Analysis
This was a surprisingly big month! Especially for a January. Basically, here's what happened this past month:
*A bunch of more people voted
*Nintendo had multiple announcements
*Ni no Kuni came out in America
Let's do this platform by platform
PS3
The PS3 continued to be by far the most popular platform on VGChartz this month. The loss of Ni No Kuni was offset by 25 other titles, including highly anticipated exclusives like The Last of Us, God of War: Ascension, Beyond: Two Souls, and Sly Cooper 4, along with multiplatform titles like Grand Theft Auto 5 and Bioshock Infinite. However, the rumored announcement of the PS4 might mean that this is the high point of the PS3's life, as future titles will likely be on that system rather than the PS3.
Still, this is what dominance looks like. The Last of Us alone is a bigger deal on VGChartz than the 360, PC, or Vita. 5 of the Top 10 skus are for PS3 games, including four PlayStation exclusives. And with 264 points, Sony itself has about a quarter of the points this vote.
3DS
This was a great month for both the Wii U and the 3DS. In the latter's case, points nearly doubled month over month. The big news was the rising anticipation for Fire Emblem: Awakening and the announcement of Pokemon X/Y Versions. Each of these games were nearly as big a deal as the entire Vita liuneup. Furthermore, these games were not alone. Several other Nintendo games like Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 3, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf were also moderately well received. If there were any disappointments, it would have to be the relatively poor performance of 3rd parties, especially Western ones; not a single game from a Western publisher charted. Still, with nearly 200 points, the 3DS is undergoing a bit of a renaissance. And although the release of Fire Emblem: Awakening will hurt its March performance, the power of Pokemon and the rumored announcement of a new Zelda game will surely keep it healthy.
Wii U
The Wii U did nearly as well as the 3DS, with 193 points this month, compared to less than 100 last month. The lion's share of points came from already revealed titles, particularly Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, and 3rd party games like Rayman Legends and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. However, the recent Nintendo Direct also brough news of major Nintendo franchises appearing on the Wii U. Super Smash Bros 4, although already known to be in the works, got a boost with news of E3 coverage. Entirely new projects like Wind Waker HD and Project X scored moderately well. And to round things off, we even got a confirmation of Pandora's Tower for America, brought over by Xseed. Not bad for a January!
PC
It was not a great month for the PC, it actually lost points in a month of growth. Still, it scored over 100, showing at least a healthy base of fans on VGChartz. As per usual, the PC shown not due to strongly anticipated titles, but having many of them. The only real upcoming hits are multiplatform games like Bioshock Infinite and Grand Theft Auto 5, SimCity, and Starcraft 2 Expansion packs. That said, 16 PC games scored under 10 points, adding up to a fair amount. Combined, the platform did alright, though there is certainly room for improvement.
360
The 360, like the PC, actually fell month over month. This hurt it worse though, seeing as the 360 had less points to begin with. The 360 only had 72 points this month, and a third of them were from the multiplatform title GTA5. The only other notable scorers were the exclusive Gears of War: Judgement and the multiplatform Tomb Raider. I hate to editorialize, but somebody has to say it: Microsoft either needs to announce more games or a new platform, because the 360 is reminding me of the Wii a year ago.
Vita
The Vita lost a few points month over month, hurting the already lagging handheld. The only major upcoming hits seem to be the 1st party games Soul Sacrifice and Tearaway, which seem to be no match for Pokemon X/Y. The good news is, most of the Vita's games on the chart are exclusive. This will give it, at very least, a solid niche. Also promising are the 3rd parties responsible for games lower on the list, including Square Enix, Tecmo Koei, and Atlus.
Publishers
The biggest thing to happen on the charts this month was Nintendo's risse to power. As a publisher, it went from a measly 123 points to a whopping 270, over a quarter of the total. Other notable "winners" included Sony, which seems to have benefitted from the general rise in votes this month on the PS3, and Ubisoft, whose Rayman Legends is hotly anticipated and who recently acquired rights to the South Park game. Losers include Namco Bandai, whose Ni no Kuni seems to have been their biggest contribution of the year in the West, Square Enix, who has plenty of games on the charts but little anticipation for anything save Tomb Raider, and THQ, who died this month.
