10 Defining Moments of 2008

There was no shortage of soaring highs, depressing lows and everything in between in 2008 gaming news.

Financial turmoil and studio closures were unfortunately the common theme in the fourth quarter. But on the other side of the coin is how the games industry is poised for another record-breaking year. Aside from the purely business aspects of the past year, we saw a PlayStation man move on, a videogame fitness craze, a controversy fizzle and as always, gamers who let their voices be heard. Here are 20 news pieces that helped define 2008.

GAMES

1. Virtual Musicians Outnumber Virtual Jocks

A poll whose results released in October found that the music game genre is now the second-most-played, bumping sports games down a notch. The bulk of the share gain can be attributed directly to Guitar Hero and Rock Band. The poll, conducted by research firm Odyssey, found that 50 percent of U.S. gamers played sports games and 58 percent played music games. Action games were the most popular with 65 percent. Much has been made about the "battle of the bands" between Activision's Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises (Guitar Hero alone surpassed the $1 billion mark at the beginning of the year), but the truth is, both have played an astounding role in opening up gaming to a demographic typically averse to anything involving a D-pad.

2. Grand Theft Auto IV Commandeers Charts

Everyone knew Grand Theft Auto IV was going to be a hit, but it wasn't until consumers turned anticipation into cold hard numbers that Rockstar was able to truly remind the industry that GTA was king. Launched in April, GTA IV generated $500 million worldwide during its first week on sale, selling 6 million units. In its first day alone, publisher Take-Two shifted 3.6 million units. The publisher declared the game's release the biggest entertainment launch of all time. A true phenomenon and one testament to just how big games can be.

3. The Wii Fit Sensation

The floor-bound, weight scale-inspired Wii Balance Board and its accompanying Wii Fit software have proven yet again that Nintendo has its finger firmly on the pulse of the mass market. The exer-game so far has sold around 9 million units worldwide after having launched in the West this year and in December 2007 in Japan. With continuing high demand, the game--described by Nintendo as "evergreen"--is on track to outsell even the mighty Grand Theft Auto IV. Wii Fit's wonderful, thoroughly weird, and bona fide commercial hit.

4. The Beatles Have a Music Game

The Beatles have been highly resistant to releasing their songs digitally, so it came as a surprise that they caught on so quickly to another growing music trend, the music/rhythm game genre. Reportedly bidding for the Fab Four's material against Guitar Hero publisher Activision, Rock Band and MTV Games owner Viacom wrestled away exclusive rights to the music. Announced in October, Harmonix Music Systems is currently working on the unnamed Beatles game, which will explore the group's catalog from Please Please Me to Abbey Road--all with the full blessing of Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison.

PLATFORMS

5. Nintendo Hardware Cheerily Crushes All

It's hard to imagine now that we ever snickered at the wand controller, or questioned Nintendo's wisdom in calling its new console "Wii." With around 40 million sold worldwide in just over two years, the Wii is this generation's certified sales freak, smashing records gleefully with mass market appeal. And economic downturn? What economic downturn? Nintendo's home console sold over 2 million units in the U.S. during November, more than the top piece of software, Gears of War 2, almost as if Nintendo wanted to say, "Come see what we can do when we actually have supply." In terms of installed base growth, it's laying high-def consoles Xbox 360 and PS3 to waste, typically outselling both consoles combined on a monthly basis in North America. As for portable domination, the four-year-old DS is now ahead of the Game Boy advance with around 90 million sold worldwide. Nintendo hopes to reinvigorate handheld sales with the DSi, the freshened hardware that launched this year in Japan and slated for 2009 in the West. It looks like a one-two finish for Nintendo's platforms.

6. Achievement Unlocked: First Console to $199.99

A year head start is good for a few things, one of them being beating competitors to the mass market sweet-spot of $199. Xbox 360's low-end Arcade SKU was the first "new generation" console to reach the sub-$200 mark, to the delight of Microsoft, game publishers and late-adopting consumers alike. The September price drop across the three models ($199-$399) boosted Xbox 360 sales in the U.S. and Europe, putting more pressure on Sony to trim the price of the $399 PS3. For now, Sony says it won't budge, with profitability being CEO Howard Stringer's primary focus. Nintendo's $250 Wii is outstripping the cheaper Xbox 360 in near-astronomical volumes, so pricing isn't everything, after all. But Microsoft is still happy to lower the barrier of entry for high-def gaming.

7. Online Services Level Up

With the evolving roles of game consoles, in 2008 the "battle for the living room" turned from an oft-talked about mythical skirmish into a genuine ever-escalating war. New Xbox Experience and Sony's Home open beta added significantly updated community features in the middle of a console cycle. Home's virtual world, among other aspects, has added the ability for gamers to virtually congregate around their favorite games, and Xbox Live improvements upped the overall entertainment appeal of the Xbox 360 with streaming Netflix support. Sony marketing has also begun to put a heavy emphasis on the movie downloading capabilities of the PS3, which are continually expanding.

PUBLISHERS

8. Midway Sold for $100K

Chicago-based Midway had been puttering along for the past several years, failing to turn a profit since 1999. With the failing economy taken into consideration and mounting financial pressure on majority stakeholder Sumner Redstone, the entertainment industry exec finally offloaded the Mortal Kombat house in late November for the rock-bottom price of $100K in order to alleviate debt. The buyer, private investor Mark Thomas, assumed $70 million in debt. Midway's troubles have continued, with the company announcing in December that it would cut 25 percent of its global workforce, or 180 people. It's currently working with investment bank Lazard to formulate strategic alternatives to filing bankruptcy, as it's in danger of defaulting on $240 million of debt.


9. Phil Harrison Quits Sony, Joins Atari

Harrison was the face of Sony software, having joined the company in 1992, fostering relationships with developers and turning Sony Computer Entertainment into a worldwide software publishing powerhouse. So when he announced out of the blue that he would be leaving the company in February this year, more than a few mouths were gaped with surprise. And if that wasn't enough of a shock, in March, Harrison announced that he would be serving as president of Infogrames subsidiary Atari, a company whose classic brand had been watered down over years of abuse. But already, with David Gardner and Harrison leading Infogrames, we're seeing change. Atari recently beat out a disappointed Ubisoft in a bid to acquire City of Heroes creator Cryptic Studios, and signed intriguing new publishing deals that will bring games like Ghostbusters and titles from Q Entertainment to market. With Harrison's keen software know-how, he may be Atari's best bet in bringing some respect back to the slandered label.

10. The EA and Take-Two Acquisition Dance

In the weeks following late 2007's $18.9 billion Activision Blizzard merger, fellow publishing juggernaut Electronic Arts hoped to carry out its own coup by proposing a $2 billion bid for Grand Theft Auto house Take-Two in February. This tango lasted for six months, which consisted of Take-Two rejecting the "inadequate" offer, EA going hostile with the bid and lowering the price of its proposal, multiple extensions of the offer, and pages upon pages of analysis of the situation from outside parties. All of this exposition and posing led to the biggest anti-climax of the year when EA walked away from the deal after exhibiting steadfast discipline in sticking with its $25.74 per share offer. A review of upcoming Take-Two titles failed to convince EA to raise the bid and the non-deal disappeared behind the horizon.