2012 in video games


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.
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.

Legend

Hardware releases

The list of game consoles released in 2012.
This year saw the launch of the first home console in the 8th generation of gaming, the Wii U.
The PlayStation Vita made it's launch in North America & Europe after initially releasing in Japan the previous year. Nintendo also released the first model revision to the Nintendo 3DS this year, the Nintendo 3DS XL.
Two home console revisions also came out this year, the PlayStation 3 Super Slim and the Wii Mini.
DateConsole
February 15PlayStation Vita
February 22PlayStation Vita
July 28Nintendo 3DS XL/
August 19Nintendo 3DS XL
August 23Nintendo 3DS XL
September 25PlayStation 3 Super Slim
November 18Wii U
November 30Wii U
December 7Wii Mini
December 8Wii U
December 18Neo Geo X

Highest-grossing games

The following were 2012's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide revenue across all platforms.
GameRevenuePublisherGenrePlatformBusiness model
1Call of Duty: Black Ops II$1,000,000,000Activision FPSBuy-to-play
1Crossfire$1,000,000,000Smilegate / TencentFPSWINFree-to-play
3World of Warcraft$986,000,000Blizzard Entertainment MMORPGWINSubscription
4FIFA 13EA Sports SportsBuy-to-play
5Borderlands 22K Games ARPGBuy-to-play
6World of TanksWargaming.netVehicular combatWINFree-to-play
7Pokémon Black 2 / White 2Nintendo / The Pokémon CompanyRPGDSBuy-to-play
8New Super Mario Bros. 2NintendoPlatformer3DSBuy-to-play
9Minecraft$237,000,000MojangSandboxBuy-to-play
10League of Legends$200,000,000Riot Games / TencentMOBAWINFree-to-play

Critically acclaimed titles

Review Scores of 90+

and GameRankings are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
GamePublisherRelease DatePlatformMC scoreGR score
The Walking Dead: Episode 5 – No Time LeftTelltale GamesNovember 21, 2012WIN89/10094.75%
Persona 4 GoldenAtlusJune 14, 2012PSV93/10094.16%
The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games SeriesTelltale GamesNovember 21, 2012PS394/10092.5%
Mark of the NinjaMicrosoft StudiosOctober 16, 2012WIN91/10093.33%
Super HexagonTerry CavanaghNovember 27, 2012WIN88/10093.33%
The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games SeriesTelltale GamesNovember 21, 2012WIN89/10093.2%
Mass Effect 3Electronic ArtsMarch 6, 2012X36093/10092.17%
Cave StoryNicalisOctober 4, 20123DS93/10092%
Mass Effect 3Electronic ArtsMarch 6, 2012PS393/10091.65%
JourneySony Computer EntertainmentMarch 13, 2012PS392/10092.56%
Fire Emblem AwakeningNintendoApril 19, 20123DS92/10092.52%
The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games SeriesTelltale GamesNovember 21, 2012X36092/10091.8%
Trials EvolutionMicrosoft StudiosApril 18, 2012X36090/10091.52%
DishonoredBethesda SoftworksOctober 9, 2012WIN91/10090.57%
Borderlands 22KSeptember 18, 2012PS391/10090.48%
NBA 2K132KOctober 2, 2012WIN90/10091%
Far Cry 3UbisoftDecember 4, 2012X36091/10089.14%
Mark of the NinjaMicrosoft StudiosOctober 16, 2012WIN90/10090.43%
Ōkami HDCapcomOctober 30, 2012PS390/10090.29%
Borderlands 22KSeptember 18, 2012WIN89/10090.1%
Guild Wars 2NCsoftAugust 28, 2012WIN90/10090.02%
NBA 2K132KOctober 2, 2012PS390/10089.68%
FIFA 13EA SportsSeptember 25, 2012X36090/10089.47%
Far Cry 3UbisoftDecember 4, 2012PS390/10089.18%
Dark Souls: Artorias of the AbyssNamco Bandai GamesOctober 23, 2012X36089/10090%
XCOM: Enemy Unknown2KOctober 8, 2012X36090/10088.96%
The Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of RohanTurbine, Inc.October 15, 2012WIN88/10090%

Major awards

Video game-based film and television releases

TitleDateDirectorDistributorFranchiseOriginal game publisher
Ace AttorneyFebruary 11, 2012Takashi MiikeTohoAce AttorneyCapcom
Video Game High SchoolMay 11, 2012Matthew ArnoldRocketJump Studios
Tron: UprisingMay 18, 2012Charlie BeanDisney XDTron
Talking FriendsJune 8, 2012Dylan CoburnDisney.comTalking Tom & FriendsOutfit7
Indie Game: The MovieJune 12, 2012James SwirskyBlinkWorks Media
Sword Art OnlineTomohiko ItōTokyo MX
Kyurem vs. the Sword of JusticeJuly 14, 2012Kunihiko YuyamaTohoPokémonGame Freak
Resident Evil: RetributionSeptember 3, 2012Paul W. S. AndersonSony Pictures Motion Picture GroupResident EvilCapcom
Halo: Forward Unto DawnStewart HendlerMachinima Prime
YouTube		HaloMicrosoft Game Studios
Silent Hill: RevelationOctober 26, 2012M. J. BassettAlliance Films
Metropolitan Filmexport 		Silent HillKonami
Resident Evil: DamnationOctober 27, 2012Makoto KamiyaSony Pictures Entertainment JapanResident EvilCapcom
Wreck-It RalphNovember 2, 2012Rich MooreWalt Disney Studios Motion PicturesWreck-It Ralph
Mass Effect: Paragon LostNovember 29, 2012Atsushi TakeuchiFunimationMass EffectBioWare
Minecraft: The Story of MojangDecember 22, 2012Paul Owens2 Player ProductionsMinecraftMojang