2008 in video games

2008 saw many new installments in established video game franchises, such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Gears of War 2, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Persona 4, Fable II, Call of Duty: World at War, Mario Kart Wii, Madden NFL 09, NBA Live 09, NBA 2K9, and WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009. New intellectual properties included Army of Two, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, LittleBigPlanet, Mirror's Edge, iRacing, Race Driver: Grid, and Spore, De Blob, Meat Boy.

Major awards

Category/Organization		26th Golden Joystick Awards October 31, 2008	VGA December 14, 2008		12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards February 19, 2009	5th British Academy Games Awards March 10, 2009	9th Game Developers Choice Awards March 25, 2009
Game of the Year		Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Grand Theft Auto IV		LittleBigPlanet	Super Mario Galaxy	Fallout 3
Independent / Debut[i]		—	World of Goo		—		LittleBigPlanet
Downloadable		—					World of Goo
Mobile/Handheld	Mobile	Bejeweled 2	Professor Layton and the Curious Village		Spore Origins	Professor Layton and the Curious Village	God of War: Chains of Olympus
	Handheld	The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass			God of War: Chains of Olympus
Innovation		—			LittleBigPlanet	—	LittleBigPlanet
Artistic Achievement or Graphics[i]	Animation	—	Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots		Prince of Persia	LittleBigPlanet	Prince of Persia
	Art Direction				LittleBigPlanet
Audio[i]	Music	—	Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots			Dead Space	Dead Space
	Sound Design		—		Dead Space
	Soundtrack	Grand Theft Auto IV	Rock Band 2			—
Character or Performance[i]	Actor	—	Michael Hollick as Nico Bellic Grand Theft Auto IV		Sackboy LittleBigPlanet	—
	Actress		Debi Mae West as Meryl Silverburgh Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Game Direction or Design	Game Design	—			World of Goo	Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	LittleBigPlanet
	Game Direction				LittleBigPlanet
Narrative	Adapted	—			Star Wars: The Force Unleashed	Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Fallout 3
	Original				Fallout 3
Technical Achievement[i]	Gameplay Engineering	—			Spore	Spore	LittleBigPlanet
	Visual Engineering				LittleBigPlanet
Multiplayer/Online[i]		Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	Left 4 Dead				—
Action/Adventure	Action	—	Grand Theft Auto IV		Dead Space	Fable II
	Adventure				Mirror's Edge
Casual/Family or Rhythm	Casual	—	Rock Band 2		Braid	Boom Blox
	Family				LittleBigPlanet
Fighting		—	Soulcalibur IV		Super Smash Bros. Brawl	—
Role-Playing	RPG	—	Fallout 3		Fallout 3
	MMORPG				World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
Sports	Individual	—	Shaun White Snowboarding		NHL 09	Race Driver: Grid
	Team		NHL 09
Racing		—	Burnout Paradise			—
Strategy/Simulation		—			Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3	Civilization Revolution
Special Award		—	Gamer God		Hall of Fame	Academy Fellowship	Lifetime Achievement Award
			Will Wright		Bruce Shelley	Nolan Bushnell	Hideo Kojima

1. Certain award presentations combine these categories.

Events

Month	Date(s)	Event
June	28	Blizzard Entertainment announces Diablo III in Paris, France.
July	29	Game developers Joseph and Melissa Batten die in a murder-suicide.
November	13	Zeebo was announced. The console is aiming for developing countries.
December	14	The 2008 Spike Video Game Awards were held.[1]

Business

Month	Date(s)	Event
July	15–17	E3 2008 in Los Angeles, California, United States.[2][3]
July 31 – August 3		QuakeCon 2008 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas, United States.
October	2–4	Nintendo conference held in San Francisco, United States and Tokyo, Japan.
December	1	National Amusements' Sumner Redstone sells his controlling stake in Midway Games to private investor Mark Thomas, for $100,000 ($0.0012 a share), and assumes $70 million of senior secured and unsecured debt.[4]
	9	Infogrames, Atari's parent company, purchases Cryptic Studios.[5]

Open to the public

Month	Date(s)	Event
August	21–24	Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany.
October	3–5	E for All at the Los Angeles Convention center in California, United States.
	9–12	Tokyo Game Show at the Makuhari Messe International Convention in Mihama-ku, Chiba, Japan.[6]
		Games Convention Asia in Singapore.
	10–11	BlizzCon 2008 in Anaheim, California, United States.

Hardware and software sales

See also: List of million-selling game consoles and List of best-selling video games

Worldwide

The following are the best-selling games of 2008 in terms of worldwide retail sales. These games sold at least 5 million units worldwide in 2008.

Rank	Title	Sales	Publisher	Platform(s)	Ref
1	Wii Sports	22,660,000	Nintendo	Wii	[a]
2	Mario Kart Wii	13,670,000	Nintendo	Wii	[8]
3	Wii Fit	12,960,000	Nintendo	Wii	[b]
4	Wii Play	11,680,000	Nintendo	Wii	[c]
5	Grand Theft Auto IV	10,000,000	Take-Two Interactive	PS3 / X360	[9]
6	Super Smash Bros. Brawl	8,100,000	Nintendo	Wii	[8]
7	Call of Duty: World at War	5,890,000	Activision Blizzard	PS3 / X360 / PC	[10]
8	Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!	5,110,000	Nintendo	Nintendo DS	[d]

Canada

• Based on figures from the NPD Group:

Video game console sales in Canada (first seven months of 2008)^[11]

