The 50 games that defined 2012: Part 2
50 games… that’s a little much? I mean all games generally contribute something to the industry even if they are awesome, suck, or are just ok. A more narrowed list or something more specific like “lessons to learn in 2012” would’ve been a little more insightful.
Yea. 50 games, lol. The title can say “The 50 Games OF 2012”
Yea. 50 games, lol. The title can say “The 50 Games OF 2012”
Except 2012 had a large number game games released.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_in_video_gaming
Feel free to count them all.
Yeah GW2 defined 2012 alright, as probably the most buggy triple A title in recent history.
Yeah GW2 defined 2012 alright, as probably the most buggy triple A title in recent history.
Well at least their dragons aren’t flying backwards due to an unrelated bugfix.
Diablo III
Blizzard
Blizzard Entertainment’s Diablo III was plagued with tons of issues on launch, from server stability problems and missing features (player vs. player still isn’t in the game yet) to deep-seated design criticisms related to the in-game auction house, real-money trading, and un-fun endgame grind — but none of that stopped the game from setting a new record as the fastest-selling PC game to date or passing 10 million sales. Is Diablo III an example of what’s wrong with the risk-averse triple-A game industry, or simply a strong brand doing business as usual? Probably a little bit of both.
It was an unmitigated disaster, see “Dear Money” the viral forum post and their reaction to it to see, or any of jay wilson’s post release interviews that man should never work in the industry again, EVER.
A little bit of both? yes a lil bit of fail, a little bit of hubris both combined into one terrible game, however I hear they swallowed some of their rubbish and actually started listening for a change. But the game sold by product recognition alone, and for that Blizzard are HATED for exploiting a loved title like that, by it’s original creator and all.
Verdict: Should be a lesson learned for the industry. thus it’s influential as a horror story to tell little dev’s at bed-time
Draw Something
Omgpop, Zynga
We hate to say we told you so, but it turned out that yeah, Zynga probably spent way too much money when it essentially bought mobile game hit Draw Something (and its developer, Omgpop) for an eyebrow-raising $180 million at the end of a bidding war.
The game was a rising star with growth that seemed limitless — there was even a deal for a network TV show — but even the most popular games must plateau at some point. And Draw Something plateaued fast.
The fad seems to have gone away, with Draw Something players abandoning ship so fast that Zynga blamed them for being a major contributor in two consecutive quarterly losses that have seen investors abandoning the company faster than, well, Draw Something players.
HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!
Verdict: roflololololcopters
Dear Esther
thechineseroom
When you first enter the lonely island of Dear Esther (pictured at top), you’re not really sure where you’re supposed to go, or what you’re supposed to do. And that’s part of the beauty of it. Dear Esther struck a rare balance between a distinct narrative vision and a unique brand of player agency. The result was an experience that flew in the face of the heavy-handed story-telling that is so prevalent in video games today, and launched a meaningful (and continuing) discussion about what a “video game” can be. Other developers, whether indie or part of major studios, would do well to closely examine how Dear Esther’s unique approach to narrative left a heavy emotional impact on players. Hopefully others will take thechineseroom’s experimental ideas even further.
Isn’t this just another mod game, remade with better graphics and a price tag?
Sure it’s BEAUTIFUL and all that, but it’s just another interactive story, not a “game”
Verdict: it’s NOT a game
Irony…. xD
Gamasutra says, “Guild Wars 2 became the triple-A MMO success story of 2012, something the game industry needed.”
Grats ANet!
Yea. 50 games, lol. The title can say “The 50 Games OF 2012”
Except 2012 had a large number game games released.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_in_video_gaming
Feel free to count them all.
I’m sure this list is wrong.
I mean, what about those games released for Android. And Facebook. And Chinese Facebook. And..
We should count them too, right?
I dunno why we’d talk about 50 games in the year when at least 48 of them aren’t ArenaNet’s.
