Gamescom is one of the largest gaming conventions in the world where, for a few days in August, some of the biggest players in the industry make announcements and show off their latest developments. While there is a lot of focus on the three major console systems, there were some very notable appearances by games that have been developed for the PC, Mac, and mobile operating systems. These are some of the most innovative and impressive games that will be published in the near future.
This Gamescom ran from August 17 to August 21, and this year an independent expert jury from the field of publishing and media awarded honors to a select number of games in eight different categories, including Best Overall, Best Hardware, Best Console Game, Best Mobile Game, Best Online Game, Best PC Game, Best Browser Game (new to this year’s event), and Best Family Game.
Best of Gamescom
The top honors went to Battlefield 3, the military shooter from EA games that will appear on the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. It is interesting to note, however, that while it was unanimously voted the best overall game, it did not secure first place in the PC or console categories – which does bring up some questions about the judging process.
Best PC (and Mac) Game
The award for the best PC game did not go to Battlefield 3 but to the highly anticipated Diablo 3. Blizzard Entertainment has consistently produced games that attract millions of players and often change the entire gaming scene. Some of their announcements for this game have been a little controversial though (the “always online” style DRM and in-game auction house, for example), but it is still safe to say that it will create new legions of devoted players.
Blizzard Entertainment is also one of the few companies that consistently release their games for the Mac platform, as well. Despite the skyrocketing popularity of Mac computers, most companies would seem to prefer developing for their mobile iOS platform. Most gaming laptops & computers still run on Windows for various reasons, but this year Mac owners will have a chance to get their hands on a real Triple A title.
Best Console Game
In an industry dominated by first-person shooters and cover-based action games, this year’s console winner was a sports game. FIFA 12 took home the trophy this year, beating out the likes of Batman: Arkham City, Mass Effect 3, and Uncharted 3. That must be one impressive soccer game.
Best Mobile Game
Uncharted: Golden Abyss took home the prize for best mobile game this year. It is set to debut on the PlayStation Vita sometime in early 2012 and it will take advantage of all the new features this new device is going to offer.
It may be worth mentioning here that, despite their growing popularity, no games for the Android or iOS systems were even nominated. Even though many high profile games made an appearance at the event (including an iOS version of Battlefield 3), none of them received the same attention as the games for PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS.
This inevitably leads to a discussion on where Android and iOS games fit in the gaming industry. Games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss cost millions of dollars to develop, while games like Angry Birds have nothing even close to those kinds of development costs. With that kind of dichotomy it would be hard to justify giving them an award over the other hand-held titles, but at the same time, it’s hard to ignore 300+ million downloads for Angry Birds and a company that is seeking a valuation of 1.2 Billion dollars. Perhaps next year they will add one more category to their awards.
Other Winners
The winner for best hardware or hardware accessories was the PlayStation Vita, the best online game was Star Wars: The Old Republic, the best browser game was The Sims Social, and award for the best family game was Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster.
Some of these games and systems are set to come out before the end of the year while others won’t be seen until 2012. The winners in all of these categories are certainly very strong entries and are bringing something new to each of these platforms. While it doesn’t look like we have the next World of Warcraft or even the next Angry Birds at the convention, there is a strong showing this year from many different companies.
Over the last few years, casual and mobile gaming has changed the way the industry thinks. Just two years ago no one would believe that a game on a mobile device would consistently bring in more money than the top console games, but as the market keeps evolving we are just going to see more and more developments in this area.