Place	Console	Units sold
1	Wii	376,000
2	PlayStation 3	200,000
3	Xbox 360	154,000

Japan

• Based on figures from Enterbrain:

Video game console sales of 2008 in Japan (December 31, 2007 – December 28, 2008)^[12][13][14]

Place	Console	Units sold
1	Nintendo DS	4,029,804
2	PlayStation Portable	3,543,171
3	Wii	2,908,342
4	PlayStation 3	991,303
5	PlayStation 2	480,664
6	Xbox 360	317,859
7	Other	9,575

Best-selling video games of 2008 in Japan (December 31, 2007 – December 28, 2008)^[12][13][14]

Place	Title	Platform	Publisher	Units sold
1	Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G	PSP	Capcom	2,452,111
2	Pokémon Platinum	NDS	Pokémon Company	2,187,337
3	Wii Fit	Wii	Nintendo	2,149,131
4	Mario Kart Wii	Wii	Nintendo	2,003,315
5	Super Smash Bros. Brawl	Wii	Nintendo	1,747,113
6	Rhythm Heaven	NDS	Nintendo	1,350,671
7	Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride	NDS	Square Enix	1,176,082
8	Animal Crossing: City Folk	Wii	Nintendo	895,302
9	Kirby Super Star Ultra	NDS	Nintendo	855,427
10	Wii Sports	Wii	Nintendo	841,736

• Based on figures from Dengeki:

Best-selling video games of 2008 in Japan (December 31, 2007 – December 21, 2008)^[15][16][17]

Place	Title	Platform	Publisher	Units sold
1	Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G	PSP	Capcom	2,507,400
2	Pokémon Platinum	NDS	Pokémon Company	2,125,348
3	Wii Fit	Wii	Nintendo	2,024,113
4	Mario Kart Wii	Wii	Nintendo	1,973,089
5	Super Smash Bros. Brawl	Wii	Nintendo	1,808,709
6	Rhythm Heaven	NDS	Nintendo	1,320,047
7	Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride	NDS	Square Enix	1,228,014
8	Kirby Super Star Ultra	NDS	Nintendo	724,608
9	Animal Crossing: City Folk	Wii	Nintendo	709,640
10	Wii Sports	Wii	Nintendo	694,765

United States

• Based on figures from the NPD Group:

Video game console sales in the US (first six months of 2008)^[18]

Place	Console	Units sold
1	Wii	3.5 million
2	PlayStation 3	1.6 million
3	Xbox 360	1.34 million

Best-selling video games of 2008 in the US^[19][20]

Place	Title	Platform	Publisher	Units sold
1	Wii Play	Wii	Nintendo	5.28 million
2	Mario Kart Wii	Wii	Nintendo	5.00 million
3	Wii Fit	Wii	Nintendo	4.53 million
4	Super Smash Bros. Brawl	Wii	Nintendo	4.17 million
5	Grand Theft Auto IV	X360	Rockstar Games	3.29 million
6	Call of Duty: World at War	X360	Activision	2.75 million
7	Gears of War 2	X360	Microsoft	2.31 million
8	Grand Theft Auto IV	PS3	Rockstar Games	1.89 million
9	Madden NFL 09	X360	Electronic Arts	1.87 million
10	Mario Kart DS	NDS	Nintendo	1.65 million

• Based on figures from the NPD Group via IGN;^[21][22] the games' publishers are listed in brackets:

Best-selling video games of 2008 in the US (by platform)^[a]

Place	NDS[23]	PC[24]	PS3[25]
1	Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega)	Spore (Electronic Arts)	Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar Games)
2	Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness (Nintendo)	Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Funcom)	Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami)
3	Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision)	Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Electronic Arts)	Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts)
4	Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (LucasArts)	The Sims 2: FreeTime (Electronic Arts)	Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (Sony Computer Entertainment)
5	Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo)	Spore Creature Creator (Electronic Arts)	MLB 08: The Show (Sony Computer Entertainment)
6	Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Nintendo)	Sins of a Solar Empire (Stardock)	Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts)
7	Kung Fu Panda (Activision)	The Sims 2: Apartment Life (Electronic Arts)	NCAA Football 09 (Electronic Arts)
8	Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (Nintendo)	The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff (Electronic Arts)	Army of Two (Electronic Arts)
9	Crosswords DS (Nintendo)	Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Soulstorm (THQ)	Soulcalibur IV (Namco Bandai)
10	Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (Square Enix)	The Sims Castaway Stories (Electronic Arts)	Devil May Cry 4 (Capcom)

Place	PSP[26]	Wii[27]	X360[21]
1	Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix)	Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo)	Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar Games)
2	God of War: Chains of Olympus (Sony Computer Entertainment)	Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo)	Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts)
3	MLB 08: The Show (Sony Computer Entertainment)	Wii Fit (Nintendo)	Fable II (Microsoft)
4	Iron Man (Sega)	Rock Band (MTV Games)	Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (Ubisoft)
5	Patapon (Sony Computer Entertainment)	Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (LucasArts)	Army of Two (Electronic Arts)
6	Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts)	Mario Super Sluggers (Nintendo)	Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts)
7	Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts)	Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts)	Battlefield: Bad Company (Electronic Arts)
8	Major League Baseball 2K8 (2K Games)	Deca Sports (Hudson Soft)	NCAA Football 09 (Electronic Arts)
9	Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts)	Endless Ocean (Nintendo)	Rock Band 2 (MTV Games)
10	Need for Speed: ProStreet (Electronic Arts)	Unknown	Ninja Gaiden II (Microsoft)

^ a: In the IGN articles used as sources, IGN lists the titles as the "Top 10 Sellers in 2008"; however, the IGN articles were published on December 9–12, 2008, so the articles might not take into account November and December sales figures, as the NPD Group did not release November's console game sales figures until December 11, 2008.^[28]

• Based on figures from the NPD Group:

Note: This list only includes games that were released after NPD started tracking video game sales data.

