2002 in video gaming
Encyclopedia : 2 : 20 : 200 : 2002 in video gaming
Contents
Events
- Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Will Wright of Maxis to the AIAS Hall of Fame
- BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) holds 5th annual BAFTA Interactive Awards for multimedia technologies; 10 of 21 awards go to video games; awards Ian Livingstone the BAFTA Interactive Special Award
- 8th annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 5th annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E³
- Eidos Interactive selects Dutch model Jill De Jong as the new digitized Lara Croft character
- G4 Media, LLC (subsidiary of Comcast Corporation) launches the G4 cable television video game network channel
- Gama Network hosts the 4th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF)
- Game Developers Conference hosts the 2nd annual Game Developers Choice Awards
- SEGA establishes the Sega Mobile division to develop, produce, and distribute video games for mobile phones and PDAs; establishes the Sega.com Business Solutions division to service video game developers and publishers
- Rockstar Games embroiled in controversy for its Grand Theft Auto III and video games
- March 22 — The Sims overtakes Myst as all-time best-selling computer game, having sold 6.3 million units [link]
Notable releases
- January 22 - (PC)
- February 11 - (PS2)
- March 4 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (GBA, Xbox)
- March 26 - (PC)
- March 28 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PC)
- March 31 - Dungeon Siege (PC)
- April 30 - Resident Evil (GC)
- May 2 - (PC)
- May 16 - Final Fantasy XI (Japan) (PS2)
- May 20 - Grand Theft Auto III (PC)
- May 20 - (PC)
- May 28 - (PS2)
- June 6 - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Xbox)
- June 16 - Neverwinter Nights (PC)
- July 3 - (PC)
- August 13 - '' (PC)
- August 19 - (PC)
- August 25 - Super Mario Sunshine (GC)
- August 25 - Super Monkey Ball 2 (GC)
- August 27 - (PS2)
- August 29 - (PC)
- September 4 - Icewind Dale II (PC)
- September 10 - Battlefield 1942 (PC)
- September 15 - Animal Crossing (GC)
- September 23 - Tekken 4 (PS2)
- September 24 - Unreal Championship (Xbox)
- September 30 - (PS2)
- September 30 - ''No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way (PC)
- September 30 - Unreal Tournament 2003 (PC)
- October 1 - (GC, PC, PS2, Xbox)
- October 9 - ''TimeSplitters 2 (PS2)
- October 15 - ''Red Faction II (PS2)
- October 16 - TimeSplitters 2 (GC, Xbox)
- October 22 - (Xbox)
- October 23 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (GC, PS2, Xbox)
- October 25 - (PC)
- October 27 - (PS2)
- October 28 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (GBA)
- November 1 - Age of Mythology (PC)
- November 4 - (Xbox)
- November 4 - Ratchet & Clank (PS2)
- November 6 - (PC)
- November 10 - Medal of Honor: Frontline (GC, Xbox)
- November 10 - Resident Evil 0 (GC)
- November 10 - Serious Sam (Xbox)
- November 11 - MechAssault (Xbox)
- November 11 - '' (PC)
- November 15 - Metroid Prime (GC)
- November 18 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (GC)
- November 18 - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Xbox)
- November 20 - Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (GC, Xbox)
- December 13 - (Japan) (GC)
Business
- February 19 — Sierra Entertainment, Inc. renamed from Sierra On-Line
- May 10 — Tiwak renamed from Yeti Interactive
- November 15 — Xbox Live, the largest online network for video game consoles just start works.
- November 26 — Squaresoft and Enix announces a fusion. The new name is Square Enix.
- Activision acquires Luxoflux Corporation, Gray Matter Interactive Studios, Shaba Games LLC, and Z-Axis Ltd.
- Empire Interactive PLC acquires eJay AG (renamed eJay Entertainment GmbH)
- Infogrames Entertainment SA acquires Eden Studios and Shiny Entertainment
- Microsoft acquires Rare Ltd.
- PCCW: Jaleco USA merges with its VR1 Entertainment (renamed Jaleco Entertainment) division
- Sony Corporation acquires Aiwa Corporation
- Vivendi Universal acquires Massive Entertainment
- Bankrupt/Defunct: Encore Software, Inc. (assets acquired by Navarre Corporation)
- .400 Software Studios founded
Trends
The market research company NPD estimated that video game hardware, software, and accessories sold about US$10.3 billion in 2002. This was a 10% increase over the 2001 figure.Video game consoles
The dominant video game consoles in 2002 were:Handheld game systems
The dominant handheld system in 2002 was Nintendo's Game Boy Advance.Video game sales
- 1 best selling video game of 2002
The top 10 selling console video games in 2002 in the United States ranked by units sold, according to [NPD], were:
| Rank | Title | Platform | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PS2 | Rockstar Games | |
| 2 | Grand Theft Auto III | PS2 | Rockstar Games |
| 3 | Madden NFL 2003 | PS2 | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | Super Mario Advance 2 | GBA | Nintendo |
| 5 | PS2 | Sony | |
| 6 | PS2 | Electronic Arts | |
| 7 | Spider-Man: The Movie | PS2 | Activision |
| 8 | Kingdom Hearts | PS2 | Squaresoft |
| 9 | Xbox | Microsoft | |
| 10 | Super Mario Sunshine | GameCube | Nintendo |
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