Numerous video games were released in 2010. Many awards went to games such as Red Dead Redemption, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Mass Effect 2, God of War III and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Kinect from Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 was also released this year.
Series with new installments in 2010 include Ace Attorney, Alien vs. Predator, Army of Two, Assassin's Creed, Battlefield, BioShock, Call of Duty, Castlevania, Civilization, Crackdown, Donkey Kong, Darksiders, Dead Rising, Fable, Fallout, God of War, Gran Turismo, Grand Theft Auto, Halo, Just Cause, Kane and Lynch, Lost Planet, Mafia, Mass Effect, Medal of Honor, Mega Man, Metroid, Need for Speed, Pokémon, Prince of Persia, Red Dead, Red Steel, Resident Evil, Skate, StarCraft, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario, Super Monkey Ball, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Total War, and Trauma Center.
In addition, 2010 saw the introduction of several new properties, including Alan Wake, Darksiders, Deadly Premonition, Heavy Rain, and Metro.
Legend
Hardware releases
This is a list of all the game hardware released in 2010.
This year saw the release of Sony's PlayStation Move and Microsoft's Kinect, which are Motion controller peripherals made to compete with Nintendo's Wii. In addition, Nintendo also released the Wii Remote Plus, which was a Wii Remote with a built-in MotionPlus.
Two consoles revisions were also released this year, the Nintendo DSi XL (which initially launched in Japan last year) and the Xbox 360 S. Date Console March 5Nintendo DSi XLEUMarch 28Nintendo DSi XLNAApril 15Nintendo DSi XLAU June 18 Xbox 360 SNAJuly 1Xbox 360 SAUJuly 8Xbox 360 SNZJuly 16Xbox 360 SEU September 15 PlayStation MoveEU"Sony PlayStation Move launch details get official: $99 for the bundle, hits North America September 17th". 15 June 2010. Archived from the original on 2020-06-26. Retrieved 2020-06-23.September 16PlayStation MoveAU/NZGallagher, James (7 September 2010). "Everything You Need To Know About PlayStation Move". Sony Computer Entertainment; PlayStation Blog. Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2009.September 17PlayStation MoveUKSeptember 19PlayStation MoveNAOctober 21PlayStation MoveJP October 28 Wii Remote PlusAU November 4 KinectNA "Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect Launches November 4". Gizmodo. June 14, 2010. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.November 5Wii Remote PlusEUNovember 7Wii Remote PlusNANovember 10KinectEU"Kinect gets UK release date". BBC. August 17, 2010. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2010. It will hit the shelves on 10 November, five days after the US.November 11Wii Remote PlusJPThomas East. "Wii Remote Plus coming to Japan next month". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2013.November 14KinectCOL"Ya llegaron a Colombia los videojuegos que no necesitan controles" [They've arrived in Colombia: controller-free video games] (in Spanish). Caracol TV. November 14, 2010. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2010.November 18KinectAU"Xbox 360′s Kinect given release date for Australia". September 1, 2010. Archived from the original on September 3, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.November 20KinectJP"Microsoft to launch Kinect in Japan in November". The Economic Times. September 8, 2010. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
Best-selling family video games The following titles were the top five best-selling family video games worldwide in 2010.
