, Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Gex: Enter the Gecko, Fallout 2, Return to Krondor and Tomb Raider III, along with new titles such as Banjo-Kazooie, Half-Life, MediEvil, Radiant Silvergun, Spyro the Dragon, StarCraft and Xenogears.
Pokémon is a series of video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company under the Pokémon media franchise. It was created by Satoshi Tajiri with assistance from Ken Sugimori, the first games, Pocket Monsters Red and Green, were released in 1996 in Japan for the Game Boy, later released outside of Japan as Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version. The main series of role-playing video games (RPGs), referred as the "core series" by their developers, has continued on each generation of Nintendo's handhelds. The most recently released core series games, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, were released on November 18, 2022, for the Nintendo Switch.
2006 saw the release of many sequels and prequels in video games, prominently including Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, Madden NFL 07, NBA Live 07, NBA 2K7, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007, Tony Hawk's Project 8, New Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, alongside many prominent new releases including Bully, Company of Heroes, Dead Rising, Gears of War, Just Cause, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, Ōkami, Prey, Resistance: Fall of Man, Saints Row, and Thrillville. Two new home consoles were released during the year: Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3.
2007 saw many new installments in established video game franchises, such as Madden NFL 08, NBA Live 08, NBA 2K8, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008, Super Mario Galaxy, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Halo 3, God of War II, Team Fortress 2, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. New intellectual properties included Assassin's Creed, BioShock, Crackdown, Crysis, Mass Effect, Portal, Rock Band, Skate, The Darkness, The Witcher, and Uncharted.
Tony Hawk's is a skateboarding video game series published by Activision and endorsed by the American professional skateboarder of the same name. The series was primarily developed for home consoles by Neversoft with an annual release schedule from launch to 2007, until Activision transferred the franchise to Robomodo in 2008, who developed the franchise on a non-annual release basis until 2015 when Activision and Hawk's license expired, leaving the future of the series uncertain. In 2020, the series returned under Activision with a remake of the original two games in the series, with development handled by Vicarious Visions. The series has spawned a total of 20 games.
Numerous video games were released in 2010. Many awards went to games such as Red Dead Redemption, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Mass Effect 2, God of War III and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Kinect from Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 was also released this year.
The 2010s was the fifth decade in the industry's history. The decade was notable for producing the first truly "3D" games and consoles, introducing cloud gaming and virtual reality to consumers, and the rising influence of tablet-based and mobile casual games, including a boom in freemium titles. The industry remained heavily dominated by the actions of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. The eighth generation of video game consoles was released, including the Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, and PlayStation Vita. Notable games released in the decade included Minecraft, Fortnite, PUBG: Battlegrounds,Grand Theft Auto V, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Last of Us, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Red Dead Redemption, Marvel's Spider-Man, Dark Souls, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Batman: Arkham City, BioShock Infinite, Dishonored, Halo: Reach,Mass Effect 2, Disco Elysium, Undertale, Overwatch, Super Mario Odyssey, Red Dead Redemption 2, L.A. Noire,Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Far Cry 3, Destiny, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, The Walking Dead, Persona 5,Dragon Age: Inquisition, Portal 2, Diablo III, Horizon Zero Dawn, Journey, Shovel Knight, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Wolfenstein: The New Order, Death Stranding, Titanfall 2, Xenoblade Chronicles,Cuphead, Alien: Isolation, Fallout 4, and God of War.
Video gaming in the United States is one of the fastest-growing entertainment industries in the country. The American video game industry is the largest video game industry in the world. According to a 2020 study released by the Entertainment Software Association, the yearly economic output of the American video game industry in 2019 was $90.3 billion, supporting over 429,000 American jobs. With an average yearly salary of about $121,000, the latter figure includes over 143,000 individuals who are directly employed by the video game business. Additionally, activities connected to the video game business generate $12.6 billion in federal, state, and local taxes each year. World Economic Forum estimates that by 2025 the American gaming industry will reach $42.3 billion while worldwide gaming industry will possibly reach US$270 billion. The United States is one of the nations with the largest influence in the video game industry, with video games representing a significant part of its economy.
Borderlands 2 is a 2012 action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K. Taking place five years following the events of Borderlands (2009), the game is again set on the planet of Pandora. The story follows a new group of Vault Hunters who must ally with the Crimson Raiders, a resistance group made up of civilian survivors and guerrilla fighters, to defeat the tyrannical Handsome Jack before he can unlock the power of a new Vault. The game features the ability to explore the in-game world and complete main missions and optional side quests, either in offline splitscreen, single-player or online cooperative gameplay. Like its predecessor, the game features a procedurally generated loot system which is capable of generating numerous combinations of weapons and other gear.
Numerous video games were released in 2013. Many awards went to games such as Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, WWE 2K14, NBA Live 14, BioShock Infinite, Grand Theft Auto V, The Last of Us and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. New video game consoles released in 2013 include the PlayStation 4 from Sony Computer Entertainment and the Xbox One from Microsoft.
The year 2014 saw a number of events in the video game industry. No new major consoles were released, but updates and upgrades were: the New Nintendo 3DS was released in Japan and Oceania, and Sony released new model 2000 PS Vita systems in Europe & North America. In video game-related corporate acquisitions, Amazon purchased the online video game streaming service Twitch, and Facebook acquired the virtual reality company and product Oculus. Nintendo released Amiibo in 2014, companion figurines that could be scanned by the 3DS and Wii U systems. On Twitter and other Internet social media, the Gamergate controversy began.
NBA 2K13 is a 2012 basketball video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K. It was released on September 19, 2012 for the Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. A version for the Wii U was also released as a launch title in North America, and in December for the PAL region. Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls are the cover athletes, and they are all shown in dunking positions. NBA 2K13 is the successor to NBA 2K12, succeeded by NBA 2K14 in the NBA 2K series and is the fourteenth installment in the 2K series. The game was executive produced by rapper Jay-Z, who designed the game and curated its soundtrack. It is also the fourth and last NBA 2K game to be released on both the Wii and PlayStation Portable, the only installment available on the Wii U, and the last to be available on pure handheld systems.
The year 2015 saw releases of numerous video games as well as a follow-up to Nintendo's portable 3DS console, the New Nintendo 3DS. Top-rated games originally released in 2015 included Madden NFL 16, NBA 2K16, NBA Live 16, WWE 2K16, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Bloodborne, Undertale, and Fallout 4. Sales of video games in 2015 reached $61 billion, according to analysis firm SuperData, an 8% increase from 2014. Of this, the largest sector was in computer game sales and subscription services, accounting for $32 billion. Mobile games revenues were at $25.1 billion, a 10% increase from 2014. Digital sales on consoles made up the remaining $4 billion.
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