2012 in video games explained

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 . 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.

Critically acclaimed titles

Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.

2012 games and expansions scoring at least 90/100 (MC) or 90% (GR)^[1] ^[2]
Game	Publisher	Release Date	Platform	MC score	GR score
The Walking Dead: Episode 5 – No Time Left	Telltale Games	November 21, 2012	Windows	89/100	94.75%
Persona 4 Golden	Atlus	June 14, 2012	PlayStation Vita	93/100	94.16%
The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series	Telltale Games	November 21, 2012	PlayStation 3	94/100	92.5%
Mark of the Ninja	Microsoft Studios	October 16, 2012	Windows	91/100	93.33%
Super Hexagon	Terry Cavanagh	November 27, 2012	Windows	88/100	93.33%^[3]
The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series	Telltale Games	November 21, 2012	Windows	89/100	93.2%
Mass Effect 3	Electronic Arts	March 6, 2012	Xbox 360	93/100	92.17%
Cave Story	Nicalis	October 4, 2012	Nintendo 3DS	93/100	92%
Mass Effect 3	Electronic Arts	March 6, 2012	PlayStation 3	93/100	91.65%
Journey	Sony Computer Entertainment	March 13, 2012	PlayStation 3	92/100	92.56%
Fire Emblem Awakening	Nintendo	April 19, 2012	Nintendo 3DS	92/100^[4]	92.52%^[5]
The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series	Telltale Games	November 21, 2012	Xbox 360	92/100	91.8%
Trials Evolution	Microsoft Studios	April 18, 2012	Xbox 360	90/100	91.52%
Dishonored	Bethesda Softworks	October 9, 2012	Windows	91/100	90.57%
Borderlands 2	2K	September 18, 2012	PlayStation 3	91/100	90.48%
NBA 2K13	2K	October 2, 2012	Windows	90/100	91%^[6]
Far Cry 3	Ubisoft	December 4, 2012	Xbox 360	91/100	89.14%
Mark of the Ninja	Microsoft Studios	October 16, 2012	Windows	90/100	90.43%
Ōkami HD	Capcom	October 30, 2012	PlayStation 3	90/100	90.29%
Borderlands 2	2K	September 18, 2012	Windows	89/100	90.1%
Guild Wars 2	NCsoft	August 28, 2012	Windows	90/100	90.02%
NBA 2K13	2K	October 2, 2012	PlayStation 3	90/100	89.68%
FIFA 13	EA Sports	September 25, 2012	Xbox 360	90/100	89.47%
Far Cry 3	Ubisoft	December 4, 2012	PlayStation 3	90/100	89.18%
	Namco Bandai Games	October 23, 2012	Xbox 360	89/100	90%^[7]
	2K	October 8, 2012	Xbox 360	90/100	88.96%
	Turbine, Inc.	October 15, 2012	Windows	88/100	90%^[8]

Highest-grossing games

The following were 2012's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide revenue (including physical sales, digital purchases, subscriptions, microtransactions, free-to-play and pay-to-play) across all platforms (including mobile, PC and console platforms).

	Game	Revenue	Publisher(s)	Genre	Platform(s)	Business model
1		$1,000,000,000		FPS	Multi-platform	Buy-to-play	^[9]
1	Crossfire	$1,000,000,000	Smilegate / Tencent	FPS	PC	Free-to-play	^[10]
3	World of Warcraft	$986,000,000		MMORPG	PC	Subscription	^[11]
4	FIFA 13			Sports	Multi-platform	Buy-to-play	^[12] ^[13]
5	Borderlands 2		2K Games	ARPG	Multi-platform	Buy-to-play	^[14] ^[15]
6	World of Tanks		Wargaming.net	Vehicular combat	PC	Free-to-play	^[16]
7	Pokémon Black 2 / White 2		Nintendo / The Pokémon Company	RPG	DS	Buy-to-play	^[17] ^[18]
8	New Super Mario Bros. 2		Nintendo	Platformer	3DS	Buy-to-play	^[19]
9	Minecraft	$237,000,000	Mojang	Sandbox	Multi-platform	Buy-to-play	^[20]
10	League of Legends	$200,000,000	Riot Games / Tencent	MOBA	PC	Free-to-play	^[21]

Events

Month	Day(s)	Event
February	3-29	Sega reduces western business after the release of Binary Domain, and focuses on digital on PC and Mobile
March	5–9	Game Developers Conference 2012 held in San Francisco, California.
April	6–8	PAX East 2012 held in Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
May	2-5	Korean e-Sports Association, Ongamenet, Blizzard Entertainment and GOM TV announced the introduction of to professional competitions in South Korea with being completely phased out in October.^[22]
June	5–7	E3 2012 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.^[23]
July	7-9	Metal Gear franchise completes 25 years.
August	2–5	QuakeCon 2012: The massive annual LAN party held in Dallas, Texas.
	15–19	Gamescom 2012 held in Cologne, Germany.
	24-31	Street Fighter franchise completes 25 years.
September	20-23	Tokyo Game Show 2012 held in Chiba, Japan.
September	26-29	Eurogamer Expo 2012 held in Earls Court, London.
October	24	Polygon is launched.
December	7-9	Spike Video Game Awards
December	17-19	Mega Man franchise completes 25 years.

