In today’s weekly refresh of the App Store, Apple posted a list called “Best of 2012”, highlighting the apps they “loved the most” this year. Day One, a journaling apps we reviewed on MacStories several times, wins as “Mac App of the Year”; “Deus Ex: Human Revolution” wins as “Game of the Year”. The Mac section is also viewable on the web here. On the iOS side, Paper for iPad and Action Movie FX win as Apps of the Year; Rayman Jungle Run and The Room win as Games of the Year for iPhone and iPad, respectively.
Over the past year, the Mac App Store was packed with impressive new apps and games. Some were dazzling debuts, while others were existing apps updated to leverage new features in OS X Mountain Lion or to take advantage of the Retina display of the new MacBook Pro. Browse the apps and games we loved most in 2012.
The list is organized in Runners-Up, Best Apps of 2012, and Best Games of 2012. Below, the full list, recompiled from the Mac App Store, iPhone App Store, and iPad App Store. My personal congratulations to the Day One team, an app that has completely changed the way I archive my memories on iOS and OS X.
Other notable winners in iTunes categories include:
- David Sparks’ Paperless for Books Made with iBooks Author
- The Talk Show with John Gruber in Best New Technology podcasts
- Amplified in Best New Technology podcasts
Mac App Store US
Runners-Up
Best Apps of 2012
- Tweetbot (our review)
- SketchBook Pro 6
- Clear (our review)
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
- Things (our review)
- Mint QuickView
- Living Earth HD
- Snapheal
- Coda 2
- Snapseed
- Evernote
- CrazyTalk7
- Gemini
- Cobook
- Diptic
- Sketch
- Sandvox
- Redshift
- Flutter
Best Games of 2012
- LEGO Batman 2
- LIMBO
- Bastion
- Call of Duty: Black Ops
- Dungeon Defenders
- BioShock 2
- Empire: Total War
- Trine 2
- RAGE: Campaign Edition
- LEGO: Harry Potter Years 5-7
- Sky Gamblers
- W.E.L.D.E.R.
- Small Street
- Cubemen
- Pocket Planes
- Battle Nations
- SpellTower
- Botanicula
- Amnesia: The Dark Descent
- 4 Elements II
iPad
App of the Year: Paper
Game of the Year: The Room
Runner-Up, Apps: Action Movie FX
Runner-Up, Games: Walking Mars
Casual Games
Best of Newsstand
- NYTimes for iPad
- Bloomberg Businessweek+
- TIME Magazine
- Vogue
- National Geographic Magazine
- Martha Stewart Living Magazine for iPad
New Ways To Play
- Splice: Tree of Life
- Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin
- Finger Tied
- Outwitters
- Autumn Dynasty
- Beat Sneak Bandit
Sous Chef
- Panna
- Nigella Quick Collection for iPad
- Hello Cupcake!
- Mastering the Art of French Cooking
- Pat LaFrieda’s Big App for Meat
- Appetites’ Easy As Pie
Fun Runners
Post-PC Creation
Free To Play
Lifelong Learning
- iTunes U
- Barefoot World Atlas
- Brian Cox’s Wonders of the Universe
- Creatures of Light
- The Sonnets of William Shakespear
- NOVA Elements
Showpiece Games
Hidden Gems: Apps
Hidden Gems: Games
iPhone
App of the Year: Action Movie FX
Game of the Year: Rayman Jungle Run
Runner-Up, Apps: Figure
Runner-Up, Games: Letterpress
Casual Games
Disruptive Services
New Ways to Play
Photo & Video Magic
Fun Runners
Intuitive Touch
Free to Play
Discover with Friends
Showpiece Games
- The World Ends with You: Solo Remix
- Need for Speed Most Wanted
- ORC:Vengeance
- DEAD TRIGGER
- Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy
- Air Mail
Hidden Gems: Apps
Hidden Gems: Games
