The year 2014 saw a number of events in the video game industry. No new major consoles were released, but updates and upgrades were: the New Nintendo 3DS was released in Japan and Oceania, and Sony Interactive Entertainment released new model 2000 PS Vita systems in Europe & North America. In video game-related corporate acquisitions, Amazon purchased the online video game streaming service Twitch, and Facebook acquired the virtual reality company and product Oculus. Nintendo released Amiibo in 2014, companion figurines that could be scanned by the 3DS and Wii U systems. On Twitter and other Internet social media, the Gamergate controversy began.
Among video games originally released in 2014, critics gave the highest reviews to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Dark Souls II, Bayonetta 2, Shovel Knight, Velocity 2X, ', Mario Kart 8, and '. Other significant games that won awards included Destiny, ', Monument Valley, Grand Theft Auto Online, ', and Watch Dogs.
Series with new installments in 2014 include Assassin's Creed, Bayonetta, Borderlands, Call of Duty, Castlevania, Civilization, Dark Souls, Divinity, Donkey Kong, Dragon Age, The Elder Scrolls, Elite, Far Cry, Final Fantasy, Forza Horizon, Infamous, Kinect Sports, Kirby, LittleBigPlanet, Mario Golf, Mario Kart, Metal Gear, MX vs. ATV, Ninja Gaiden, Persona, Pokémon, Professor Layton, Shantae, Sniper Elite, Sonic the Hedgehog, Strider Hiryu, Super Smash Bros., Tales, The Sims, Thief, Trials, Tropico, Wolfenstein, and World of Warcraft.
In addition, 2014 saw the introduction of several new properties, including Destiny, Five Nights at Freddy's, Shovel Knight, Sunset Overdrive, Titanfall, The Evil Within and Watch Dogs.
The following were 2014's top ten highest-grossing video games in terms of worldwide revenue (including physical sales, digital purchases, subscriptions, microtransactions, free-to-play and pay-to-play) across all platforms (including mobile, PC, and console platforms).
Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
The following is a list of game consoles released in 2014.
The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One made their launch releases in Asian countries.
Nintendo released their newest revision models of the Nintendo 3DS this year, the New Nintendo 3DS and the New Nintendo 3DS XL. The New Nintendo 3DS' included brand new features like better 3D viewing, a C-stick for enhanced camera controls, 2 extra shoulder buttons named ZL & ZR, and a built in NFC reader for Amiibo figures.