The biggest disappointments we saw in gaming in 2012

The game industry keeps changing, and the games we play along with it. Each year turns out to be more tumultuous than the one before, with no end in sight. Some gamemakers are able to navigate these waters better than others. But even if they are generally able to make the transition from old models to new ones, there are still going to be bumps in the road -- many of which affect players.

[Gazondaily]

I agree with almost all of this.

My particular depression-inducing moments:

1) Kinect Star Wars: Whoever thought it was a good idea to shout "lightsabre on!" really needs to get their head checked. Heck, how they managed to ruin this game so badly when it had so much potential is beyond me.

2) Mass Effect 3's ending: Severely disappointing and such a shame considering how great the trilogy was as a whole.

3) PS VITA & COD: I really wanted COD to be good on the VITA. It had the potential to be great- everything was there- the VITA's power, cross-game chat and mobile gaming bliss. This would really have pushed VITA into the hands of the masses and is such a missed opportunity.

Nonetheless, 2012 was a decent year for gaming. Lots of great titles but it does feel like we're coasting now, the gaming equivalent of a lame duck period if you will. Oddly enough, some of the most amazing games look like they'll be coming out just before the advent of the next-gen consoles; GTA V, The Last of US etc.

[KangarooSam]

That's usually when most good games come out. Developers have a handle on the hardware and know what they can achieve with it. They know what was successful this gen and the tweaks needed for consumers to get even more out of the experience, etc. It's the perfect time to be a gamer.

Honestly, it's the perfect time to pick up a new console. I've had a 360 and finally got my hands on a PS3 and people keep telling me "I missed the boat". Well, I got the exclusives I wanted at the time and all multiplatform games with my 360. Now I have a giant backlog of cheap, unique IPs with my PS3, the OS is stable, they've worked out most (if not all) kinks with everything to do with it, and now I have all of these awesome upcoming games to look forward to that we KNOW will have to be good.

Why NOT pick up a console at the end of a generation? :)

[violents]

You have been missing out, but your getting in a good time. I only use a ps3 because my girl is in school online and i dont wanna fight to use the computer and i dont really want to play any of the xbox exclusives enough to want to buy one. But either way get ps plus and you'll fall in love with that stupid black box that gets my girl mad at me all the time.

[darthv72]

its always funny when i see others say that. to be honest, the "boat" as its referred to is usually the first time these games are released.

But picking them up months later or even longer does not negate the quality of the game. its still the same game that it was when it first released. Only now is someone new experiencing it for the first time. to them....that is their boat.

Anyone who has ever bought in to a console in the middle or near the end are just as likely to get a great gaming experience as those who were there from the beginning.

In fact, i would suggest anyone who has not yet gotten a 360 to get one and start with the game Kameo. Its fun and a good starting point to see how the games get better from there on that platform.

Anyone who is just now getting a PS3, make your first game heavenly sword or the first motorstorm. Both great first gen titles that are worth playing.

[StreetsofRage]

Excuse me? How can you not like a combination of Star Wars and Dance Central? I see AAA goodness right there!!!!!

:p

[memots]

For the people disagreeing, The above statement by StreetsofRage was Sarcasm at its finest.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Video games are serious business. Every post on N4G should be taken just as seriously.

:p

[chukamachine]

Kinect isn't good enough, I'm sure the next version will be.

VITA is a great machine, let down by rushed software. Sony needs to stamp out crap software. better quality control. Also needs Monster hunter in japan.

[rezzah]

As far as i know the only rushed game was CoD. Made in 5-6 months apparently.

Also it needs MH for NA, Japan is always confirmed when it comes to MH.

[Soldierone]

You can tell what was rushed and what wasn't. Uncharted, Assassins Creed, and Gravity Rush were not. Wipeout was a port (a very good one) and so was Need For Speed.

The rest were all pretty much rushed. You can tell because the studios are all shut down now. Unit 13, Resistance, COD, Little Deviants etc... all felt like the potential was missed, but Sony needed games so you can't blame them.

The only issue is the idiots (vita is dead scrubs) that forget first waves of games normally are always the same and forget games get better as time passes....

[YodaCracker]

The Xbox 360 actually is holding Kinect back. I can't wait to see what developers can pull off with Kinect on the next Xbox with all the additional processing power and with every console shipping with a Kinect sensor. So many possibilities for next generation.