Best-selling console games of all time in the US (as of May 1, 2008)^[29]

Place	Title	Units sold
1	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	9.40 million
2	Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock	8.20 million
3	Madden NFL 07	7.70 million
4	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	7.30 million
5	Madden NFL 06	6.70 million
6	Halo 2	6.61 million
7	Madden NFL 08	6.60 million
8	Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare	6.25 million
9	Grand Theft Auto III	6.20 million
10	Madden NFL 2005	6.10 million

Other

• Based on figures from Enterbrain, GfK Chart-Track, and the NPD Group, respectively:

Best-selling video games in Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States combined (January–July 2008)^[30]

Place	Title	Units sold in Japan	Units sold in the UK	Units sold in the US	Total units sold
1	Grand Theft Auto IV	–	1,582,000	4,711,000	6,293,000
2	Super Smash Bros. Brawl	1,681,000	213,000	3,539,000	5,433,000
3	Mario Kart Wii	1,601,000	687,000	2,409,000	4,697,000
4	Wii Fit	1,547,000	624,000	1,433,000	3,604,000
5	Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock	26,000	412,000	3,037,000	3,475,000

Best-selling video games in Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States combined (July–September 2008)^[31]

Place	Title	Units sold in Japan	Units sold in the UK	Units sold in the US	Total units sold
1	Madden NFL 09	1,000	35,000	2,958,000	2,994,000
2	Wii Fit	346,000	460,000	1,283,000	2,089,000
3	Star Wars: The Force Unleashed	–	321,000	1,417,000	1,738,000
4	Pokémon Platinum	1,482,000	–	–	1,482,000
5	Mario Kart Wii	218,000	394,000	856,000	1,468,000

Hardware releases

Nintendo DSi

Month	Day	Console
August	22	LeapFrog Didj[32]
November	1	Nintendo DSi

Game releases

Video game platforms

GBA Game Boy Advance iPod Unknown platform Lin Linux Mac Mac NDS Nintendo DS PS2 PlayStation 2 PS3 PlayStation 3 PSP PlayStation Portable Wii Wii Win Windows X360 Xbox 360 Xbox Xbox