Notable deaths

September 3 – Michael Clarke Duncan, 54, actor (Balrog in , Benjamin King in Saints Row, Atlas in God of War II)^[24]
September 11 – Ian Abercrombie, 77, actor (Palpatine in and , Alexander Mayhew in )^[25]

Hardware releases

The list of game consoles released in 2012 in North America.

Month	Day	Console
February	15	PlayStation Vita
August	19	Nintendo 3DS XL
September	25	PlayStation 3 Super Slim
November	18	Wii U
December	7	Wii mini (Canada only)
December	18	Neo Geo X

Series with new entries

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.

Game releases

The list of games released in 2012 in North America.

January–March


Month	Day	Title	Platform(s)
J A N U A R Y	4	Katawa Shoujo	Win
	4	NFL Blitz	PSN, XBLA
	6	Q.U.B.E.	Win
	10	Choplifter HD	Win
		Crazy Machine Elements	PSN
		Mecho Wars	PSN
	11	Amy	XBLA
	12	Run Roo Run	iOS
	12	Zen Pinball 3D	3DS
	17	Amy	PSN
		Dustforce	Win
		Zack Zero	PS3
	18	Caverns of Minos	iOS
		Haunt	XBLA
		Scarygirl	PSN, Win, XBLA
	19		Win
	19	Sonic the Hedgehog CD	Win
	22	Jurassic Park: The Game - Episode 3: The Depths	iOS
	25	Oil Rush	Win, Lin, Mac
		Puddle	XBLA
			Win
	26	Dead Block	Win
		Mutant Mudds	3DS
		Tropico 3: Gold Edition	Mac
	27		Win
	30		iOS
	31	Puddle	PSN
		Final Fantasy XIII-2	PS3, X360
		NeverDead	PS3, X360
		Soulcalibur V	PS3, X360
F E B R U A R Y	1	Double Fine Happy Action Theater	X360
	2		iOS
		Mortal Kombat: Arcade Kollection	Win
		PixelJunk Eden	Win
			3DS
	3	The Simpsons Arcade Game	XBLA
	7	The Darkness II	Win, PS3, X360
		Gotham City Impostors	Win, PSN
		Jak and Daxter Collection	PS3
			Win, PS3, X360
			3DS
		Shank 2	Win, PSN
		The House of the Dead III	PSN
		The Simpsons Arcade Game	PSN
	8	Gotham City Impostors	XBLA
	8	Shank 2	XBLA
	9	Jagged Alliance: Back in Action	Win
	10	Dariusburst Second Prologue	iOS
	13	Rhythm Heaven Fever	Wii
	14		PS3, X360, PSVita
		Crusader Kings II	Win
		Grand Slam Tennis 2	PS3, X360
		Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games	3DS
		Tales of the Abyss	3DS
			3DS
		Twisted Metal	PS3
		UFC Undisputed 3	PS3, X360
		Worms Ultimate Mayhem	PSN
	15		PSVita
		Dear Esther	Win, Mac
		F1 2011	PSVita
		Little Deviants	PSVita
			PSVita
		Rayman Origins	PSVita
			PSVita
		Warp	XBLA
	16	Alan Wake	Win
	16	Beat Sneak Bandit	iOS
	17	ZiGGURAT	iOS
	21	Asura's Wrath	PS3, X360
		Cliff Diving	PSVita
			3DS
		Syndicate	Win, PS3, X360
			PSVita
		WWE WrestleFest	iOS
		Zuma's Revenge!	NDS
	22	1000 Amps	Windows
		Alan Wake's American Nightmare	XBLA
		Army Corps of Hell	PSVita
			PSVita
		Dillon's Rolling Western	3DS
			PSVita
		Dynasty Warriors Next	PSVita
		Escape Plan	PSVita
		Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational	PSVita
		FIFA Football	PSVita
		Hustle Kings	PSVita
			PSVita
			PSVita
		Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus	PSVita
		Plants vs. Zombies	PSVita
		Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen	PSVita
		Super Stardust Delta	PSVita
		Touch My Katamari	PSVita
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3		PSVita
Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition		PSVita
Wipeout 2048		PSVita
23		Win
24	Gridrunner iOS	iOS
27	Ib	Win
		Wii
	Zombies, Run!	iOS
28	Auditorium	Win, Mac
	Binary Domain	PS3, X360
	Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2	PS3
	Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition	PS3, X360
	Primal	PSN
		NDS
	SSX	PS3, X360
29	Microsoft Flight	Win
	Nexuiz	XBLA
	Prince of Persia Classic	iOS
	Wakfu	Win, Lin, Mac
M A R C H	1	Deep Black: Reloaded	Win
			iOS
		Vessel	Win
	6	Blades of Time	PS3, X360
		Crush 3D	3DS
			PSVita
		Major League Baseball 2K12	Win, PS3, X360, Wii, PS2, PSP, NDS
		Mass Effect 3	Win, PS3, X360
		Mass Effect Infiltrator	iOS, Droid
			PS3, PSVita
			PS3, PSVita
		Nicktoons MLB 3D	3DS
			Win, Mac
		Stacking	Win
		Street Fighter X Tekken	PS3, X360
		Top Gun: Hard Lock	PS3, Win, X360
		Unit 13	PSVita
	7	I Am Alive	XBLA
	8	Fun! Fun! Minigolf TOUCH!	3DS
	8	Waking Mars	Win, Mac, iOS, Droid
	11	Mario Party 9	Wii
	13	Birds of Steel	PS3, X360
		FIFA Street	PS3, X360
		Journey	PSN
			PS3, X360
		Reality Fighters	PSVita
		Ridge Racer	PSVita
		Shoot Many Robots	PSN
			PS3, X360
		Tales of Graces ƒ	PS3
		Warp	Win, PSN
			PS3
	14	Defenders of Ardania	XBLA, Win
	14	Shoot Many Robots	XBLA
	15	Chaos Rings II	iOS
		Dungeon Defenders	Mac
		RPG Maker VX Ace	Win
	19		Win
	20	Armored Core V	PS3, X360
			X360
		Ninja Gaiden 3	PS3, X360
			PS3, X360
		Silent Hill HD Collection	PS3, X360
		Sumioni: Demon Arts	PSVita
		Warriors Orochi 3	PS3
	21	Mutant Storm Reloaded	Win
	21	Sine Mora	XBLA
	22	Angry Birds Space	Win, Mac, iOS
	23		3DS
		Rayman 3 HD	PSN, XBLA
		Total War: Shogun 2 – Fall of the Samurai	Win
	27	Capcom Digital Collection	X360
		Closure	PSN
		Country Dance All Stars	X360
		Gettysburg: Armored Warfare	Win
		Ridge Racer Unbounded	Win, PS3, X360
		Supremacy MMA: Unrestricted	PSVita
		Temple Run	Droid
		Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13	PS3, X360
		Tropico 4: Modern Times	X360
		Warriors Orochi 3	X360
	28	Spin Up	iOS
	28		PSN, XBLA
	29	BioShock 2	Mac
Pac-Man Games		iOS
Rayman Origins		Win
Rinth Island		iOS
30		XBLA
31	Trine 2	Lin

