2017 in Review: the Best and Worst of Gaming

It's been a fantastic, if not tumultuous, year for gaming. As 2017 draws to a close it allows us to take a step back and evaluate everything that's happened this year within the gaming industry.
2017 in Review: the Best and Worst of Gaming

From the latest anticipated releases to a massive backlash against established gaming developers, this year has seen some of the most prominent and surprising events that have changed the course of gaming as a whole. Below we'll take a look at some of the most important events of the year.

Console madness

2017 gave us not one but two new major pieces of gaming hardware – the Nintendo Switch and the Xbox One X. Having dropped in March, the Nintendo Switch was one of the most anticipated consoles in recent years. Its hybrid design changed the game of traditional consoles. Designed primarily as a home console, it also allowed for portable gaming and functioned similarly to a tablet or touchscreen. Along with the Switch came the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild which received critical acclaim and was an instant hit worldwide.

2017 in Review: the Best and Worst of Gaming

PUBG steals the show

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, or PUBG, has become the biggest unexpected hit of 2017. It was initially made popular by streamers – you know, those people who make a ton of money off of YouTube and Twitch – and soon after exploded.

A fight-to-the-death style game – think the Hunger Games or its precursor Battle Royale – players are airdropped on to a huge map with nothing and have to work together or alone to find weapons and supplies and eliminate up to 100 enemies as the playable area gets ever smaller. Early access was announced in March, but by December the game had gone on to sell over 20 million copies. While the game is free to play after the initial purchase, there has been a fairly strong demand for cosmetic items that can be bought in-game. It was announced recently that players would be able to spend money on loot boxes that contain cosmetic items. Which brings us to the next major event of the year…

2017 in Review: the Best and Worst of Gaming

The force was not strong enough with Battlefront II

The biggest controversy in 2017 needs almost no introduction. EA and DICE really stepped in it when they tried to justify to Reddit users the use of expensive loot boxes in Star Wars Battlefront II, which essentially made the game unplayable without spending huge amounts of cash on in-game micro transactions. As a result, game sales have dropped dramatically, EA shares have plummeted and the company received the most down-voted comment in Reddit history.

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