The 10 Best-Selling Video Games of 2014
U.S. Unit Sales: 5.8 Million
Publisher: Activision
Genre: FPS/War
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Another year, another cookie-cutter, Ameri-centric entry in the insipid "Call of Duty" series. Despite having single-player campaigns that get shorter and shorter with each iteration — this one must last about 15 minutes by this point — these games still manage to sell well since they're one of only two console titles where gamers are guaranteed to find multiplayer action anytime (the other being the bug-ridden "Battlefield").
But hey! This one's different! It's got Kevin Spacey!
Activision
U.S. Unit Sales: 3.8 Million
Publisher: Activision
Genre: FPS/MMORPG
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3
Activision spent way too much time and money building up hype for what ultimately turned out to be a rather lacklustre game, despite being created by Bungie, the same team that made the monolithic "Halo" series. Though it had music from the legendary Paul McCartney and a guest performance by the only-slightly-less-legendary Peter Dinklage, the game's lack of story and world exposition was widely criticized, along with some mechanical flaws. The title still gleaned good sales based off the strength of Bungie's name alone.
Bungie
U.S. Unit Sales: 3.3 Million
Publisher: Rockstar
Genre: Third-Person Sandbox/Action Adventure
Platforms: PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PC
GTA V broke records last year when it easily made over $1 billion in unit sales — in a couple of weeks, no less — and sales are still trickling in. Spurred on by the release of a "remastered" version for next-gen consoles, this crime caper series looks set to remain in the record books for quite some time.
Rockstar Games
U.S. Unit Sales: 2.9 Million
Publisher: EA Sports
Genre: Sports
Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Someone throws a ball. Someone else catches it. Points are presumably scored at some point. Another well-reviewed release in the venerable football franchise.
EA Sports
U.S. Unit Sales: 2.7 Million
Publisher: Mojang
Genre: Sandbox/Virtual Lego
Platforms: Pretty much anything with a screen by this point.
Minecraft has long been a time-sink and procrastination tool for both casual obsessives and people with far too much time on their hands, and it has capitalized further on its popularity by releasing on a wide range of console app stores.
Mojang
U.S. Unit Sales: 2.5 Million
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: Open-World, Action-Adventure
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Another hyped Ubisoft release that disappointed, Watch_Dogs had you play as an uninteresting hacker archetype who is given the tools to hack anything electronic in a near-future version of Chicago. Putting us in the shoes of a cyberpunk revolutionary would have been an interesting move if said shoes didn't keep falling through the floor as a result of physics bugs. Still, the game sold well, thanks in part to a misleading E3 demo, a marketing budget roughly the size of Bermuda's GDP, and being ported to basically every platform.
Ubisoft
U.S. Unit Sales: 2.4 Million
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: FPS/War
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PC
This is another title from last year, which kind of underlines how poor this year has been for video games.
It's another "Call of Duty" game. The South Americans are the bad guys. Things blow up. America saves the day.
Activision
U.S. Unit Sales: 2.1 Million
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Beat-em-Up
Platforms: Nintendo Wii U, Nintendo 3DS
A favorite in college dorms the world over, the latest iteration of Nintendo's classic, with a melange of characters and stages from all of Nintendo's universes, sold well this year. In addition to fixing some annoying flaws from the previous iteration, "Super Smash Bros: Brawl," this version also added a host of new characters and stages.
Nintendo
U.S. Unit Sales: 2 Million
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genre: FPS/War/Pacific Rim
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox 360
This multiplayer shooter was surprisingly fun, with the added gimmick of being able to summon a giant robotic exoskeleton a welcome addition. It did suffer, though, from a nonexistent story mode and a backstory that was about as clear as mud. But who cares about that? Look at the big scary robot! Watch it move! Ooh - an explosion! Shiny!
EA
U.S. Unit Sales: 1.6 Million
Publisher: 2K Games
Genre: Sports
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3, PC
Someone throws a ball. Someone else catches it and puts it in a basket. Points are presumably scored.
2K Games