April–June


Month	Day	Title	Platform(s)
A P R I L	3		Win
		Canabalt	PSP
		Devil May Cry: HD Collection	PS3, X360
		I Am Alive	PSN
		Kinect Star Wars	X360
	4	Diabolical Pitch	XBLA
	4	The Pinball Arcade	XBLA
	5	Bug Princess 2	iOS
		Colors! 3D	3DS
		Confrontation	Win
		Saturday Morning RPG	iOS
	6		XBLA
		Shoot Many Robots	Win
		Xenoblade Chronicles	Wii
	10		Win
		Skullgirls	PSN
		The Pinball Arcade	PS3, PSVita
		Treasures Of Montezuma: Blitz	PSVita
		World Gone Sour	PSN
	11		Win
		Burnout Crash!	iOS
		Legend of Grimrock	Win
		Skullgirls	XBLA
		The Splatters	XBLA
		World Gone Sour	XBLA
	12	Ketzal's Corridors	3DS
		Max Payne Mobile	iOS
			Win
			Win
	13	Fez	XBLA
	13		3DS
	15	SCP: Containment Breach	Win
	16		Win
	17	Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention	PSVita
		The House of the Dead 4	PSN
		Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet	Win
		Radiant Defense	iOS
		StarDrone Extreme	PSVita
		The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition	X360
	18	Super Monday Night Combat	Win
	18	Trials Evolution	XBLA
	19	3D Classics: Kid Icarus	3DS
	20	Blades of Time	Win, Mac
	20	The Darkness II	Mac
	23	Lone Survivor	Win
	23		Mac
	24	Darkstalkers 3	PSN
		Prototype 2	PS3, X360
		Shifting World	3DS
		UEFA Euro 2012	Win, PS3, X360
	25	Bloodforge	XBLA
			iOS
		The Walking Dead: Episode 1 – A New Day	Win, PSN, Mac
	26	Deus Ex: Human Revolution Ultimate Edition	Mac
	26	Scarface	iOS
	27	Binary Domain	Win
			Win
		The Walking Dead: Episode 1 – A New Day	XBLA
M A Y	1		PSN
		TERA	Win
		Sniper Elite V2	Win, PS3, X360
		The Legend of Dragoon	PSN
		Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition	PSVita
	2	Fable Heroes	XBLA
	3	Nexuiz	Win
	4		Win
	8	Starhawk	PS3
	8		Win, Mac
	9		iOS
	9	Minecraft	XBLA
	10	N.O.V.A. 3	iOS
	11	Street Fighter X Tekken	Win
	13	Soul Sacrifice	PSVita
	15	Akai Katana	X360
		Battleship	PS3, X360, NDS, 3DS
		Diablo III	Win, Mac
		Game of Thrones	Win, PS3, X360
		Max Payne 3	PS3, X360
		PixelJunk 4am	PSN
			Win, PSN
	16		XBLA
	17		iOS
	18	Dragon's Lair	XBLA
	18		Win
	20	Mario Tennis Open	3DS
	22	Alan Wake's American Nightmare	Win
			PSN
		Dragon's Dogma	PS3, X360
			PS3, X360, Wii
		Sorcery	PS3
		Table Top Tanks	PSVita
			PS3, X360
	23		Win
		Joy Ride Turbo	XBLA
			PSN
	24	Pastry Panic	iOS
	24	Virtua Tennis Challenge	iOS
	26	Plague Inc.	iOS
	27	Deer Drive Legends	3DS
	28		Win, Mac
	29		PS3
		Mad Riders	PSN
			PSVita
		Ys Origin	Win
	30	Mad Riders	Win, XBLA
	31	Fortune Street Smart	iOS
J U N E	1	Home	Win
	1	Max Payne 3	Win
	2	Long Live the Queen	Win
	4	Madagascar: Join the Circus!	iOS
	5	Inversion	PS3, X360
	5	Madagascar 3: The Video Game	3DS, NDS, PS3, Wii, X360
	6	Bang Bang Racing	XBLA
	7	Art of Balance Touch!	3DS
	8	Bang Bang Racing	Win
	10	Pikmin 2	Wii
	12		PS3, X360
		Gravity Rush	PSVita
		Metal Gear Solid HD Collection	PSVita
		Gungnir	PSP
		Lollipop Chainsaw	PS3, X360
		Order Up!!	3DS
			Win
	13		PSVita
	14	Pocket Planes	iOS
	17	Heroes of Ruin	3DS
	18	Pokémon Conquest	NDS
	19	Brave	Win, PS3, X360, Wii, PSVita, NDS, 3DS
			Win, Mac
			Win, PS3, X360, Wii, PSVita, 3DS
		Magicka: The Other Side of the Coin	Win
			X360
		Tomba!	PSN
	20		Win, PSN, XBLA, iOS
	21		iOS
		Quantum Conundrum	Win
		Sliterlink by Nikoli	3DS
	22	RayStorm	iOS
	23	Pokémon Black and White 2 (Japan)	NDS
	25		Droid
	25	Penny Arcade Adventures - Episode 3	Win, Mac
	26	The Amazing Spider-Man	NDS, PS3, X360, Wii, 3DS
			X360, Wii
		London 2012	Win, PS3, X360
			PSN
			Win, PS3, X360
			Win
		Unchained Blades	PSP
	27	Record of Agarest War 2	PS3
		The Walking Dead: Episode 2 – Starved for Help	Win, Mac, PSN, XBLA, iOS
		Final Fantasy III	Droid
	28	The Amazing Spider-Man	Droid, iOS
	28	Where's My Perry?	iOS
	29	Mini Ninjas Adventures	XBLA

