Nielsen poll ranks most anticipated games of 2012

Assassin's Creed 3 and Halo 4 are the most keenly anticipated games of 2012 according to a new Nielsen poll.

The respected US statistics outfit has published platform specific lists for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 by polling "eight key consumer metrics, including Awareness and Purchase Interest" and then combining them into one overall score.

Halo 4 topped the Xbox 360 chart, Assassin's Creed 3 won out on PlayStation 3 and Madden NFL 13 took the Wii crown.

Max Payne 3 also put in a strong showing, listed in third place on Xbox and second on PS3. Surprisingly, the buzz for BioShock Infinite appears to be a little muted - it came in at 10th on 360, behind Fable: The Journey and Kinect Star Wars, and 11th on PS3.

There's not a single platform exclusive on the PS3 run-down, and the only new IPs listed were on Wii - The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles, both of which are still unreleased in the US.

The Wii list generally made for a depressing read, with licensed titles like Battleship, The Amazing Spider-Man and Men in Black making it into the platform's top 10. Roll on Wii U.

Here are the three charts in full:

Xbox 360:

1. Halo 4
2. Assassin's Creed 3
3. Max Payne 3
4. Madden NFL 13
5. Resident Evil 6
6. Ghost Recon: Future Soldie
7. Fable: The Journey
8. Kinect: Star Wars
9. NCAA Football 13
10. Bioshock: Infinite
11. Tomb Raider

PlayStation 3:

1. Assassin's Creed 3
2. Max Payne 3
3. Madden NFL 13
4. Resident Evil 6
5. Medal of Honor: Warfighter
6. NCAA Football 13
7. Prototype 2
8. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
9. Bioshock: Infinite
10. Tomb Raider
11. NBA Live 13

Wii:

1. Madden NFL 13
2. Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
3. Battleship
4. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
5. The Amazing Spider-Man
6. Men In Black
7. The Last Story
8. Xenoblade Chronicles