Release Date	Title	Systems
January 1	FlatOut 2	Mac
January 2	Metal Slug 3	XBLA
January 3	Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon	NDS
January 8	Brain Challenge	NDS
	Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law	PS2, PSP, Wii
	Jackass: The Game	NDS
	Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom	X360
	Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity	PS2, Wii
January 9	Omega Five	XBLA
January 15	CSI: Hard Evidence	Wii
	Nanostray 2	NDS
	Nitrobike	Wii
	Samurai Warriors: Katana	Wii
January 16	Rail Simulator	Win
January 17	Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games	NDS
	Tori-Emaki	PS3
January 21	Advance Wars: Days of Ruin	NDS
January 22	Burnout Paradise	PS3, X360
	No More Heroes	Wii
	Pirates of the Burning Sea	Win
January 24	PixelJunk Monsters	PSN
January 29	The Sims Castaway Stories	Win, Mac
January 30	Rez HD	XBLA
January 31	Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice	PS3
	Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Japan)	Wii
	We Ski	Wii
February 4	Sins of a Solar Empire	Win
	Zoo Tycoon 2 DS	NDS
February 5	Assassin's Creed: Altaïr's Chronicles	NDS
	Culdcept Saga	X360
	Devil May Cry 4	PS3, X360
	Turok	PS3, X360
February 7	The Club	PS3, Win, X360
	Go! Puzzle	PS3, PSP
	Grand Chase[33]	Win
	L the Prologue to Death Note -Rasen no Wana-	NDS
February 8	Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None	Wii
February 12	Conflict: Denied Ops	PS3, Win, X360
	Dark Messiah of Might and Magic	X360
	Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon	PS2
	Jumper: Griffin's Story	PS2, PS3, Wii, X360
	Lost Odyssey	X360
	Penumbra: Black Plague	Lin, Win
	Wipeout Pulse	PSP
February 14	Dream Chronicles 2: The Eternal Maze	Win
February 18	MX vs. ATV: Untamed	Wii
	Need for Speed: ProStreet	PSP
February 19	Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors	Wii
	Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of Ancient Arts	NDS, PSP
	Dynasty Warriors 6	PS3, X360
	Pimp My Ride	Wii
	The History Channel: Battle for the Pacific	PS3
February 20	N+	XBLA
February 21	Lost Planet: Extreme Condition	PS3
	Space Invaders Extreme	NDS, PSP
February 22	Barnyard Blast: Swine of the Night	NDS
February 25	Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed	Wii
	Frontlines: Fuel of War	Win, X360
February 26	Bubble Bobble Double Shot	NDS
	Lost: Via Domus	PS3, Win, X360
	Naruto: Ninja Destiny	NDS
	Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection	PS2, PSP, Wii
	Turning Point: Fall of Liberty	PS3, Win, X360
	Universe at War: Earth Assault	X360
February 27	Blokus Portable: Steambot Championship	PSP
	Triggerheart Exelica	XBLA
February 28	The Idolmaster Live For You!	X360
	The Sims 2: FreeTime	Win
March 1	Trials 2: Second Edition	Win
March 3	Bully: Scholarship Edition	Wii, X360
	Major League Baseball 2K8	PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, X360
March 4	Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery	NDS
	Army of Two	PS3, X360
	Eco Creatures: Save the Forest	NDS
	God of War: Chains of Olympus	PSP
	MLB 08: The Show	PS2, PS3, PSP
	Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer	NDS
	Ninja Reflex	Wii
	Silent Hill: Origins	PS2
March 5	Harvest: Massive Encounter	Mac, Win
	Rocketmen: Axis of Evil	XBLA
	Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Soulstorm	Win
March 6	Flow	PSP
	Yakuza: Kenzan!	PS3
	Rocketmen: Axis of Evil	PSN
March 9	Super Smash Bros. Brawl (NA)	Wii
March 10	Worms: A Space Oddity	Wii
March 11	Buzz!: The Hollywood Quiz	PS2
	Condemned 2: Bloodshot	X360
	George of the Jungle and the Search for the Secret	NDS, PS2, Wii
	Insecticide	NDS, Win
	Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters	PS2
	The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return	Wii
	Wild Arms XF	PSP
March 12	Bliss Island	XBLA
March 18	Condemned 2: Bloodshot	PS3
	Enemy Territory: Quake Wars	Mac
	Everybody's Golf 5	PS3
	Pro Evolution Soccer 2008	Wii
	Sega Superstars Tennis	NDS, PS2, PS3, Wii, X360
	Target: Terror	Wii
	Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2	PS3, Win, X360
March 19	Deca Sports	Wii
	SimCity DS 2	NDS
March 20	Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (Japan)	NDS
March 24	Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath	Win, X360
	Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII	PSP
	M&M's Kart Racing	NDS
March 25
	ObsCure II	Wii
	Opoona	Wii
	Viking: Battle for Asgard	PS3, X360
March 26	GoPets: Vacation Island	NDS
March 28	Dark Sector	PS3, X360
	Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword	NDS
April 1	Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30	Wii
April 2	Mr. Driller Online	XBLA
	Star Ocean: Second Evolution	PSP
April 4	FlatOut: Head On	PSP
April 8	Assassin's Creed	Win
	Baroque	PS2, Wii
	Supreme Commander	X360
April 9	Ikaruga	XBLA
April 10	Arcana Heart	PS2
	Mario Kart Wii	Wii
April 15	Ōkami	Wii
	Rondo of Swords	NDS
	Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys!	NDS
April 16	TrackMania Nations Forever	Win
April 18	Legacy of Ys: Books I & II[34]	NDS
April 20	Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness	NDS
April 21	Metal Arms: Glitch in the System	X360
April 22	High School Musical 2: Work This Out!	NDS
	Persona 3 FES	PS2
	The World Ends with You	NDS
	Turok	Win
April 24	Valkyria Chronicles	PS3
April 25	King's Bounty: The Legend	Win
April 29	Grand Theft Auto IV	PS3, X360
	Let's Yoga	NDS
April 30	Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor	Win
May 1	Echochrome	PSN, PSP
May 2	Iron Man	NDS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Win, X360
May 5	Chameleon	PSP
	Crosswords DS	NDS
	The Destiny of Zorro	Wii