July–September


Month	Day	Title	Platform(s)
J U L Y	3	Feed Me Oil	Droid
			PS3, X360
		The Secret World	Win
		Theatrhythm Final Fantasy	3DS
	4	Spelunky	XBLA
	10		PSN
		NCAA Football 13	PS3, X360
		Quantum Conundrum	PSN
		Rainbow Moon	PSN
		Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure	3DS
		Summer Stars 2012	PS3, Wii
	11	Quantum Conundrum	XBLA
	11	Anna	Win
	12	AFL Live: Game of the Year Edition	Win, PS3, X360
		Amazing Alex	Droid, iOS
		Metal Slug 3	iOS
		Tiny Wings 2	iOS
	13	La-Mulana	Win
	17	Heroes of Ruin	3DS
	17	Dyad	PSN
	18	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD	XBLA
	19	Fieldrunners 2	iOS
	23	Jurassic Park Builder	iOS
	24	Malicious	PS3
		Prototype 2	Win
		Puddle	PSVita
	25	Wreckateer	XBLA
	26	SolaRola	iOS
	26	The Walking Dead: Episode 1 - A New Day	iOS
	27	Inversion	Win
	28	Warsow	Win, Mac, Lin
	30	Orcs Must Die! 2	Win
	30	The Undead Syndrome	XBLA
	31		3DS
			PS3, X360
		Growlanser Wayfarer of Time	PSP
		War of the Monsters	PSN
A U G U S T	1	Deadlight	XBLA
	2	Clash of Clans	Droid, iOS
	3	Ghostbusters: Paranormal Blast	iOS
	7	Babel Rising	Win
		Persona 4 Arena	PS3, X360
		Sound Shapes	PSN
	8	Hybrid	XBLA
	9	Chimpact	iOS
	9	Unmechanical	Win
	10	The Amazing Spider-Man	Win
	13	Sanctum	Mac
	13	Iron Brigade	Win
	14	Darksiders II	Win, PS3, X360
		The Last Story	Wii
		Papo & Yo	PSN
		Sleeping Dogs	Win, PS3, X360
	15		XBLA
	15		Win
	19	New Super Mario Bros. 2	3DS
	21		Win, PSN, XBLA, Mac
		The Expendables 2 Video game	Win, PSN, XBLA
		Jojo's Bizarre Adventure HD	PSN
		Legasista	PSN
		Retro/Grade	PSN
			Win, PS3, X360
		Way of the Samurai 4	PSN
	22	Jojo's Bizarre Adventure HD	XBLA
		My Singing Monsters
	23	Abyss	DSiWare
	24		Win
	24	^[26]	Win
	25	Titans Mobile
	27	The World Ends with You	iOS
	28	God of War Saga	PS3
		Guild Wars 2	Win
		Madden NFL 13	PS3, X360, Wii, PSVita
		Psychonauts	PS3
		Ratchet & Clank Collection	PS3
		Rock Band Blitz	PSN
		Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD	PSN
		The Walking Dead: Episode 3 – Long Road Ahead	PSN
	29	Bastion	iOS
		Rock Band Blitz	XBLA
		The Walking Dead: Episode 3 – Long Road Ahead	Win, XBLA
	30	Mutant Mudds	Win
	30	Snapshot	Win
	31	Cypher	Win, Mac
	31	Final Fantasy Dimensions	Droid, iOS
S E P T E M B E R	3	Sacred Gold^[27]	Lin
	4		Win, Mac
	4	Zen Pinball 2	PSN
	5		XBLA
	6	Trine 2: Goblin Menace	Win, Mac
	6	I Am Alive	Win
	7	Closure	Win, Mac
	7	Mark of the Ninja	XBLA
	11		PSN
		Critter Crunch	Win
		Double Dragon Neon	PSN
			3DS
		NBA Baller Beats	X360
		NHL 13	PS3, X360
		Tekken Tag Tournament 2	PS3, X360
	12	Double Dragon Neon	XBLA
	13	Prince of Persia Classic	Droid
	13	Fractured Soul	3DS
	14		3DS, Wii, Win
			Win, Lin, Mac
			XBLA
	16	Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition	Wii
	18	Borderlands 2	Win, PS3, X360
		F1 2012	Win, PS3, X360
		Hotel Transylvania	3DS, NDS
		Jet Set Radio HD	PSN
		Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD	Win
		Zuma's Revenge!	XBLA
	19	Demons' Score	iOS, Droid
	19	Jet Set Radio HD	Win, XBLA
	20	La-Mulana	WiiWare
		Rayman Jungle Run	iOS, Droid
		Torchlight II	Win, Mac
	22	Pocket Planes	Droid
	25	Angry Birds Trilogy	X360, PS3, 3DS
		Dead or Alive 5	PS3, X360
		FIFA 13	Win, PS3, X360, Wii, PSVita, PSP, PS2, iOS
		Final Fantasy III	PSP
		Grand Theft Auto III	PSN
		Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit	PSN
		Lalaloopsy: Carnival of Friends	3DS
		LittleBigPlanet PS Vita	PSVita
		Maison de Maou	XBLA
		Marvel vs. Capcom Origins	PSN
			PS3
		Pro Evolution Soccer 2013	Win, PS3, X360
		The Testament of Sherlock Holmes	Win, PS3, X360
		Tokyo Jungle	PSN
			Win, Mac
		Yumby Toss	iOS
	26	Castle Crashers	Win
		Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit	XBLA
		Marvel vs. Capcom Origins	XBLA
	27	Bad Piggies	iOS, Droid, Win, Mac
		Ether Vapor Remaster	Win
		Half-Minute Hero	Win
		Super Monsters Ate My Condo	iOS
			3DS

