There was no shortage of news to fill out the year, and we’re going to take a look back at the most popular news items of the year, counting down to the #1 most popular story of 2013. Of course, not all of these are strictly news… some are fascinating, some are visually impressive, some are outrageous, and others are just plain fun. Take a trip with us down memory lane…
#10: Minecraft Toys Coming from Jazwares
There are few games that have become a phenomenon like Minecraft, and the news that there will be official Minecraft toys no doubt was greet with cries of glee from the ten-year-olds of the world. Seems odd that they would be finding their way to this news item, though.
#9: Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag Collector’s Edition Blow Out
Sure, it’s a gorgeous collector’s edition, and this news item neatly shows what you can get. Why this particular news item became a star performer is part of the great Googly mystery of our time. If you want to see an exceptional example of a collector’s edition, though, this is the news item to see.
#8: Superhero Posters Go Full Noir Style
Another graphic re-imagining, this time of various superheroes done in a film noir poster style. It’s a trip to see what these iconic characters could have looked like.
#7: Game Developers Of Thrones
Some clever graphic artist re-imagined the houses of the hit TV series Game of Thrones as, well, game developers. Hilarity ensued…
#6: Gears of War Movie Gets Ted Producer
OK, it’s going to be an interesting movie if the choice of director says anything about it. Probably no teddy bear, but we can hope for a cameo. Just don’t put Ted in powered armor, please.
#5: Dead Space 3 Demo: Get Early Access Now
There was certainly lots of interest in getting early access to Electronic Arts’ Dead Space 3 demo, and this news item showed that clearly. Was the news not that widely spread Sometimes the popularity of these items is a mystery.
#4: Twitch.tv Hires In-House Sales Team
The streaming business has been expanding rapidly, so naturally Twitch has been expanding its sales force to meet the demand. It looks like the explosive growth will continue in 2014, with next-gen consoles fueling the increase with built-in Twitch sharing.
#3: Rockstar Hints at ‘Cocaine Cowboys’ Game
While Grand Theft Auto V has easily been the biggest game of the year, Rockstar is thinking ahead… and may be working on a game based around the Miami drug trade, with a female protagonist. Cue the outrage, and get ready to start counting sales in the millions again if they move forward with this plan.
The most impressive press kit we’ve seen since, well, ever, was produced by Warner Bros. Interactive for Batman: Arkham Origins. It’s a silver Batarang with an LCD screen and it’s going to be a hard one to top. Hear that, PR execs The gauntlet has been thrown!
#1: Skylanders U.S. Figurine Sales at Over 100 Million
It’s amazing how popular these figures continue to be, as this impressive milestone was reached in February of this year. It’s a fun game and the figures are impressively well-crafted, and next year we’ll probably be looking at new sales milestones as Skylanders continue to soar.