May 6	Boom Blox	Mobile, Wii
	Speed Racer	NDS, Wii
May 12	LostWinds	WiiWare
May 13	Castle of Shikigami III	Wii
	Drone Tactics	NDS
	The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian	NDS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Win, X360
May 15	Dark Mist	PSN
	Luminous Arc 2: Will	NDS
May 17	Monster Madness: Grave Danger	PS3
May 19	Critter Round-Up	WiiWare
May 20	Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures	Win
	SingStar	PS3
May 21	Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness	Lin, Mac, Win, X360
	Wii Fit (America)	Wii
May 23	Haze	PS3
May 26	Cross Edge	PS3
	Dr. Mario Online Rx	WiiWare
May 27	Death Jr. II: Root of Evil	Wii
	Emergency Heroes	Wii
	Enemy Territory: Quake Wars	PS3, X360
	Super Dodgeball Brawlers	NDS
May 28	Mass Effect	Win
May 30	Commando: Steel Disaster	NDS
	Race Driver: Grid	PS3, Win, X360
June 3	Chaos Wars	PS2
	Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2'	PSP
	Kung Fu Panda	NDS, PS2, PS3, Wii, Win, X360
	Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures	NDS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Win, Xbox, X360
	Ninja Gaiden II	X360
	Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy	PS3, X360
	Summon Night: Twin Age	NDS
June 4	Roogoo	XBLA
June 5	Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit	PS3, X360
	Carl²: Taking the Class	PS3, X360
	Fushigi no Dungeon – Furai no Shiren 3: Karakuri Yashiki no Nemuri Hime	Wii
	The Incredible Hulk	NDS, PS2, PS3, Wii, X360
June 9	My Pokémon Ranch	WiiWare
June 10	Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy	Wii
	Don King Presents: Prizefighter	X360
	Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit	PS3, X360
	NASCAR 09	PS2, PS3, X360
	Total Drama	Win, PS2, PS3, NDS, Wii, X360
	The Incredible Hulk	Win
June 11	Frogger 2	XBLA
	Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles	NDS
June 12	Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots	PS3
June 13	Civilization Revolution	PS3, X360
	Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard	NDS
June 17	Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm	X360
	Di-Gata Defenders: Legend of the Seth	NDS, PS2, PS3, X360, Wii
	Secret Agent Clank	PSP
	Supreme Ruler 2020	Win
	Wacky Races: Crash and Dash	NDS, Wii
June 18	Elements of Destruction	XBLA
	Fishdom	NDS
June 19	Fatal Inertia EX	PS3
	Mario Super Sluggers	Wii
June 20	Alone in the Dark	PS2, Wii, Win, X360
	Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A.	NDS
	Top Spin 3	PS3, Wii, X360
June 22	Guitar Hero: On Tour	NDS
	Rock Band	Wii
June 23	Battlefield: Bad Company	PS3, X360
	Gyrostarr	WiiWare
	Top Spin 3	NDS
June 24	WALL-E	NDS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Win, X360
	Big Beach Sports	Wii
	Hellboy: The Science of Evil	PS3, PSP, X360
	Mega Man Star Force 2	NDS
June 25	Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm	X360, Win
June 26	Disgaea DS: Prince of the Demon World and the Red Moon	NDS
	Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World	Wii
June 29	Guitar Hero: Aerosmith	PS2, PS3, Wii, X360
June 30	Journey to the Center of the Earth	NDS
	Magnetica	WiiWare
July 1	Elements of Destruction	Win
	Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2	NDS
	Soul Bubbles	NDS
July 3	1 vs. 100	NDS
	Initial D Extreme Stage	PS3
	Nanashi no Game	NDS
	Unreal Tournament 3	X360
July 7	Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes	iPod
	SPOGS Racing	WiiWare
	Zen Pinball: Rollercoaster	iOS
July 8	Beijing 2008	PS3, X360
	Civilization Revolution	NDS
	Devil May Cry 4	Win
	Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon	Wii
July 10	Critter Crunch	iOS
	Resident Evil Zero	Wii
	Persona 4	PS2
July 11	Dynasty Warriors 6	Win
	Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice	Win
July 14	Major League Eating: The Game	Wii
July 15	Mister Slime	NDS
	NCAA Football 09	PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, X360
	Space Chimps	NDS, PS2, Wii, Win, X360
	We Love Golf!	Wii
July 16	Double D Dodgeball	XBLA
July 17	Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride	NDS
	Elefunk	PSN
	Rayman	PSN
	Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi	PS3
July 22	New International Track & Field	NDS
	The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor	NDS, PS2, PS3, Wii, X360
July 23	1942: Joint Strike	XBLA
	Go! Go! Break Steady	XBLA
July 24	1942: Joint Strike	PSN
	Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock	X360
	Siren: Blood Curse	PS3
	Wario Land: The Shake Dimension	Wii
July 28	Pong Toss! Frat Party Games	WiiWare
July 29	MLB Power Pros 2008	PS2, Wii
	Soulcalibur IV	PS3, X360
	Spectral Force 3: Innocent Rage	X360
July 30	Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2	X360
July 31	Fatal Frame IV	Wii
	Phantasy Star Portable	PSP
	Rhythm Heaven (Japan)	NDS
August 1	Race Driver: Grid	NDS
August 4	Reset Generation	Win
	Wild West Guns	WiiWare
August 5	Dance Dance Revolution: Nickelodeon Party 3	PS2
August 6	Braid	XBLA
August 7	Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon	NDS
	Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour	PS2
	Tales of Vesperia	X360
August 12	Bangai-O Spirits	NDS
	Space Siege	Win
August 13	Bionic Commando Rearmed	XBLA
	Madden NFL 09	NDS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, X360, Xbox
August 14	Bionic Commando Rearmed	PSN, Win
August 19	The Cheetah Girls: Passport to Stardom	NDS
	Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm	Win
	Too Human	X360
August 21	Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty	PS3
	Sigma Harmonics	NDS
August 22	Inazuma Eleven	NDS
August 25	Helix	WiiWare
	MLB Power Pros 2008	NDS