October–December


Month	Day	Title	Platform(s)
O C T O B E R	1		3DS
	1	Crosswords Plus	3DS
	2		Win, X360
		NBA 2K13	Win, X360, PS3, PSP, Wii
		New Little King's Story	PSVita
		Nights into Dreams HD	PSN
		Resident Evil 6	PS3, X360
		Sonic Adventure 2	PSN
		War of the Roses	Win
			PS3, X360
	3	Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit	Win
	4	Cave Story	3DS
	5	Nights into Dreams HD	XBLA
	5	Sonic Adventure 2	XBLA
	7	Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 (North America)	NDS
	8		3DS
	9	Code of Princess	3DS
		Dishonored	Win, PS3, X360
			X360
			X360
		The Walking Dead: Episode 4 – Around Every Corner	PSN
			PSN
		Just Dance 4	Wii, PS3, X360
		Machinarium	PS3
		Retro City Rampage	PSN, Win
		Spy Hunter	3DS, PSVita
			Win, PS3, X360
	10	Chaos Rings	Droid
		Crazy Taxi	iOS
		The Walking Dead: Episode 4 – Around Every Corner	Win, XBLA
		Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise	PSN, XBLA
	11	Devil's Attorney	iOS
			X360
		Of Orcs and Men	Win, PS3, X360
	15		Win
	15		Win
	16	007 Legends	PS3, X360
			Win
		Dance Central 3	X360
		Doom 3: BFG Edition	Win, X360, PS3
		Mark of the Ninja	Win
		Rocksmith	Win
		RollerCoaster Tycoon 3D	3DS
			PSVita
	17	Carmageddon	iOS
		Fairy Bloom Freesia	Win
			XBLA
			Win
	18	Sonic Jump	iOS
	18		Mac
	19	Euro Truck Simulator 2	Win
	21		Mac
			PS3, X360, Wii, 3DS
			3DS
	23	A Game of Dwarves	Win
			Win
		Forza Horizon	X360
			Win
		Hotline Miami	Win
		Killzone HD	PSN
			Win, PS3, X360
			Win, Mac
		Orgarhythm	PSVita
		Street Fighter X Tekken	PSVita
The Unfinished Swan		PSN
		3DS, PSVita
24	Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus	XBLA
24	Letterpress	iOS, Mac, Droid
25	Deadlight	Win
		iOS
	Liberation Maiden	3DS
	NightSky	3DS
	The Fool and His Money	Win, Mac
27	Pinball FX 2	XBLA
28	Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask	3DS
29	Guns of Icarus Online	Win, Mac
29	Primal Carnage	Win
30	Assassin's Creed III	PS3, X360
		PSVita
		3DS, NDS
	LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game	PSVita, 3DS, NDS
		X360
	Need for Speed: Most Wanted	Win, X360, PS3, PSVita, iOS, Droid
	Nike+ Kinect Training	X360
	Ōkami HD	PSN
	Smart As...	PSVita
	Sports Champions 2	PS3
	Toy Story Mania!	PS3, X360
		Wii, NDS, 3DS
	WWE '13	PS3, X360, Wii
	Zone of the Enders HD Collection	PS3, X360
31	Natural Selection 2	Win
		Win
	Pid	Win, Mac, XBLA, PSN
N O V E M B E R	2	007 Legends	Win
		Football Manager 2013	Win, Mac
		Postal 2: Complete	Win, Mac, Lin
	6	Bubble Guppies	NDS
		Dragon Ball Z Budokai: HD Collection	PS3, X360
		Halo 4	X360
			3DS
			PS3, X360, Win
		LittleBigPlanet Karting	PS3
		Midway Arcade Origins	PS3, X360
			PS3, Wii, X360
		Poptropica Adventures	NDS
		Pro Evolution Soccer 2013	Wii, PS2, PSP
		Ragnarok Tactics	PSP
		Rayman Origins	3DS
		ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron	PSN
	7	Karateka	XBLA
	7	ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron	XBLA
	8	Angry Birds Star Wars	Win, Mac, iOS, Droid
	8	Cherry Tree High Comedy Club	Win
	9	Puddle	Win
	9	Sine Mora	Win
	11		3DS
	12	Thomas Was Alone	Win
	13		Win, PS3, X360
			PSVita
		F1 Race Stars	Win, PS3, X360
		Lego The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game	Win, PS3, X360, Wii
		Planets Under Attack	PSN
		Rabbids Rumble	3DS
		Rift: Storm Legion	Win
		Scribblenauts Unlimited	3DS
		Wonderbook: Book of Spells	PS3