[Cueil]

true... to a point, but there are some limitations put on Kinect to make it more feasible to produce for consumer level

[Riderz1337]

People were disappointed with CoD Declassified? It was being developed by Nihilistic...Who the hell had high hopes for this game other than people expecting it to sell well.

[2hoodz]

I respect everything you just said, I'm not here to disagree or prove you wrong just pointing out some other factors.

1. Activision is to blame for waiting so long to find a developer to make this game.

2. Nihilistic is also at fault for agreeing to take on such a task in 4-6 months time. Which resulted in less content/Story/MP Modes.

3. This has nothing to do with your post. Sony is not to be blame for how COD Vita turned out. What they should be blame for is allowing it to happen the way it did. It seems like Activision didnt really care to begin with, So in Sony an Nihilistic takes all the blame. From a raw Gameplay standpoint, how the controls feel is 100% spot on. Content/Polish ALL Blame goes to Activision.

Im not defending Nihilistic, But with short notice/Dev cycle = poor result. They did the best they could in 4-6 months.

[KangarooSam]

Move along people; it's the same old "journalism" BS. There will be another ten of these articles for you to read tomorrow, don't you worry.

[brettyd]

I know right? did people not learn with the ps3? first of all Vita has plenty of good games, more than 3DS had at this point in its life. I'm playing Wipout right now and I got it for FREE! Vita and PS+ have made owning a Vita a must for any gamer. If you think Vita has no games your not looking hard enough or you're a fanboy troll.

[ABizzel1]

I agree look at the Game of the year list for best Vita game, or best handheld game on most of these gaming sites, and the Vita generally has the most games on the list, so how exactly are there "no games" or "no good games".

The problem was the Vita games had huge stretches between them. Launch was good, then space, until Gravity Rush then space until some PSN games then space until the holiday. However, that doesn't mean the Vita has no games. Simply buying PS+ nets you a solid 2 - 3 months worth of content for the Vita, with more to come each month. How is that no games.

Stop the BS, the Vita had a good year, and although COD was the biggest disappointment that was not Vita's fault.

It was 90% Activision's fault for not telling Sony they weren't willing to make the game when the system was first launching in February which would have gave them 9 months to develop the game (better yet when the Vita was announced). They hired a developer to produce the game then dropped them and the game with before E3.

9% of Nihilistic's fault for not demanding more time, and again tarnishing their brand after the Resistance fiasco.

1% Sony's fault for putting that faulty product out there to being with. Now that being said multiplayer is ok, controls are great, graphics are ok, but everything sucks.

On top of that there's games still releasing for the Vita, and a bunch of other games coming in 2013. Now the game you want might not be there, but the no games argument is dead.

[ABizzel1]

To the disagrees

http://www.gonintendo.com/?...

http://www.gamespot.com/bes...

http://www.ign.com/videos/2...

Anyone who says Vita has not games, obviously doesn't have one, or PlayStation+.

[Gimmemorebubblez]

@YodaCracker
Microsoft has NOT confirmed Kinect would ship with the Next Xbox! Just remember if it does , due to high costs the Xbox may, unless Sony and Valve go the same way, will probably be technically inferior when it comes to CPU and GPU. I will say it again that nothing has been confirmed and this is my take on whether the next Xbox should launch with a arm-flailing and mumbling recognition system. The Kinect is a great piece of tech but it would be a shame if the next xbox specs takes a knock due the Kinect.

[shempo]

kinect sucks
its just for little kids

[byeldell34]

then call me a little kid....

[Cueil]

I use it's features every time I turn the system on... my GF loves Kinect games... I love it's functionality as a voice controlling device. Supposedly the next one will be able to identify individual voices up to 4 or 5... that brings up some interesting games...mostly party games off the top of my mind, but assigning a voice... also "always on"... could I turn my system on with my voice

[FATAL1TY]

1-) Wii U has no games (Dark Souls 2, Metro Last Light, crysis 3, resident evil 6, GTA 5...)
+horrible CPU

[DragonKnight]

Dark Souls 2 isn't coming to the Wii U.

[bloodcell]

dont forget that clown david jaffes attempt to release a good twisted metal follow up. notice how we dont have to hear shit out of that guy ever since then? he shut up.