August 26	Digimon World Championship	NDS
	FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage	Win
	From the Abyss	NDS
	My Chinese Coach	NDS
	N+	NDS, PSP
	The Quest Trio	NDS
	The Sims 2: Apartment Life	Win
	The Sims 2: Apartment Pets	NDS
	Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09	PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, X360
August 27	Castle Crashers	X360
August 28	Afrika	PS3
	Asphalt 4: Elite Racing	iOS
	Captain Rainbow	Wii
	The Last Guy	PS3
August 29	Spy Fox in "Dry Cereal"	Wii
August 31	Mercenaries 2: World in Flames	PS2, PS3, Win, X360
September 2	Infinite Undiscovery	X360
	Rapala Fishing Frenzy 2009	PS3, Wii, X360
	Vampire Rain: Altered Species	PS3
	Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise	X360
September 3	Shred Nebula	XBLA
September 4	Blue Dragon Plus	NDS
September 5	FaceBreaker	PS3, X360
	S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky	Win
	Spore	Mac, mobile, NDS, Win
	Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise	NDS
September 8	Air Traffic Chaos	NDS
	Lock's Quest	NDS
	NHL 2K9	PS2, PS3, Wii, X360
September 9	Hell's Kitchen: The Game	NDS, PS2, Wii, X360
	The Fairly OddParents: Rules of Engagement	NDS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, X360
	NHL 09	PS3, Wii, X360
	TNA iMPACT!	PS2, PS3, Wii, X360
	Yakuza 2	PS2
	Zoids Assault	X360
September 11	One Piece: Unlimited Cruise: Episode 1	Wii
September 12	Crysis Warhead	Win
September 13	Pokémon Platinum (Japan)	NDS
September 14	6teen: Dude of the Living Dead	NDS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Win, X360
	Rock Band 2	X360
September 15	Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition	NDS
September 16	Armored Core: For Answer	PS3, X360
	Battle Fantasia	X360
	Criminal Minds: Hard Conspiracy	PS3, Win, X360
	Crysis Warhead	Win
	Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2	Wii
	Dance Dance Revolution X	PS2
	Speed Racer: The Videogame	PS2
	Star Wars: The Force Unleashed	NDS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii
	The Witcher: Enhanced Edition	Win
	Pure	PS3, X360, Win
September 18	Dragon Ball: Origins	NDS
	Eternal Sonata	PS3
	Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning	Win
September 19	Igor: The Game	NDS, Wii, Win
September 22	Civilization IV: Colonization	Win
	De Blob	NDS, Wii, Win
	Di-Gata Defenders	NDS, PS2, PS3, Wii, X360
	Kirby Super Star Ultra	NDS
	Mega Man 9	WiiWare
	SimCity Creator	Wii
	EA Sports 08 Collection	Win
September 23	B-Boy	PSP
	Brothers in Arms: Double Time	Wii
	Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway	PS3, X360
	Buzz!: Master Quiz	PSP
	Dinosaur King	PS2, NDS, Wii, X360
	Hi Hamtaro! Little Hamsters Big Adventure	NDS
	Lego Batman: The Video Game	NDS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Win, X360
	Microsoft Tinker	Win
	Shaun the Sheep	NDS
	Time Hollow	NDS
September 24	Dragon Ball Z: Trilogy	PS2
	Duke Nukem 3D	XBLA
September 25	Aquanaut's Holiday: Hidden Memories	PS3
	Cross Edge	PS3
	Disaster: Day of Crisis	Wii
	Geon	PS3
	Janline	X360
	Mega Man 9	PSN
	Sands of Destruction	NDS
	Wipeout HD	PSN
	World Destruction: Michibikareshi Ishi	NDS
September 30	Silent Hill: Homecoming	PS3, Win, X360
	Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood	NDS
	Tornado	NDS
	Unsolved Crimes	NDS
October 1	Mega Man 9	XBLA
October 2	Dynasty Warriors 6	PS2
	Ikki Tousen: Eloquent Fist	PSP
	Work Time Fun	PSN
October 4	Meat Boy	Browser
October 5	Fieldrunners	iOS
October 7	Bleach: Dark Souls	NDS
	Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway	Win
	Crash: Mind over Mutant	PS2, Wii, X360, PSP
	Crash: Mind over Mutant	NDS
	Fracture	PS3, X360
	Guilty Gear 2: Overture	X360
	NBA Live 09	PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, X360
	NBA 2K9	PS2, PS3, Wii, X360
	Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals	NDS
October 8	MLB Stickball	XBLA
	The Legend of Kage 2	NDS
October 9	Linger in Shadows	PS3
	Macross Ace Frontier	PSP
	Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars	PS3
	Snoopy DS: Let's Go Meet Snoopy and His Friends!	NDS
October 13	Avatar: The Last Airbender – Into the Inferno	NDS, PS2, Wii
	Blitz: The League II	PS3, X360
	Cubello	WiiWare
	Prey the Stars	NDS
	Tak: Mojo Mistake	NDS
	World of Goo	Win, Wii
October 14	Dead Space	PS3, X360
	FIFA 09	Mobile, NDS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Win, X360
	Rock Revolution	NDS, PS3, Wii, X360
	Saints Row 2	PS3, X360
	SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Confrontation	PS3
	Golden Axe: Beast Rider	PS3, X360
	Boogie Superstar	Wii
October 15	Age of Booty	XBLA
October 16	Culdcept DS	NDS
	Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy	Win
	Wii Music	Wii
	X3: Terran Conflict	Win
October 19	Rock Band 2	PS3
October 20	Back at the Barnyard: Slop Bucket Games	NDS
	Celebrity Sports Showdown	Wii
	Midnight Club: Los Angeles	PS3, X360, PSP
	NHL 09	Win
	Dead Space	Win
	SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom	PS2, Wii, NDS
	The Naked Brothers Band: The Video Game	NDS, PS2, Wii, Win
October 21	Bully: Scholarship Edition	Win
	BioShock	PS3
	Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia	NDS
	Crash: Mind over Mutant	PSP
	Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3	X360
	Disney Think Fast	Wii
	Far Cry 2	PS3, Win, X360
	Fable II	X360
	Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009	Wii
	Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ	NDS
	Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2	Wii
	Spider-Man: Web of Shadows	NDS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Win, X360
