Developer and publisher EA has taken the accolade of number one physical publisher in the United Kingdom during 2012. The firm has a number of successful products including FIFA 13, Mass Effect 3, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Here’s the publisher rankings based on data from GfK Chart-Track.
Out of all the great games that were released in 2012, including Kid Icarus: Uprising, Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Pokemon Conquest, Crashmo, New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, Scribblenauts Unlimited and Little Inferno, one special title is my personal favorite.
My game of the year 2012 is Wii-exclusive Rhythm Heaven Fever, also known as Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise.
For me, picking game of the year is primarily based based on one factor – fun. To date, with over 87 hours of playtime and counting, Rhythm Heaven Fever is the second most-played game on my Wii.
The music video game, developed by Nintendo and TNX, features over 50 quirky and addicting minigames that are easy-to-learn but challenging to master. From beautiful visuals to catchy music to extremely fun gameplay, Rhythm Heaven Fever has it all.
For more on why Rhythm Heaven Fever is my favorite game of 2012, read our Rhythm Heaven Fever review.
Everyone has his or her own opinions… What is your favorite game of 2012?
The Wii U was released on November 18th, 2012, in North America, and, obviously, there weren’t many video games released this year for the new console, compared to the existing PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Based on Metacritic, with a Metascore of an 87 out of 100, the best reviewed Wii U game of 2012 is BioWare’s port, Mass Effect 3: Special Edition.
The first Nintendo-published game on the website’s list of the best reviewed Wii U games of the year is New Super Mario Bros. U, with a Metascore of an 84 out of 100.
Here are the top 10 reviewed Wii U games of 2012, according to Metacritic:
24/7 Wall St., a Delaware corporation that runs a financial news and opinion operation with content delivered over the internet, declares that Sony’s latest handheld game console, the PlayStation Vita, which released globally this year, is one of the worst product flops of 2012.
The company says, that while its initial sales were promising, the overall sales of the PlayStation Vita are poor, compared to the Nintendo 3DS, smartphones and tablets.
Also on 24/7 Wall St.’s list of the worst product flops of 2012 is another Sony device – the Sony Tablet P.
Released first in Japan in December 2011 and then globally in February 2012, initial sales of the PlayStation Vita were encouraging. By the end of February, the company announced it had sold approximately 1.2 million units, followed by an additional 2 million units of software for the handheld game console. Yet sales quickly declined. From its release date to June 30, just 2.2 million PlayStation Vita units were sold, far less than the 3.6 million units Nintendo 3DS sold in just its first month. Recently, Sony has clumped sales of the Vita and its predecessor, the PSP, together to avoid highlighting embarrassing sales figures. Frequent complaints about the Vita were that the $300 price tag was too expensive and that its game lineup was both weak and small, especially given the availability of cheaper gaming through smartphones and tablets.
It’s that time of year when publishers and developers thank the fans for another great year and a Happy Holiday. Esteemed development studio Retro Studios is no exception as they’ve published a festive eCard to wish every one of you a Happy Holiday season. You can check out the animated eCard right here.
IGN has awarded New Super Mario Bros U the esteemed accolade of platformer of the year. Mario’s latest adventure was put up against Fez, Rayman Jungle Run, Sound Shapes, and Spelunky. IGN praised New Super Mario Bros U saying that it contains brutally twisted bite-sized challenge stages and some of the most insanely creative level design ever seen in the series.
The incredibly popular Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has snatched four positions in Youtube’s top trailers of 2012. The live action trailer for the game which is titled “Surprise” managed to be the most watched entertainment trailer of the year, with 35,152,507 views —overtaking the official movie trailers for both Skyfall and The Dark Knight Rises. You can view the most watched entertainment trailers of 2012 right here.
The fantastic Wii-exclusive from developer Monolith Soft, Xenoblade Chronicles, is IGN‘s choice for best Wii U/Wii game of 2012. The action role-playing game released 2010 in Japan, 2011 in Europe, and 2012 in North America.
Other nominees for IGN’s best Nintendo home console game of 2012 include Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and The Last Story.
While the Wii U had a few rather impressive launch titles (most notably New Super Mario Bros. U), it was actually the Wii and one of its very last pieces of software that stole the show in 2012. What Xenoblade Chronicles accomplished with the limited hardware at hand was an absolutely stunning achievement, providing a deep and engrossing RPG experience for a system that was severely lacking in the genre during its six year tenure. From the touching story to the memorable characters to the game’s fresh take on RPG combat, Xenoblade Chronicles is an absolutely exquisite adventure from beginning to end. Chances are you won’t even care that the game is not in HD when you’re tromping through the detailed and gorgeously varied landscapes it offers. Even if you’ve already made the jump to Wii U, this is a game that no one should miss out on–and that’s why it’s our choice for the best Nintendo home console game of the year.
Time Magazine has published its favourite games of the year, and there’s two exclusive Nintendo RPG’s featured on the list. The stunning Xenoblade Chronicles was awarded the second best game of 2012 by the publication. Mistwalker’s well-received The Last Story claimed the seventh position. Here’s the top ten as decided by Time Magazine staff.
The first issue of Nintendo Power released 1988, and its final issue launches this December. Both their covers share many resemblances and feature Nintendo’s No. 1, cheerful mascot, Super Mario.