[LtFaku]

I think that the whole 2012 was a dissapointment if you didn't have an Xbox to buy Halo 4. Cmon, you know that no game this year was as good as Batman Arkham City, for example.

[Snookies12]

I got Persona 4 Golden... Probably the highest rated game this year. Sure it's not "new", but it's a fantastic game regardless. Oh, and The Walking Dead too, that game is amazing.

[MysticStrummer]

What if you don't care about the Halo series at all and thought Batman:AC was more than a little overrated?

[violents]

I hate when people say the vita is a fail because of no games. I bought one at launch and I have played lots of games for it and gotten probably hundreds of hours of enjoyment out of those purchases.

Just retail releases there are prob like 50-60 games you can buy brand new at gamestop. Then if you include the PSN downloadable and psp ports and ps1 classics the list goes up exponentially. Saying there are no games for the vita is just retarded.

[violents]

dang it wont let me edit.

anyways

On top of it all the vita isnt even a year old yet, you going to have to give it a little time to develop a full library of dedicated to that system games. It's not like any other system had like 100 games at launch or something.

[Stallion]

Forgot the lack of Skyrim PS3 DLC.

[Hicken]

THAT should be number one. That whole fiasco should be the most disappointing thing about this year.

The Vita not having games, on the other hand, is a handy misconception. Handy because those who want to say the system is bad or "flopping" can point to a library of games they say doesn't exist(in reality, they're just ignoring games or coming up with reasons to discount certain ones).

Misconception because... well, hell, I'm sure by now it's not necessary for me to link to a list of all the games the damn thing has. And that's before getting into ports and such.

[fredrikpedersen]

Vita has no games? http://www.youtube.com/play...

[Garrison]

This article was the real disappointment. It's completely funny how the people who say that vita has no games are precisely the people who don't have one to begin with.

The worst thing this whole industry has is S#it journalism.

[TeflonHahn]

I have a VITA and I love it. I can't understand why everyone seems to keep forgetting the VITA released in the midst of one of the most destructive environmental disasters ever known to man. With factories shut down and a severe drop in man-power it was a miracle it even released when it did. I own Lego Batman, Ninja Gaiden Metal Gear HD, Playstation All Stars, Uncharted, Most Wanted and I plan on getting more games as they release. It's been a shaky start for the VITA but 2.2 million sold with everything that happened around the VITA's launch is impressive to me. What is it about gamers nowadays where everyone is so doom and gloom? It's like "let's see this fail." or "let's see how much this will suck." Is there no longer any aspect of fun with gaming?

[Yangus]

Sorry.
Vita sucks.
This clear.Only blind ps fanboy say this not true.

3DS eat Vita.

[stage88]

Yeah because who needs:

Proper dual thumb sticks
Touchscreen display back and front
The best graphics on a handheld console
PS+ on Vita
Gyroscope
Dual cameras

I'll stick with Nintendo's innovation with Mario version 63.

/s

[banjadude]

Everything on this list is pretty spot on, but #9 and #3 really hit home... ESPECIALLY number 9 (Diablo 3's endgame). A shame too, because I was ready to give up all my free time for it.

[gamern4g]

The full year was full of big disappointments.

[JasonKCK]

There are 2 of these articles on the front page

[imXify]

For the WiiU online...activision isn't planing to release any DLC like Nuketown 2025 and we hadn't got a patch since release....so right it's almost for a month.

I haven't play for a month because the wiimote controls and the game are totally broken and activision/nintendo do nothing about it to solve the issue -__-

[banjadude]

Hi.. where did you get your avatar pic? I've private messaged you a few times...have to resort to speaking here.

Thanks in advance.

[imXify]

I saw it but I forgot because of a stupid restriction on here. I took somewhere on deviantart. I don't remember where so I just check my files

[banjadude]

Oh I see. Thanks for the reply!

[Rageanitus]

mmm I find the Vita just doing fine I already have 10 VITA games and the only one that dissapointed was COD. Plus I have a bunch of psp games ontop of that. Go figure I am having more fun on the vita vs my xbox (yes i've owned all 3 consoles)

It's only the haters that hate. Its the same ppl that say the vita is too expensive yet you see these ppl buy a 600+ iphone and gloat about how the games are so good on the appstore.