	The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon	NDS, PS2, PS3, Wii, X360
	Transformers Animated: The Game	NDS
	NBA 2K9	Win
	What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver	NDS
October 23	Prince of Persia Classic	PSN
October 26	Casper's Scare School	NDS
	Guitar Hero World Tour	Mac, PS2, PS3, Wii, Win, X360
October 27	MySims Kingdom	NDS, Wii
October 28	Ben 10: Alien Force	NDS, PS2, PSP, Wii
	Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3	Win
	Dora the Explorer: Dora Saves the Snow Princess	NDS, PS2, Wii
	Fallout 3	PS3, Win, X360
	Go, Diego, Go!: The Great Dinosaur Rescue	NDS, PS2, Wii
	Goosebumps HorrorLand	NDS, PS2, Wii
	LittleBigPlanet	PS3
	MotorStorm: Pacific Rift	PS3
	MySims	Win
	Ninjatown	NDS
October 29	Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness – Episode 2	Lin, Mac, Win, X360
October 30	Away: Shuffle Dungeon	NDS
	Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume	NDS
October 31	Master of the Monster Lair	NDS
November 3	Alien Crush Returns	WiiWare
November 4	Bones	PS2, PS3, Win, X360
	Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World	PS2
	Dragon Ball: Origins	NDS
	Bratz Kidz	NDS, Wii
	KORG DS-10	NDS
	Legendary	PS3, Win, X360
	Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa	PS3, PS2, X360, Win, Wii, NDS
	Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm	PS3
	Tom Clancy's EndWar	NDS, PS3, PSP, X360
	Resistance 2	PS3
	Namco Museum Virtual Arcade	X360
November 5	Exit	NDS
	Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors	NDS, Wii
November 7	Gears of War 2	X360
	Men of War	Win
	Sacred 2 Fallen Angel	Win
November 10	Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (North America)	NDS
November 11	Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts	X360
	Call of Duty: World at War	NDS, PS3, Wii, Win, X360, PS2
	Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3	X360
	Eternal Poison	PS2
	FaceBreaker	Wii
	Guinness World Records: The Videogame	NDS, Wii
	Mirror's Edge	PS3, X360
	WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009	Mobile, NDS, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, X360
	Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Lightsaber Duels	Wii
	Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Jedi Alliance	NDS
	Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff	NDS
November 12	Pro Evolution Soccer 2009	PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Win, X360
November 13	World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King	Win, Mac
November 14	Football Manager 2009	Win, Mac, PSP
November 16	Animal Crossing: City Folk	Wii
	Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe	PS3, X360
	Shaun White Snowboarding	PS3, Wii, Win, X360
November 17	Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades	NDS
	Robocalypse	NDS
	Skate It	NDS, Wii
November 18	Alone in the Dark: Inferno	PS3
	Avatar: The Last Airbender – Into the Inferno	PS3, X360
	Bolt	NDS, PS2, PS3, Wii, Win, X360
	Cooking Mama: World Kitchen	Wii
	Cradle of Rome	NDS
	Ultimate Band	NDS, Wii
	Castlevania Judgment	Wii
	Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine	NDS
	Left 4 Dead	Win, X360
	Need for Speed: Undercover	Mobile, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Win, X360
	Sonic Unleashed	PS2, PS3, Wii, X360
	SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom	PS3, PSP, X360
	Tomb Raider: Underworld	NDS, PS2, PS3, Wii, Win, X360
	Tony Hawk's Motion	NDS
	Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party	NDS, Wii
	Naruto: The Broken Bond	X360
	CSI: NY	Win
	You're in the Movies	X360
November 19	Weapon of Choice	XBLA
November 20	Gallop & Ride	Wii
	The Last Remnant	X360
November 21	LocoRoco 2	PSP
	Beyond Protocol	Win
November 23	Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes	iOS
November 25	Chrono Trigger	NDS
	Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force	NDS
	Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine	Wii
	Neopets Puzzle Adventure	NDS
	Winter Sports 2: The Next Challenge	NDS, PS2, Wii, X360
November 27	Patapon 2	PSP
	Rune Factory Frontier	Wii
November 30	Geometry Dance	PS3
December 1	Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon	X360
	Space Invaders Get Even	WiiWare
December 2	Grand Theft Auto IV	Win
	Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories	PS2
	Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi	NDS
	Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars	Wii
	Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek	Wii
	Prince of Persia	PS3, X360
	Prince of Persia: The Fallen King	NDS
	Safecracker: The Ultimate Puzzle Adventure	Wii
December 4	428: Shibuya Scramble	Wii
	Everyday Shooter	PSP
	Rygar: The Battle of Argus	Wii
	Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer	PSN
December 5	X3: Reunion	Lin
December 7	Prey	Lin
December 8	Defense Grid: The Awakening	Win
	Hockey Allstar Shootout	WiiWare
December 9	Prince of Persia	Win
December 10	Meteos	XBLA
	PowerUp Forever	XBLA
December 11	Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero	NDS
	PowerUp Forever	PSN
December 14	I Love Katamari	iOS
December 15	Big Kahuna Party	WiiWare
December 17	Dash of Destruction	XBLA
December 18	Rise of the Argonauts	PS3, Win, X360
	Dissidia: Final Fantasy	PSP
	Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2	PS2, PS3, X360
	Suikoden Tierkreis	NDS
	Tales of Hearts	NDS
December 23	Crystal Defenders	iOS
	Lumines Supernova	PS3
December 25	White Knight Chronicles	PS3
	RIZ-ZOAWD	NDS
December 29	MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade	WiiWare
December 31	Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine[35] (North America)	Win

