Top 10 Video Games of 2012

Since my last post concerned the Top 20 Highest Grossing Films of 2012, I decided to do a similar post on the highest grossing video games of 2012 (albeit the Top 10 instead of the Top 20).

Let's see which games were elite enough to snatch up a spot in the Top 10, shall we?


#10 - Kingdoms of Alamur: Reckoning

Kingdoms of Alamur is the first game made by 38 Studios, a video game developing company owned by former Red Sox player Curt Schilling. The game boasts rich story-telling and beautiful graphics, but even though it is quite popular the sales alone weren't enough to keep 38 Studios from going bankrupt due to an unpaid $75 million loan. Somebody's gonna need a finance professional ASAP.


#9 - UFC Undisputed 3

Sports games have always been popular, and the UFC franchise seems to be getting more popular every year. This third entry in the franchise has been very solid, which is good for its developer THQ who hasn't been doing so hot lately despite its other fairly well-known games (Darksiders II, Saint's Row 2, etc.). The Mixed Martial Arts of UFC seems to be here to stay.


#8 - Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

Now this is one game I've wanted to play ever since it first came out. It looks very fun, and I love that the digital characters are also figurines. And with Skylanders: Giants already out, I think this game will continue to be a hit. Wonderful job, Activision and Blizzard! Not just anyone could fuse physical toys and video games and make it successful.


#7 - Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

I have officially lost track of how many Resident Evil games and movies there are; however, the franchise is aptly named. This Evil is definitely Residing and not going anywhere any time soon. Sure, critics really didn't like this particular game, but from what I've seen over the past few years fans will always buy virtually anything related to their fandom no matter what the critics say.


#6 - Battlefield 3

One of the biggest rivalries in the video game industry is between Battlefield and Call of Duty, mainly because the two games are so incredibly similar. Some people dared to hope that Battlefield 3 would beat CoD: Modern Warfare 3 in terms of sales, but that didn't happen. Nevertheless, the game was still popular enough to grab the #6 spot in the 2012 Top 10 list. And, hey, that's pretty good if you ask me.


#5 - Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Bethesda Softworks created a real winner with Skyrim. It's an incredibly popular game. After all, it won the most Game of the Year awards in 2011, is the highest-selling game of the entire Elder Scrolls franchise, and solf 3.4 million copies in its first two days on the market. If that's not successful, then I don't know what is. I will also refrain from pointing out that this fifth Elder Scrolls game is in the #5 position on this list... never mind, I guess I just did.


#4 - Just Dance 3

Like sports games, dance games also seem to be here to stay. I've never played a dance game before, but I'm pretty sure I would fail miserably. Also I prefer to waltz and swing than dance the "popular way," but I digress... What's different about Just Dance 3 is that it's consistently been a top seller ever since 2009, and global sales have just gone over the 7 million mark. Skyrim has a ways to go to catch up.


#3 - NBA 2K12

Ah, more sports games. There's really not much to say about Take-Two Interactive's NBA 2K12 besides the fact that it's a basketball game and it's already sold 5 million copies (whether that's a domestic or global total has yet to be revealed).


#2 - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

And here is the winner of the Battlefield vs. Call of Duty rivalry... for now, at least. Even though Modern Warfare 3 is in the #2 overall position, Activision-Blizzard is still not incredibly happy with the game's sales. That's because two of its predecessors - Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops - have done much better. Still, the #2 position is nothing to be ashamed of. Add to that, Activision-Blizzard also has the #8 position with Skylanders. I'd say they're in a pretty good position, wouldn't you?


And the #1 Highest Grossing Video Game of 2012 iiiiiiiis.....

(Drum roll)


#1 - Mass Effect 3

Welcome to the #1 spot, Commander Shepherd. Despite player complaints about the game's ending, Mass Effect 3 was the most popular game of the 2012 gaming season, outselling hundreds of other games domestically and (likely) globally. BioWare hit a real winner with this one, even though it also had to offer a free downloadable pack to explain the ending to its players. Congradulations, Electronic Arts and BioWare, on having the highest grossing game of 2012. I wonder what you'll have in store for us in the years to come?


And there you have it: the Top 10 Highest Grossing Video Games of 2012 (courtesy of CNBC).

One thing that surprised me, though, is that this list did not contain the recently released Halo 4. However, since that game was released not all that long ago, maybe it will make most of its money in the 2013 season. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Thank you for a fun year of gaming, 2012.

Let's see what impression you'll make, 2013.




 - Edessa, signing off