Games Released in December 2004

586 new games debuted in December 2004, with PC being the most active platform. December 2 was the busiest day, with 27 releases. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords was the most popular release of the month.

Which days had the most releases?

December 16 saw the most activity with 27 releases.

27 releases

December 16

27 releases

December 3

27 releases

December 2

25 releases

December 9

How did each week compare?

The first week of December was the busiest with 85 releases.

Week 1 (December 1–7)

85 releases

Most popular release in Week 1

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is a sequel to the blockbuster RPG Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. Players continue to enjoy the title's emotionally compelling and story-driven theme, additions to features such as new characters, classes, locations and force powers as well as a deeper look into the founding lore.

Week 2 (December 8–14)

61 releases

Most popular release in Week 2

Lumines

Lumines is a block-dropping game, that may seem at first to be similar to Columns and Tetris. A 2 x 2 square (an O tetromino) made of four smaller block pieces is dropped into the playing field, which may appear different as the player advances through levels or skins. The small blocks that comprise the larger blocks will be one of two different colors. The objective is to rotate and align the blocks in such a way as to create 2x2 squares of the same color, which may span multiple blocks and, indeed, share blocks. For example, if one should get a 2x3 area of matching blocks, the middle portion will "share" itself with both the left and right halves and create two 2x2 squares. After the "timeline", which is synchronized to the music, sweeps over the matching blocks, they disappear. When too many unmatched blocks pile up to the point where no more blocks may be dropped in the playing field, the game ends. When part of a falling block hits an obstruction, the unobstructed portion of the block will split off and continue to fall. More points are scored by creating the largest number of squares during one "timeline" sweep. Increasing score multipliers are earned by repeatedly clearing squares on consecutive timeline sweeps. Bonuses are also awarded by reducing all remaining tiles to one single color or for removing all non-active tiles from the screen altogether. Occasionally, a block falls with a special square of one of the two colors with a "jewel" in the center. This square, when cleared as part of a matched 2x2 square, will cause all individual blocks of the same color that are horizontally or vertically adjacent to the matched 2x2 square, or to an adjacent square, to be cleared without score. These can be used for both generating large bonuses, since generally several blocks of the other color will be formed once these are removed, as well as to help the player recover if the field becomes too cluttered.

Week 3 (December 15–21)

46 releases

Most popular release in Week 3

Cave Story

A side-scrolling platformer in which a robot traverses a strange world that has been thrown into disorder due to its violent history and a doctor that is attempting to exploit the inhabitants to aid him in his own pursuit for power.

Week 4 (December 22–28)

43 releases

Most popular release in Week 4

Garry's Mod

Garry's Mod is a physics-based sandbox game built on Valve's Source engine. In its base mode, there are no objectives. Players can spawn non-player characters, ragdolls, and props, then manipulate them using a physics gun that can pick up, rotate, and freeze objects in place. A tool gun provides additional functionality such as welding objects together or adjusting facial expressions on ragdolls. The game supports extensive Lua-based modding, and community-created game modes like Trouble in Terrorist Town and Prop Hunt have become widely popular in their own right. Originally released as a free mod for Half-Life 2 in 2004, it became a standalone commercial release in 2006 and holds the record as the best-selling PC-exclusive game.

Week 5 (December 29–31)

20 releases

Most popular release in Week 5

Ghost Squad

One of the first light gun games to arrive on the Wii, Ghost Squad will take full advantage of the unique controls of the Wii Remote. Three dangerous missions bring a new gameplay experience every time with multiple levels, alternate routes, changing daylight, a variety of player choices and secret weapons and costumes to unlock. Alone or with up to three squad mates, players will rescue hostages, apprehend suspects and deactivate bombs as they eliminate terrorist threats around the world. Unlock 25 different tactical weapons including sniper and assault rifles, submachine guns, hand guns, and more.

Which platforms saw the most releases?

PC received 58 new titles in December 2004. The runner up was PlayStation 2 with 57 new titles.

PC58 releases

PlayStation 257 releases

Game Boy Advance42 releases

Nintendo DS17 releases

PlayStation Portable17 releases

Xbox16 releases

Legacy Mobile Device14 releases

Nintendo GameCube14 releases

Mac8 releases

Web browser8 releases

What genres were most popular?

Adventure was the dominant genre in December 2004 with 48 titles. Puzzle followed closely with 32.

Adventure48

Puzzle32

Simulator29

Strategy29

Shooter27

Role-playing25

Sport25

Platform24

Fighting22

Arcade20

2004 Review

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