When all is said and done, we might remember 2011 for the news stories more than the games. Who could forget when that one thing happened? Man, what a crazy time that was. Need to be more specific when you're chatting with friends this New Year's Eve? Here are the top 5 news stories in the video game industry for 2011.
5. Skyrim
Anything and everything Skyrim hit it big this year, considerably more so in the Fall and Winter seasons. Whether we were previewing the game ahead of E3 thanks to Bethesda's BFG event or giving you all the media you needed to see leading up to the game's release, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim narrowly pushes the 3DS Price Drop out of the top 5 just by sheer volume.
Number of Articles in 2011's top 100 News Posts: 7
Highest Ranking: Skyrim Will Have Decapitations, Personal Sex Slaves, and Drinking Contests
4. Grand Theft Auto V: Debut Trailer
There aren't a lot of games that would forgo the big E3 reveal and announce themselves amid the Fall release rush of Video Games. Of course, there aren't a lot of games as big as Grand Theft Auto. The debut trailer only lasted a sweet one minute and 24 seconds, but it was enough to derail the marketing plans of some of 2011's biggest games.
Other stories posted on November 2nd, 2011 that no one remembers:
Techland "Dead Island" Devs Trademark "Dead World"
Saints Row: The Third PC Requirements Detailed
Sony Posts $350 Million Net Loss in Q2 2011
3. Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011
This was easily GameRevolution's biggest E3 yet, with more staff on hand and tons of live coverage. We liveblogged the press conferences, delivered tons of new game reveals, impressions, previews, hands-on, and we even wrote a poem for you. We even took a reader with us!
Number of E3 posts in our tag page for the year: 121
This is who won E3: GameRevolution's Best of E3 2011 Awards
2. Battlefield 3 Vs Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
I've got to be honest: rampant fanboyism, platform loyalty, and all the vitriol the internet can muster are not pleasant things to deal with. Regardless, the faceoff between Battlefield and Call of Duty this year definitely takes number 2 on our list of the top news, but not by our choice.
When mudslinging makes the news:
GameStop: Trade in Battlefield 3 for Modern Warfare 3
EA CEO Believes Call of Duty Will "Rot from the Core", Activision Responds
Visit ModernWarfare3.com To Check Out… Battlefield 3?
1. Sony's PlayStation 3 Hacked, PSN Down
You had to see this one coming. The combined hacking of the PS3 hardware and the PlayStation Network made massive waves earlier this year. It resulted in loss of brand-trust and millions of people had their credit card and personal information stolen off of what should have been secure networks. Servers were down and gamers were stuck counting the days. The incident also made Geohot somewhat internet famous, but man, that guy was a douche.
The PSN Outage in 5 Words: Hackers Got Us Free Games
The PSN Was Down for How Long Again?: 31 Days
Number of Tan Gamers After PSN Outage: Still Zero.
What will be the biggest stories in 2012?
