Hindsight is best sight
It's been 27 years since the Nintendo Entertainment System hit store shelves, and somehow things keep happening. As if accompanied by a black and white reel of spinning newspapers, gaming news saw stocks plummeting, studios closing, execs moaning about old consoles, and developers putting out damn good games anyway.
7. PlayStation Vita's failure to launch
2012 was a rough year for PlayStation Vita. The shiny little handheld came with the twin thumbsticks everyone asked for, the vibrant high-res screen it needed, and surprisingly un-intrusive touch/motion controls--it seemed like it should have been a no-brainer for core gamers! It was the PlayStation Portable, minus the compromises (analog nub, we're looking at you)! Finally, after years of half-measures, Sony released a portable capable of putting the console experience in our hands.
6. Grand Theft Auto Vs existence
It's a good thing Rockstar's Newswire operates online, or else we would have had at least a dozen trampling deaths each time the developer drip fed a few Grand Theft Auto V screenshots this summer. Rockstar's ridiculously guarded development cycle finally opened up this year, culminating with a big reveal as Game Informer's December cover story and its second trailer in mid-November, almost exactly a year after its first trailer debuted.
5. ArmA devs have the right to a (not so speedy) trial
Usually when "Greece" and "video game" occur in the same sentence, it's a safe bet the conversation will involve a shouting Spartan warrior peeling the flesh from mythological beasts. But a muscle-laden god killer busting down some walls may be the only way ArmA 3 developers Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar escape from Greek jail this year. The pair of Czech citizens, arrested in September for alleged espionage while vacationing in Greece, have been imprisoned for three months and denied bail.
4. Zynga goes public, executives go far away
Zynga's been like a dog without its bone after going public in December 2011. Electronic Arts smacked it with a copyright infringement lawsuit. Mass layoffs were confirmed at its satellite studios. At least a dozen of Zynga's executives haven't let the door hit them on the way out--including its chief operating and financial officers. Its $10 initial public offering is hovering just north of $2 one year later.
3. 38 Studios' Reckoning
38 Studios and its games, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and unreleased MMO Project Copernicus, were passion projects for founder Curt Schilling. The former MLB pitcher who claimed three World Series victories in his 19-year-career dipped deep into his personal fortunes to finance the studio, then proceeded with a business plan any hyperactive pre-teen could get behind: hiring his gaming buddies, dozens of veteran developers, fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, and comic book powerhouse Todd McFarlane to envision his fantasy world.
2. There's a Kickstarter born every minute
Before 2012, the economic interaction between gamer and game maker largely began and ended at the point of sale. But when Double Fine began its Adventure--promising backers a reality show-style look at Tim Schafer's return to point-and-click adventures, a voice in its production, and the actual game to boot--gamers couldn't throw their money fast enough. Since then, we've barely gone a month without another high-profile campaign emerging to break crowdfunding records.
1. Wii U touches off the next console generation
The seventh console generation lasted seven eventful years (for Nintendo at least). People can argue about Wii U's innards--that it may be technically equivalent to modern high-definition systems--but it is without a doubt the start of a new era. Thus far, it's one that allows us to easily share special moments in games and juvenile drawings with one another--sometimes not even depicting genitalia. One where "friend codes" no longer make playing together online seem kind of unfriendly.