Rank Title Platform(s) Publisher Sales1Wii SportsWiiNintendo16,600,0002New Super Mario Bros. WiiWiiNintendo11,300,000Wii Sports ResortWiiNintendo11,300,0004Wii Fit PlusWiiNintendo8,900,0005FIFA 11EA Sports8,400,000
Critically acclaimed titles Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
+ 2010 games and expansions scoring at least 90/100 (MC) or 90% (GR) Game Publisher Release Date Platform MC score GR score Super Mario Galaxy 2 Nintendo May 23, 2010 Wii 97/100 97.35% Mass Effect 2 Electronic Arts January 26, 2010 X360 96/100 95.77% Red Dead Redemption Rockstar Games May 18, 2010 PS3 95/100 94.66% Red Dead Redemption Rockstar Games May 18, 2010 X360 95/100 94.12% Mass Effect 2 Electronic Arts January 26, 2010 WIN 94/100 94.52% StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Blizzard Entertainment July 27, 2010 WIN 93/100 92.44% Rock Band 3 MTV Games October 26, 2010 X360 93/100 92.44% Pac-Man Championship Edition DX Namco Bandai Games November 17, 2010 X360 93/100 90.88% God of War III Sony Computer Entertainment March 16, 2010 PS3 92/100 92.07% Xenoblade Chronicles Nintendo June 10, 2010 Wii 92/100 91.74% Super Street Fighter IV Capcom April 27, 2010 PS3 92/100 91.23% Halo: Reach Microsoft Game Studios September 14, 2010 X360 91/100 91.79% World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Blizzard Entertainment December 7, 2010 WIN 90/100 91.45% Super Street Fighter IV Capcom April 27, 2010 X360 91/100 91.39% Pac-Man Championship Edition DX Namco Bandai Games November 17, 2010 PS3 91/100 91.06% Rock Band 3 MTV Games October 26, 2010 PS3 91/100 90.94% Rock Band 3 MTV Games October 26, 2010 Wii 91/100 90.67% MLB 10: The Show Sony Computer Entertainment March 2, 2010 PS3 91/100 90.53% Limbo Microsoft Game Studios July 21, 2010 X360 90/100 90.68% Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Ubisoft November 16, 2010 X360 89/100 90.62% Super Meat Boy Team Meat October 20, 2010 X360 90/100 90.51% Cave Story Nicalis March 22, 2010 Wii 89/100 90.31% Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Ubisoft November 16, 2010 PS3 90/100 89.92% Civilization V 2K September 21, 2010 WIN 90/100 89.17%
Major awards Category/Organization 28th Golden Joystick Awards VGA 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards 11th Game Developers Choice Awards 7th British Academy Games Awards Game of the Year Mass Effect 2 Red Dead Redemption Mass Effect 2 Red Dead Redemption Mass Effect 2 Independent / Debut Limbo colspan="3" Minecraft Downloadable Plants vs. Zombies Costume Quest colspan="3" Minecraft Mobile/Handheld Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver God of War: Ghost of Sparta Cut the Rope Innovation colspan="3" Heavy Rain Minecraft Heavy Rain Artistic Achievementor Graphics Animation rowspan="2" God of War III God of War III Limbo God of War III Art Direction Red Dead Redemption Audio Music rowspan="2" Red Dead Redemption Heavy Rain Red Dead Redemption Heavy Rain Sound Design colspan="2" Limbo Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Soundtrack Final Fantasy XIII DJ Hero 2 Rock Band 3 Character or Performance Actor rowspan="2" Neil Patrick Harris as Peter Parker/Spider-ManSpider-Man: Shattered Dimension Sgt. Frank WoodsCall of Duty: Black Ops Rob Wiethoff as John MarstonRed Dead Redemption rowspan="2" colspan="2" Actress Tricia Helfer as Sarah KerriganStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Game Direction or Design colspan="3" Red Dead Redemption Super Mario Galaxy 2 Narrative colspan="3" Mass Effect 2 Heavy RainTechnical Achievement Gameplay Engineering rowspan="2" colspan="3" Red Dead Redemption Red Dead Redemption rowspan="2" Visual Engineering Heavy Rain Multiplayer/Online League of Legends Halo: Reach StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Action/Adventure Action/Shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Call of Duty: Black Ops Red Dead Redemption rowspan="2" Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Adventure Assassin's Creed II Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Limbo Casual/Family or Rhythm Casual rowspan="2" Rock Band 3 Angry Birds HD rowspan="2" Kinect Sports Family Dance Central Fighting Street Fighter IV colspan="2" Super Street Fighter IV colspan="2" rowspan="2" Role-Playing Mass Effect 2 Sports Individual FIFA 10 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 FIFA 11 rowspan="2" F1 2010 Team NBA 2K11 Racing Forza Motorsport 3 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit colspan="2" Strategy/Simulation Plants vs. Zombies colspan="2" StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Civilization V Special Award rowspan="2" Strongest Heroes of All Time Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award Pioneer Awards Lifetime Achievement Award Academy Fellowship Master Chief of the Halo series,Samus Aran of the Metroid series,Marcus Fenix of the Gears of War series Ray Muzyka,Greg Zeschuk Bing Gordon Bill Budge Peter Molyneux