			NDS, Wii
	14	Candy Crush Saga	iOS
		Hungry Giraffe	iOS
		Planets Under Attack	XBLA
		Puzzle & Dragons	iOS
	18	Assassin's Creed III	WiiU
		Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition	WiiU
		Ben 10: Omniverse	WiiU
			WiiU
		Chasing Aurora	WiiU
		Darksiders II	WiiU
			3DS
			PS3, X360, Wii, WiiU
		ESPN Sports Connection	WiiU
		FIFA Soccer 13	WiiU
		Game Party Champions	WiiU
		Just Dance 4	WiiU
		Little Inferno	WiiU
		Mass Effect 3: Special Edition	WiiU
		Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition	WiiU
		Nano Assault Neo	WiiU
		New Super Mario Bros. U	WiiU
			WiiU
		Nintendo Land	WiiU
		Rabbids Land	WiiU
		Scribblenauts Unlimited	WiiU
		Sing Party	WiiU
			WiiU
		Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed	WiiU, PS3, X360
		Tank! Tank! Tank!	WiiU
		Tekken Tag Tournament 2	WiiU
		WiiU
Trine 2: Director's Cut		WiiU
Warriors Orochi 3: Hyper		WiiU
Wipeout: The Game 3		WiiU
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013		WiiU
ZombiU		WiiU
19	Little Inferno	Win
	Scribblenauts Unlimited	Win
	Sonic Adventure 2	Win
20		3DS, NDS
	Assassin's Creed III	Win
	Borderlands 2	Mac
	Clan of Champions	PS3, Win, X360
		Win, PS3, X360
	Groove Coaster Zero	iOS
		Win, PS3, X360
	Jet Set Radio HD	PSVita
	Persona 4 Golden	PSVita
	PlanetSide 2	Win
	PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale	PS3, PSVita
		PS3, X360, Wii, 3DS, NDS
	Scribblenauts Unlimited	Win
	Sine Mora	PSN, PSVita
	The Walking Dead: Episode 5 – No Time Left	PS3
21	Rage of the Gladiator	Droid, iOS
21	The Walking Dead: Episode 5 - No Time Left	Win, X360, Mac, iOS
22	Crashmo	3DS
27	American Mensa Academy	3DS
	Fighting Vipers	PSN
		PSN, PSVita
	Sonic the Fighters	PSN
	Super Hexagon	Win, Mac
	Virtua Fighter 2	PSN
28		Win
	Fighting Vipers	XBLA
	Miner Wars 2081	Win
	Sonic the Fighters	XBLA
	Virtua Fighter 2	XBLA
	Under Defeat HD	PS3
28	Stealth Bastard Deluxe	Win
29	Aero Porter	3DS
29	Jet Set Radio HD	iOS, Droid
30	Football Manager Handheld 2013	PSP
30	Red Bull Crashed Ice Kinect	XBLA
D E C E M B E R	4	Eve Online: Retribution^[28]	Win
			WiiU
		Far Cry 3	Win, PS3, X360
		Guardians of Middle-earth	PSN, XBLA
		Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus	PSN
			WiiU
		Page Chronica	PS3
			WiiU
			PSVita
	6	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 10th Anniversary Edition	iOS
			iOS, Droid
		Mutant Mudds	iOS
	7	Awesomenauts	Mac
	7		iOS
	9	The Snowman and the Snowdog	iOS, Droid
	10		Win
	11	007 Legends	WiiU
		Big Sky Infinity	PS3, PSVita
		Black Knight Sword	PSN
			PSN
			PSN
	12	Black Knight Sword	XBLA
	12	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 10th Anniversary Edition	Droid
	13	Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition	Mac
		Crimson Shroud	3DS
		Middle Manager of Justice	iOS
		Theatrhythm Final Fantasy	iOS
	14	Candy Crush Saga	Droid
	14	Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade	Droid, iOS
	15	Yumby Toss	Droid
	17	Nights into Dreams HD	Win
		Q.U.B.E.	Mac
		Street Fighter X Mega Man	Win
		The War Z	Win
	18	Burn the Rope	PSVita
		Karateka	PS3
		Kinect Party	XBLA
		Knytt Underground	PS3, PSVita
			PSVita
		Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed	PSVita
	20	F1 2012	Mac
	20	Final Fantasy IV	iOS
	21	Sonic Jump	Droid
	21	I Get This Call Every Day	Win, Mac
	24		PSN
	25		Win
	27		3DS
	31	Chronovolt	PSVita

