Halo 4, Assassin's Creed 3 top Nielsen's most wanted

Media tracking organization Nielsen surveyed gamers to see what their most anticipated games are for the remainder of 2012. Unsurprisingly, franchise titles topped the list.

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What do gamers want? Innovation? Brand new experiences? Of course not.

Media tracking organization Nielsen surveyed gamers to see what their most anticipated games are for the remainder of 2012. Unsurprisingly, franchise titles topped the list. With the exception of The Last Story on Wii, nary an original title could be found on the top 10 lists for every platform.

Most anticipated games on Xbox 360:

  • Halo 4
  • Assassin's Creed III
  • Max Payne 3
  • Madden NFL 13
  • Resident Evil 6
  • Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
  • Fable: The Journey
  • Kinect: Star Wars
  • NCAA Football 13
  • Bioshock: Infinite
  • Tomb Raider

Most anticipated games on PS3:

  • Assassin's Creed III
  • Max Payne 3
  • Madden NFL 13
  • Resident Evil 6
  • Medal of Honor: Warfighter
  • NCAA Football 13
  • Prototype 2
  • Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
  • Bioshock: Infinite
  • Tomb Raider
  • NBA Live 13

Most anticipated games on Wii:

  • Madden NFL 13
  • Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
  • Battleship
  • LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
  • The Amazing Spider-Man
  • Men In Black
  • The Last Story
  • Xenoblade Chronicles

Halo 4's top spot shows that fans are eager for a new Master Chief game--even if longtime developer Bungie is no longer behind the project. (Call of Duty's repeated success suggests that most mainstream gamers care more about the brand than the developer itself.)

No exclusive titles appear in PS3's most wanted list--but it seems likely that Sony has yet to reveal much of its 2012 holiday lineup. (Will The Last of Us or The Last Guardian make it before 2013?)

Finally, Wii gamers are anticipating very different games, as many HD platform games aren't arriving on Nintendo's console. And in spite of the online hubbub over The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles, these two niche JRPGs just barely made it into Nielsen's top 10 list--proving that online activism doesn't necessarily represent mainstream tastes.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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