After polling 6,000 gamers age 7 to 54 between August 21 and September 24, Nielsen has released their report of the most anticipated video games of holiday 2016 (October 1 – December 31). Basing their results on a combination of factors – including awareness, purchase interest, consumer rating, and more – the report shows that Batman: Arkham VR is the most anticipated PlayStation 4 exclusive title, with Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, The Last Guardian, and Battlezone right behind it.
Looking at multi-platform releases, Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare are tied with 96%, and they’re followed by Final Fantasy XV (95%), and Batman: Return to Arkham and Mafia III (tied with 83%). On PlayStation Vita, the only exclusive game mentioned is Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors (89%).
With anything over 90% having extremely high anticipation, anything over 80% having very strong anticipation, and any over 70% having well above average anticipation from gamers on the platform, here’s the most anticipated games of holiday 2016, according to Nielsen’s study:
Multi-Platform
- Battlefield 1 – 96%
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – 96%
- Final Fantasy XV – 95%
- Batman: Return to Arkham – 83%
- Mafia III – 83%
- Dead Rising 4 – 79%
- Titanfall 2 – 77%
- Watch Dogs 2 – 75%
PlayStation 4 Exclusives
- Batman: Arkham VR – 95%
- Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration – 91%
- The Last Guardian – 85%
- Battlezone – 81%
PlayStation Vita Exclusives
- Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors – 89%
Xbox One Exclusives
- Gears of War 4 – 99%
PC Exclusives
- Civilization VI – 94%
- Football Manager 2017 – 86%
- Motorsport Manager – 83%
- Planet Coaster – 81%
Wii U Exclusives
- Paper Mario: Color Splash – 92%
3DS Exclusives
- Pokemon Moon – 99%
- Pokemon Sun – 98%
- Mario Party: Star Rush – 86%
- Disney Magical World 2 – 79%
Looking at a couple of games that didn’t make any lists, Dishonored 2 scored a 78% on PC, while World of Final Fantasy scored an 86% on PS4 (PS Vita numbers were far lower, but not given).
As Nielsen adds, the values shown for multi-platform titles are averages of the values from each platform. If you’re wondering why Rise of the Tomb Raider was considered a PS4 exclusive, Nielsen said, “Some might not consider Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration (91%) to be a platform exclusive given that the original version launched for Xbox One last year and PC later on, but the PS4 release is the first time this enhanced version is available in one package.”
What’s your most anticipated game of this holiday season?
[Source: Nielsen via Game Informer]
