The holiday season is well past, and the gaming community has determined the most popular games of the season. According to the Raptr community, the top three most played games were Grand Theft Auto V, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and Battlefield IV. Grand Theft Auto V topped the list in play time by so much that if you combine the play time of the next three, the two would be about equal.

What caused the dramatic difference in playtime? For games like Grand Theft Auto V and Battlefield IV, the name recognition and reputation of them being great games are equal, but the play times indicate that players favor GTA V. The reason may be cultural; as America withdraws from war, we as a people may also withdraw from playing war games. A lot of play time is done by deployed troops where first person shooters may get more play time.

From an economic perspective, GTA V has less competition; the similarities between Call of Duty and Battlefield IV has some gamers picking one instead of both, in addition to a copy of GTA V.

Many gamers are weighing in on the future of the Xbox 360 and the PS3. It is being widely rumored that a price drop for the gaming systems could be coming soon. This would potentially increase sales of older games.

EA games have responded to gamer rumors by saying it was "not likely" for the remainder of 2014. With the average game time of popular games like Grand Theft Auto V and Battlefield IV, both released in 2013, the demand seems to be strong enough not to warrant a price drop.

However, news was released on March 4 that Grand Theft Auto V will be released on the PS4. The news was leaked based upon realizing that a Portuguese online retailer had listed the game. The retailer is said to be taking online pre-orders for the product. If the release happen, gamers will have yet another opportunity to play more GTA V, leaving games like Battlefield IV behind.

Related