Games Released in 2008

3,109 new games debuted in 2008 across 10 platforms, with PC seeing 971 releases. November was the busiest month, with 550 releases. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was the most popular release of the year.

Which days had the most releases?

December 18 was the busiest single day of 2008 with 59 releases.

59 releases

December 18

57 releases

November 18

54 releases

November 27

49 releases

November 21

Which month had the most releases?

The busiest release month of 2008 was November, totaling 550 titles.

How did each season compare?

Q4 was the busiest quarter of 2008 with 1,341 releases.

Q1 (Jan–Mar)

802 releases

Most popular release in Q1

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series and the follow-up to Super Smash Bros. Melee. This edition introduces super attacks referred to as final smashes, as well as a brand-new adventure mode in The Subspace Emissary which is a side-scrolling adventure in the style of a platformer. It retains all basic mechanics of the Super Smash Bros. series, such as a damage meter, stocks, and Smash-style attacks.

Q2 (Apr–Jun)

856 releases

Most popular release in Q2

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final canonical Metal Gear game to feature Solid Snake as the main character. The gameplay of the previous games have been kept along with some new features, such as the ability to roll on your back and also to hide in bins scattered around the environment. Most of the story and the relationship between the characters are explained through cut-scenes with a considerable length, so knowledge of the prior games is recommended to fully understand the story. The game also features a complex multiplayer mode entitled Metal Gear Online with some original missions based on the stealth aspects of the single-player games.

Q3 (Jul–Sep)

989 releases

Most popular release in Q3

Persona 4

An entry in the JRPG/visual novel hybrid Persona series in which the player has to harness the power of Personas and fight entities called Shadows by forging bonds with the locals of Inaba, a rural Japanese town thrown into unrest by inexplicable murders committed under cover of foggy weather and rumours of a television channel said to broadcast mysterious images on rainy nights.

Q4 (Oct–Dec)

1,341 releases

Most popular release in Q4

Dead Space

Dead Space is a 2008 science fiction survival horror video game developed by EA Redwood Shores (now Visceral Games) for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released on all platforms through October 2008. The game puts the player in control of an engineer named Isaac Clarke, who battles the Necromorphs, reanimated human corpses, aboard an interstellar mining ship, the USG Ishimura.

Which platforms saw the most releases?

PC received 971 new titles in 2008, holding the most releases. The runner up was Nintendo DS with 723 new titles.

PC971 releases

Nintendo DS723 releases

Wii684 releases

PlayStation 3368 releases

Web browser330 releases

PlayStation Portable319 releases

PlayStation 2293 releases

Xbox 360279 releases

iOS120 releases

Mac107 releases

What genres were most popular?

Adventure was the dominant genre in 2008 with 807 titles. Puzzle followed closely with 540.

Adventure807

Puzzle540

Simulator441

Shooter426

Role-playing393

Strategy373

Platform338

Arcade309

Sport298

Visual Novel230

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