Critically acclaimed titles

Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.

2008 games and expansions scoring at least 88/100 (MC) or 87.5% (GR)^[36][37]

Game	Publisher	Release Date	Platform	MC score	GR score
Grand Theft Auto IV	Rockstar Games	April 29, 2008	PlayStation 3	98/100	97.04%
Grand Theft Auto IV	Rockstar Games	April 29, 2008	Xbox 360	98/100	96.67%
LittleBigPlanet	Sony Computer Entertainment	October 27, 2008	PlayStation 3	95/100	94.75%
World of Goo	2D Boy	October 13, 2008	Wii	94/100	94.04%
BioShock	2K Games	October 17, 2008	PlayStation 3	94/100	93.66%
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots	Konami	June 12, 2008	PlayStation 3	94/100	93.53%
Gears of War 2	Microsoft Game Studios	November 7, 2008	Xbox 360	93/100	93.32%
Fallout 3	Bethesda Softworks	October 28, 2008	Xbox 360	93/100	92.85%
Super Smash Bros. Brawl	Nintendo	January 31, 2008	Wii	93/100	92.84%
Braid	Number None	August 6, 2008	Xbox 360	93/100	92.15%
Flipnote Studio	Nintendo	December 24, 2008	Nintendo DS	93/100[38]	91%[39]
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King	Blizzard Entertainment	November 13, 2008	Microsoft Windows	91/100	92.68%
Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor	Stardock	April 30, 2008	Microsoft Windows	92/100	92.33%
Persona 4	Atlus	July 10, 2008	PlayStation 2	90/100	92.28%
World of Goo	2D Boy	October 13, 2008	Microsoft Windows	90/100	92.27%
Rock Band 2	MTV Games	September 14, 2008	Xbox 360	92/100	92.25%
Chrono Trigger	Square Enix	November 20, 2008	Nintendo DS	92/100	91.98%
Rock Band 2	MTV Games	September 14, 2008	Wii	92/100	91.33%
Rock Band 2	MTV Games	September 14, 2008	PlayStation 3	91/100	91.5%
God of War: Chains of Olympus	Sony Computer Entertainment	March 4, 2008	PlayStation Portable	91/100	91.44%
Fallout 3	Bethesda Softworks	October 28, 2008	Microsoft Windows	91/100	90.85%
Fallout 3	Bethesda Softworks	October 28, 2008	PlayStation 3	90/100	90.52%
Ōkami	Capcom	April 15, 2008	Wii	90/100	90.02%
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2	Microsoft Game Studios	July 30, 2008	Xbox 360	90/100	89.77%
Portal: Still Alive	Valve	October 22, 2008	Xbox 360	90/100	88.55%
Grand Theft Auto IV	Rockstar Games	December 2, 2008	Microsoft Windows	90/100	88.48%
Mass Effect	Electronic Arts	May 28, 2008	Microsoft Windows	89/100	89.7%
Left 4 Dead	Valve	November 18, 2008	Xbox 360	89/100	89.44%
Left 4 Dead	Valve	November 18, 2008	Microsoft Windows	89/100	89.43%
Dead Space	Electronic Arts	October 13, 2008	Xbox 360	89/100	89.07%
Dead Space	Electronic Arts	October 13, 2008	PlayStation 3	88/100	89.05%
Rez HD	Microsoft Game Studios	January 30, 2008	Xbox 360	89/100	88.62%
Fable II	Microsoft Game Studios	October 21, 2008	Xbox 360	89/100	88.5%
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix	Capcom	November 26, 2008	Xbox 360	88/100	88.79%
NHL 09	EA Sports	September 9, 2008	Xbox 360	88/100	88.78%
Burnout Paradise	Electronic Arts	January 22, 2008	Xbox 360	88/100	88.36%
FIFA Soccer 09	EA Sports	October 13, 2008	Xbox 360	87/100	88.21%
Bionic Commando Rearmed	Capcom	August 13, 2008	Xbox 360	85/100	88.07%
NHL 09	EA Sports	September 9, 2008	PlayStation 3	88/100	87.97%
Burnout Paradise	Electronic Arts	January 22, 2008	PlayStation 3	87/100	87.89%
Race Driver: Grid	Codemasters	May 30, 2008	Microsoft Windows	87/100	87.87%
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix	Capcom	November 25, 2008	PlayStation 3	87/100	87.82%
Bionic Commando Rearmed	Capcom	August 13, 2008	PlayStation 3	87/100	87.67%
Wipeout HD	Sony Computer Entertainment	September 25, 2008	PlayStation 3	87/100	87.52%
Sins of a Solar Empire	Stardock	February 4, 2008	Microsoft Windows	87/100	87.52%

Video game-based film and television releases

Title	Date	Director	Distributor(s)	Franchise	Original game publisher	Ref.
Persona: Trinity Soul	January 5, 2008	Atsushi Matsumoto	Aniplex	Persona	Atlus	[40]
Giratina & the Sky Warrior	July 19, 2008	Kunihiko Yuyama	Toho	Pokémon	Game Freak	[41]
Far Cry	October 2, 2008	Uwe Boll	20th Century Studios	Far Cry	Ubisoft	[42]
Resident Evil: Degeneration	October 17, 2008	Makoto Kamiya	Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan	Resident Evil	Capcom	[43]
Max Payne		John Moore	20th Century Studios	Max Payne	Rockstar Games	[44]

See also

• 2008 in esports
• 2008 in games

Notes

1. Wii Sports sales in 2008:

   • January–March – 3.71 million^[7]
   • April–December – 18.95 million^[8]
2. Wii Fit sales in 2008:

   • January–March – 800,000^[7]
   • April–December – 12.16 million^[8]
3. Wii Play sales in 2008:

   • January–March – 2.28 million^[7]
   • April–December – 9.4 million^[8]
4. Brain Age sales in 2008:

   • January–March – 1.27 million^[7]
   • April–December – 3.84 million^[8]