Video game-based film and television releases
Title Date Director Distributor(s) Franchise Original game publisher Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic February 9, 2010 Mike Disa Anchor Bay Entertainment Dante's Inferno Electronic Arts Halo Legends February 16, 2010 Frank O'Connor Warner Home Video Halo Bungie Pixels April 8, 2010 Patrick Jean One More Production Street Fighter: Legacy May 6, 2010 Joey Ansah Streetlight Films Inc. Street Fighter Capcom Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time May 9, 2010 Mike Newell Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Prince of Persia Ubisoft Mortal Kombat: Rebirth June 8, 2010 Kevin Tancharoen Mortal Kombat Midway Games Zoroark: Master of Illusions July 10, 2010 Kunihiko Yuyama Toho Pokémon Game Freak Resident Evil: Afterlife September 2, 2010 Paul W. S. Anderson Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group Resident Evil Capcom Tron: Legacy December 17, 2010 Joseph Kosinski Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Tron
Events
Date Event January 7–10 International Consumer Electronics Show 2010 was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. February 11–14 Microsoft X10 held in San Francisco. February 24–27 Nintendo World Summit held in San Francisco. March 9–13 Game Developers Conference 2010 held in San Francisco, CA. March 26–28 First PAX East Coast at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in Boston, MA. April 15 Xbox Live for original Xbox console and games discontinued. April 20–23 Captivate, Capcom's annual tradeshow was held in Honolulu, Hawaii. May 4–7 The Humble Indie Bundle, an experiment into indie, charitable, cross-platform, DRM-free digital game distribution, is first released to great success. May 30 Esports organization FaZe Clan is founded. June 15–17 E3 2010 is held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. June 17–19 OnLive released. August 12–15 QuakeCon was held in the Hotel Hilton Anatole, in Dallas, Texas, USA. August 16–18 Game Developers Conference was held in Europe in Cologne. August 18–22 Gamescom 2010 was held at Cologne, Germany. September 3–5 Penny Arcade Expo 2010 was held at Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. September 15–21 PlayStation Move was launched in North America, Europe and various Asian countries. September 16–19 Tokyo Game Show 2010 was held at Makuhari Messe in Japan. September 30–October 3The 2010 World Cyber Games take place. October 22–23 BlizzCon 2010 was held at Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. November 4–7 Microsoft's Kinect launched worldwide, starting in North America. December 11 The 2010 Spike Video Game Awards were held.
Notable deaths
February 24 - Mark Beaumont, 54, COO of Capcom February 1 - Tomi Pierce, 56, Writer of The Last Express April 29 - Alexander Shafto "Sandy" Douglas, 88, Computer Scientist and creator of the first graphical computer game OXO May 29 – Dennis Hopper, 74, actor (King Koopa in Super Mario Bros., Mr. Beautiful in Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller, Walter Pensky in Black Dahlia, Steve Scott in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and George Struggs in Deadly Creatures) June 26 - Jonathan Smith, 57, British game developer, notable for developing many titles for the ZX Spectrum including Cobra September 7 – Glenn Shadix, 58, actor (Demolition Man, The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge, Kingdom Hearts) October 29 – Takeshi Shudo, 61, scriptwriter and creator of Lugia for Pokémon December 9 - John Makepeace Bennett, 89, Computer Scientist who worked on Nimrod, one of the first computers capable of playing games December 29 - Brigitte Burdine, 48, Casting Director who worked on God of War II
Games released in 2010