Video game-based film and television releases

Title	Date	Director	Distributor(s)	Franchise	Original game publisher
Ace Attorney	February 11, 2012	Takashi Miike	Toho	Ace Attorney	Capcom	^[29]
Video Game High School	May 11, 2012	Matthew Arnold	RocketJump Studios			^[30]
	May 18, 2012	Charlie Bean	Disney XD	Tron		^[31]
Talking Friends	June 8, 2012	Dylan Coburn	Disney.com	Talking Tom & Friends	Outfit7	^[32]
	June 12, 2012	James Swirsky	BlinkWorks Media			^[33]
Sword Art Online		Tomohiko Itō				^[34]
Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice	July 14, 2012	Kunihiko Yuyama	Toho	Pokémon	Game Freak	^[35]
	September 3, 2012	Paul W. S. Anderson	Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group	Resident Evil	Capcom	^[36]
Halo: Forward Unto Dawn		Stewart Hendler	Machinima Prime YouTube	Halo		^[37]
	October 26, 2012	M. J. Bassett		Silent Hill	Konami	^[38]
	October 27, 2012	Makoto Kamiya	Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan	Resident Evil	Capcom	^[39]
Wreck-It Ralph	November 2, 2012	Rich Moore	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures	Wreck-It Ralph		^[40]
	November 29, 2012	Atsushi Takeuchi	Funimation	Mass Effect	BioWare	^[41]
	December 22, 2012	Paul Owens	2 Player Productions	Minecraft	Mojang	^[42]

