2012: Video Game’s Annus Horribilis
We’ve come to the end of yet another year and it’s time again to reflect on the last 12 months and what it has meant for video games.
2012 was a promising year and a significant one for the world of video games. Hundreds of wonderful games graced our hardware this year and we were also treated to two brand new video game consoles; the PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo Wii U.
But for the video game industry as a whole, 2012 was a horrible year full of negativity, baseless hate and baffling predictions that would give the Mayans a run for their money.
2012 started out with the PlayStation Vita launch in February but not after an entire month of slander in the media thanks to its less than phenomenal Japanese debut. Apparently if a console doesn’t sell out on day one, it’s instantly labeled a “flop”.
PlayStation Vita also held the honor of the first console to receive widespread review ratings. Most new consoles will be reviewed by the gaming and technology media, but with the omission of a score. This is due to the fact that new consoles launch at different times, in different years. It’s impossible to review them against the competition because the competition usually has several months or years on sale to its advantage. Oh how the times have changed.
As the year rolled on, E3 was held in June and negativity hit fever pitch. In stead of E3 being a week-long celebration of the video game industry, the convention was transformed into the perspex sheet used as a target by gorillas to hurl their fecal matter.
Microsoft’s conference “sucked”, Sony’s Wonderbook presentation was slammed and Nintendo? After already battling an entire year full of negativity previously, Nintendo managed to attract the worst attention yet again, despite revealing well over 50 new games and a new video game console.
None were slammed in the media more than Nintendo this year. The veteren video game company was taking assaults from all sides; Wii U was too confusing, too many Mario games in one year, not enough games being released, Wii sales declining for “some reason”, Nintendo 3DS XL proves Nintendo has no idea about handheld consoles.
It was a non-stop barrage of bad press for no apparent reason.
Even with the launch of the Wii U console which marked a new generation of video game consoles and kicked off another 5 years of innovation from the worlds most innovative company, the negativity didn’t stop.
One single journalist’s report of installing Wii U’s “day one update” was all it took to mar the launch of Wii U. Ben Fritz got his 15 minutes of fame after complaining about Wii U’s “5GB” download and how it would brick the console should you be intelligent enough to get bored and pull the cord out mid-install.
Of course, Fritz was completely wrong but that didn’t stop the barrage of bad press (which is still going on today).
If there was a console manufacturer who was let off the hook this year it was undoubtably Microsoft who played it safe. Even their baffling and useless “SmartGlass” application for Xbox 360 and tablets seemed to scoot past widespread criticism.
The video game industry was also blamed for two horrendous massacres in the USA this year. It wasn’t long after the massacre at Colorado that the media lunged at video games, slamming World of Warcraft and a game that doesn’t exist, “Soldiers of Misfortune” (unless they mean the “Army Men” game…) for turning out a cold-blooded killer. Apparently, even Guitar Hero will warp ones mind into doing unforgivable acts.
Most recently, the Sandy Hook shooting was also blamed on video games. This time it was Counter Strike, but the NRA were quick to also blame Call of Duty, Mortal Kombat and yet another game that doesn’t exist, Kindergarten Killer.
But for all the horrible tantrums the gaming (and other) press threw this year, 2012 was also a fantastic year for those who actually love playing video games.
Australia moved to abolish a pathetic law that prohibited the sale of R18+ games in Australia. The rating is set to go live from January 2013, but we’ll have to wait and see what it means for all the games that would normally be rated MA15+.
Also in Australia, EB Expo this year was one of the biggest gaming expos ever held in Australia and was pretty damn awesome. It also helped convince PAX to head down-under, which it will be doing so for the first time in 2013.
2012 was also full of fantastic, big budget games, such as ZombiU, Hitman Absolution and Assassins Creed III.
And for Aussie-Gamer, this year has been phenomenal. We became the first to give away a Nintendo Wii U console in the world. We became the first website to have a review featured on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. We also conducted some great interviews, such as our in-depth chat with the guys from Aussie studio Nnooo.
2013 is a year our team is very much looking forward to and we know that all real gamers are just as eager. PAX AUS is shaping up to be awesome, the Wii U is slated to receive a new batch of games we can’t even dream about and rumours are surrounding new consoles from both Sony and Microsoft.
Let us all just hope that 2013 brings with it a little more optimism.
