As 2009 draws to a close, the videogame industry finds itself in even more of a state of flux than usual. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft all arrived at a crossroads as their consoles entered their third and fourth years on the market, and they acted accordingly. The payoff won’t become apparent until next year, but this was the year each company set their foundation for the rest of the generation.
In the meantime, we were reminded daily that the industry was not as “recession proof” as it once seemed. Studios and publishers closed their doors or cut back, and many moved their games into 2010 to avoid a bleak looking holiday season. Wii sales finally began trending downward after years of outsized success, and losses were reported by company’s great and small.
But in the face of all the dire news, there were more outstanding games than ever before, with the likes of Uncharted 2 and Batman: Arkham Aslyum leading the pack. Nice to know some things never change. Here’s some of the top news from a difficult, but nevertheless bountiful, year of transition for videogames.