So, here it is. The top ten best selling games of last year across all platforms according to IGN.com
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops
2. Madden NFL '11
3. Halo: Reach
4. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
5. Red Dead Redemption
6. Wii Fit Plus
7. Just Dance 2
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
9. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
10. NBA 2K11
Not sure how I feel about this as a whole. We all knew that Black Ops was going to be up there at number one, but the big shock to me was the fact that Wii games and sports games sell so well. This is the year when Heavy Rain, Final Fantasy 13, Uncharted 2, Enslaved, and tonnes of other great games were released.
I don't feel as though the games in this top ten are very interesting: three shooters, two sports games, two simulators, a platformer, an action/adventure and an sandbox RPG. Red Dead Redemption is a great experimental game that tried something new and gave something totally original. Modern Warfare 2 was the peak of shooters for me, but the rest of the games on this list seem so boring. Maybe it's because I haven't enjoyed a Halo game since number 2 or maybe it's because I haven't been able to look at a Mario game since Super Mario World on my original Gameboy. Maybe it's because I don't particularly like sports games.
The big thing that I'm worrying about is that I think the list of best selling games of the year reflects the rom-com-esque appeal of a bland, all encompassing game that throws as many 'new features' and as few actual changes as possible. I'm not even sure I feel this way, but seeing Mario, CoD, Masterchief and Ezio in the top ten makes me afraid... very afraid. Look what Mario did... Black Ops was the biggest entertainment launch in history, BUT Super Mario Bros. Wii still outsold it slowly and utterly, like a moustachioed, italian python swallowing a cocky, bombastic deer (CoD)...
Ok so I trailed off a bit at the end, but I don't care..
DannyDarko
Oh you master of wit and pun! To be frank, I completely agree with you. Black Ops (dissapointment aside) was undoubtedly going to be the top, but I was shocked with the amount of sports games at the top. Although I was honestly expecting a couple of casual games in there. Willing to bet that iphone games will be in the top ten for 2011? Had I money, I would certainly bet on it.
ReplyDeleteI never even considered iPhone games! These were the top ten across console and pc games... Sorry if that was unclear. I'll look into iPhone games and facebook games because I know they've been the fastest growing game genre in history, something like 500% growth in one year... I'll get back to you
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