Similar to last year’s most anticipated video games, franchises dominated the mind share of gamers for 2014. New offerings from gaming mainstays Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, Madden, FIFA and others were once again eagerly anticipated by their devoted fans. But over the course of the year, a handful of new titles captured consumers’ interest to earn a spot on the lists of most anticipated games for 2014.
On the Vita platform, a trio of new series emerged as some of gamers’ most anticipated titles this year: Mind Zero, Demon Gaze and DanganRonpa, which was popular enough to launch a sequel later on in the same year. In the spring, gamers on 3DS were excited about a new Disney title (Disney Magical World) while PC and console gamers eagerly awaited Titanfall and Watch Dogs. Towards year-end, console gamers finally came face-to-face with their Destiny, which went on to be the most successful launch of a new franchise.
Top 10 Most Anticipated Titles of 2014 for Xbox 360
| Title | Release | Game Rank™ |
|---|---|---|
| Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | 11/3/2014 | 98% |
| Destiny | 9/9/2014 | 96% |
| Titanfall | 3/11/2014 | 96% |
| Madden NFL 15 | 8/26/2014 | 94% |
| Watch Dogs | 5/27/2014 | 94% |
| 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil | 4/15/2014 | 93% |
| FIFA 15 | 9/23/2014 | 91% |
| Assassin’s Creed: Rogue | 11/11/2014 | 90% |
| Far Cry 4 | 11/18/2014 | 90% |
| WWE 2K15 | 10/28/2014 | 87% |
| *Title is a platform exclusive. Read as: At one week pre-release, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare on Xbox 360 performed better in overall aggregated U.S. consumer anticipation than 98% of all previous Xbox 360 titles at the same point in their release cycles. Data from Jan. 1, 2013-Nov. 30, 2013. The overall anticipation level among gaming consumers was derived from leveraging several key consumer metrics (including awareness, purchase interest and others) into one overall score. That score was then compared to scores from all previous games released on the same platform at the same point in their release cycles, to determine the percentile ranking of the upcoming title (aka the Nielsen Game Rank™). Source: Nielsen Video Game Tracking. |
Top 10 Most Anticipated Titles of 2014 for PS3
| Title | Release | Game Rank™ |
|---|---|---|
| Watch Dogs | 5/27/2014 | 97% |
| Destiny | 9/9/2014 | 96% |
| Madden NFL 15 | 8/26/2014 | 96% |
| Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | 11/3/2014 | 94% |
| WWE 2K15 | 10/28/2014 | 93% |
| Dark Souls II | 3/11/2014 | 93% |
| MLB 14: The Show | 4/1/2014 | 93% |
| FIFA 15 | 9/23/2014 | 92% |
| Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare (PS3/PS4) | 8/19/2014 | 91% |
| Assassin’s Creed: Rogue | 11/11/2014 | 90% |
| *Title is a platform exclusive. Read as: At one week pre-release, Watch Dogs on PS3 performed better in overall aggregated U.S. consumer anticipation than 97% of all previous Xbox 360 titles at the same point in their release cycles. Data from Jan. 1, 2013-Nov. 30, 2013. The overall anticipation level among gaming consumers was derived from leveraging several key consumer metrics (including awareness, purchase interest and others) into one overall score. That score was then compared to scores from all previous games released on the same platform at the same point in their release cycles, to determine the percentile ranking of the upcoming title (aka the Nielsen Game Rank™). Source: Nielsen Video Game Tracking. |
Top 10 Most Anticipated Titles of 2014 for PC
| Title | Release | Game Rank™ |
|---|---|---|
| Assassin’s Creed: Unity | 11/11/2014 | 99% |
| The Sims 4 * | 9/2/2014 | 98% |
| Titanfall | 3/11/2014 | 98% |
| Watch Dogs | 5/27/2014 | 98% |
| Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | 11/3/2014 | 96% |
| FIFA 15 | 9/23/2014 | 94% |
| Diablo III: Reaper of Souls | 3/25/2014 | 91% |
| Company of Heroes 2: The Western Front Armies * | 6/24/2014 | 89% |
| Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth * | 10/24/2014 | 88% |
| Thief | 2/25/2014 | 88% |
| *Title is a platform exclusive. Read as: At one week pre-release, Assassin’s Creed: Unity on PC performed better in overall aggregated U.S. consumer anticipation than 99% of all previous PC titles at the same point in their release cycles. Data from Jan. 1, 2013-Nov. 30, 2013. The overall anticipation level among gaming consumers was derived from leveraging several key consumer metrics (including awareness, purchase interest and others) into one overall score. That score was then compared to scores from all previous games released on the same platform at the same point in their release cycles, to determine the percentile ranking of the upcoming title (aka the Nielsen Game Rank™). Source: Nielsen Video Game Tracking. |
Top 10 Most Anticipated Titles of 2014 for 3DS
| Title | Release | Game Rank™ |
|---|---|---|
| Super Smash Bros. (3DS) | 10/3/2014 | 98% |
| Disney Magical World * | 4/11/2014 | 94% |
| LEGO The Hobbit | 4/8/2014 | 94% |
| Pokemon Omega Ruby * | 11/21/2014 | 93% |
| Pokemon Alpha Sapphire * | 11/21/2014 | 92% |
| LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham | 11/11/2014 | 90% |
| Yoshi’s New Island * | 3/14/2014 | 87% |
| Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom | 11/18/2014 | 83% |
| Mario Golf: World Tour * | 5/2/2014 | 83% |
| LEGO Ninjago: Nindroids | 7/29/2014 | 81% |
| *Title is a platform exclusive. Read as: At one week pre-release, Super Smash Bros. on 3DS performed better in overall aggregated U.S. consumer anticipation than 98% of all previous 3DS titles at the same point in their release cycles. Data from Jan. 1, 2013-Nov. 30, 2013. The overall anticipation level among gaming consumers was derived from leveraging several key consumer metrics (including awareness, purchase interest and others) into one overall score. That score was then compared to scores from all previous games released on the same platform at the same point in their release cycles, to determine the percentile ranking of the upcoming title (aka the Nielsen Game Rank™). Source: Nielsen Video Game Tracking. |
Top 10 Most Anticipated Titles of 2014 for PS Vita
| Title | Release | Game Rank™ |
|---|---|---|
| Borderlands 2 (PS Vita) | 5/13/2014 | 94% |
| LEGO The Hobbit | 4/8/2014 | 92% |
| MLB 14: The Show | 4/1/2014 | 91% |
| LEGO Ninjago: Nindroids | 7/29/2014 | 90% |
| DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc * | 2/11/2014 | 79% |
| Mind Zero * | 5/27/2014 | 77% |
| Demon Gaze * | 4/22/2014 | 74% |
| Minecraft: PS Vita Edition | 10/14/2014 | 71% |
| DanganRonpa 2: Goodbye Despair * | 9/2/2014 | 69% |
| Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!! | 9/23/2014 | 66% |
| *Title is a platform exclusive. Read as: At one week pre-release, Borderlands 2 on Vita performed better in overall aggregated U.S. consumer anticipation than 94% of all previous Vita titles at the same point in their release cycles. Data from Jan. 1, 2013-Nov. 30, 2013. The overall anticipation level among gaming consumers was derived from leveraging several key consumer metrics (including awareness, purchase interest and others) into one overall score. That score was then compared to scores from all previous games released on the same platform at the same point in their release cycles, to determine the percentile ranking of the upcoming title (aka the Nielsen Game Rank™). Source: Nielsen Video Game Tracking. |