Notes and References

Web site: Best Video Games for 2012 . Metacritic . September 27, 2019.
Web site: Highest-Ranking Games of 2012 (with at least 5 reviews) . GameRankings . September 27, 2019.
Web site: Super Hexagon for PC . GameRankings . September 27, 2019.
Web site: Best Video Games for 2013 . Metacritic . September 27, 2019.
Web site: Highest-Ranking Games of 2013 (with at least 5 reviews) . GameRankings . September 27, 2019.
Web site: NBA 2K13 for PC . GameRankings . September 27, 2019.
Web site: Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss for Xbox 360 . GameRankings . September 27, 2019.
Web site: The Lord of the Rings Online: Riders of Rohan for PC . GameRankings . September 27, 2019.
Call of Duty®: Black Ops II Grosses $1 Billion In 15 Days . December 5, 2012 . Activision . Santa Monica, California . June 1, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130611020011/http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=725026 . June 11, 2013 . live . mdy-all .
News: Morris . Chris . Tapping China's Gaming Gold Mine . 21 January 2020 . . 7 June 2013.
Web site: 2012 Annual Report . . . 2013 . 13–4 . 16 February 2021.
Web site: FIFA 13 sales hit 7.4 million in four weeks. Computer and Video Games. 19 December 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121104172525/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/375769/fifa-13-sales-hit-74-million-in-four-weeks/. November 4, 2012. live.
News: Kain . Erik . EA Sells Last Year's FIFA On Wii And Calls It New . 22 January 2020 . . October 11, 2012 . en.
News: Borderlands 2 Has Shipped 5 Million Copies . 22 January 2020 . . 31 October 2012.
News: Review: Borderlands 2 . 22 January 2020 . . 2012-09-17.
News: Создатель World of Tanks заработал за год 218 млн евро на виртуальных битвах . 22 January 2020 . . 7 May 2013.
Web site: Financial Results Briefing for the Nine-Month Period Ended December 2012 . . 31 January 2013 . 6 . 16 January 2020.
Web site: Review: Pokemon Black and White 2 . . 22 January 2020 . 2012-10-04.
Web site: Sterling . Jim . Jim Sterling . Review: New Super Mario Bros. 2 . . 22 January 2020 . 2012-07-30.
News: Minecraft racked up $237m last year . https://web.archive.org/web/20130206224726/http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2241225/minecraft-racked-up-usd237m-last-year . unfit . February 6, 2013 . 21 January 2020 . . 4 February 2013.
News: Snider . Mike . 'League of Legends' makes big league moves . 22 January 2020 . . July 11, 2013.
Web site: The Arrival of KeSPA. Cyber-sports.net. October 16, 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121127235347/http://cyber-sports.net/node/23427. November 27, 2012. mdy-all.
Web site: Attendance and Stats. June 8, 2012 . IGN. en. May 21, 2015.
News: 2012-09-04 . Actor Michael Clarke Duncan dies aged 54 . 2024-03-28 . Eurogamer.net . en.
News: Press . The Associated . 2012-02-01 . Ian Abercrombie, Who Played the Boss on 'Seinfeld,' Dies at 77 . 2024-04-19 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
Web site: Jagged Alliance: Crossfire - Termin: Ende August . . 18 March 2023 . German . 25 July 2012.
Web site: Sacred Gold Release Information for Linux - GameFAQs . 2014-04-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140416180133/http://www.gamefaqs.com/unixlinux/699658-sacred-gold/data . April 16, 2014 .
Web site: EVE Online Retribution Announced, Detailed. Gallegos. Anthony. IGN. September 29, 2012.
Web site: 2012-02-14 . Ace Attorney Is the Best Video Game Movie Ever (Take That, Hollywood!) . 2023-08-04 . Kotaku . en.
Web site: Video Game High School - Rotten Tomatoes . 2023-07-25 . www.rottentomatoes.com . en.
Web site: Gilchrist . Todd . 2012-03-16 . SXSW 2012: 'The Raid' Composer Joe Trapanese is Taking on 'TRON: Uprising' . 2023-08-05 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
Web site: Duryee . Tricia . April 24, 2012 . Outfit7's Talking Friends Apps to Star in Disney Web Series . 2024-02-14 . AllThingsD . en-US.
Web site: Indie Game: The Movie . 2023-08-28 . GameSpot . en-US.
Web site: Sword Art Online official air dates. ja. June 19, 2012. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131021011005/http://www.swordart-online.net/onair/index.html. October 21, 2013.
Web site: Luster . Joseph . Catch "Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem vs. the Sword of Justice" on TV in December . 2023-05-04 . Crunchyroll . en-us.
Web site: Vejvoda . Jim . 2012-09-14 . Resident Evil: Retribution 3D Review . 2024-01-09 . IGN . en.
Web site: Scared s***less: Making live-action web films for Halo 4 fans. Takahashi. Dean. Venture Beat. October 26, 2012. October 26, 2012.
Web site: Tilly . Chris . 2012-10-26 . Silent Hill: Revelation 3D Review . 2024-01-09 . IGN . en.
Web site: Shaffer . R. L. . 2012-10-02 . Resident Evil: Damnation Blu-ray Review . 2024-01-09 . IGN . en.
Web site: Debruge . Peter . 2012-10-26 . Wreck-It Ralph . 2023-02-06 . Variety . en-US.
Web site: Shaffer . R. L. . 2012-03-06 . Mass Effect Anime is Coming . 2024-01-09 . IGN . en.
Web site: Hilliard . Kyle . Minecraft: The Story Of Mojang Documentary Creators Torrent Their Own Film . https://web.archive.org/web/20121231053145/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/12/22/minecraft-the-story-of-mojang-documentary-creators-torrent-their-own-film.aspx . dead . December 31, 2012 . 2024-05-14 . Game Informer . en.