2006 in video gaming
Encyclopedia : 2 : 20 : 200 : 2006 in video gaming
Contents
Events
- January 26 2006 -- Nintendo announces its newly redesigned handheld, the Nintendo DS Lite. The new model will be lighter, smaller, have configurable brightness and feature an improved user interface. [(Nintendo)] [(Gamespot)]
- January 26 2006 -- Konami Corp. announces the list of titles it expects to ship in 2006, ranging from Beatmania to [[Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence]], and covering multiple platforms. [(TeamXbox)]
- January 26 2006 -- Public schools in West Virginia will add Dance Dance Revolution by Konami to their curriculum, in an effort to combat obesity. [(Reuters)] [(Gamespot)]
- January 27 2006 -- Players of the Horde clan from World of Warcraft start the "Gamers Against No Kash" charity, to pay the subscription fees for valuable players strapped for cash. [(Gameshout)]
- January 27 2006 -- Microsoft of Japan made a statement to Japanese game magazine Famitsu regarding the Xbox 360 launch. "It was a lot more difficult than we had imagined. We couldn't prepare the launch titles that we had promised, and it made an impact," said Microsoft of Japan Xbox chief of operations Yoshihiro Maruyama. At the launch of the first Xbox in Japan, more units were sold in three days than have been sold of the Xbox 360 in one month. [(Gamasutra)]
- January 27 2006 -- The PlayStation Portable 2.01-2.50 firmware versions, previously considered unhackable, are hacked by Fanjita. [(PSP Updates)]
- January 27 2006 -- The Los Angeles attorney's office sues Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive over the Hot Coffee mod. [(Gamasutra)]
- January 30 2006 -- A mandatory update for Xbox Live on the Xbox 360 was released. Microsoft claimed the update was for bugfixes and improvements. Members of the modding community claim that "the true purpose of this update was to halt the progress of the modding community". [(Gamasutra)]
- January 30 2006 -- Nintendo released a statement regarding the Red Tulip phenomenon on [[Animal Crossing: Wild World]], stating "We have isolated the problem and determined that there was a temporary error with the upload tool when this letter was posted". Earlier, there had been speculation that the tulips were a result of black hat hackers. [(Gamasutra)]
- January 31 2006 -- Sony is reportedly building a Xbox Live-killer for the PlayStation 3. [(Joystiq)]
- January 31 2006 -- StarForce, a DRM maker for computer games, threatens to sue popular weblog Boing Boing for criticising its products. [(Gamasutra)], [(Boing Boing)]
- January 31 2006 -- Blizzard Entertainment responds to the GLBT debate happening in World of Warcraft. The company stated: "To promote a positive game environment for everyone and help prevent such harassment from taking place as best we can, we prohibit mention of topics related to sensitive real-world subjects in open chat within the game, and we do our best to take action whenever we see such topics being broadcast."[(Edge)]
- January 31 2006 -- Sony announces that ten servers will be merged with ten others on Everquest 2. Players are cautiously optimistic. [(Sony)], [(Darniaq)]
- See February 2006 in video gaming, March 2006 in video gaming
- Team Fortress 2 is expected to be released in Q4, after a seven-year-long hiatus.
Business
- January 5 2006 -- Vivendi Universal Games acquires High Moon Studios (formerly Sammy Studios, Inc), which gained independence from Sammy in 2005. [(Prnewswire)]
- January 9 2006 -- Take-Two Interactive acquires Irrational Games. [(Shacknews)]
- January 26 2006 -- Sony reports that strong sales of the PlayStation Portable helped the company make a profit of Yen70 billion, the first time in 11 years that the company has managed to avoid an annual loss. [(Herald Tribune)] [(Financial Times)]
- January 26 2006 -- Microsoft announces $293 million losses in its Home and Entertainment division, record revenues overall. [(Gamasutra)]
- January 26 2006 -- Nintendo reports declining GameCube and Game Boy Advance sales but increased profits: Yen92.2 billion. [(Gamespot)]
- January 27 2006 -- The Nintendo DS returns to the top of the weekly Japanese charts, with 64,515 units sold compared to 38,271 for the PlayStation Portable. The PlayStation 2 is third with 26,135 units sold, while the Xbox 360 continues to sell poorly (just 3,616, less than the GameCube). The five best-selling games were Brain Training for Adults 2, [[Animal Crossing: Wild World]], Super Mario Strikers, Brain Training for Adults and Mario Kart DS, all published by Nintendo. [(Media Create)]
- January 27 2006 -- Microsoft lowers its estimate of Xbox 360 sales in its first 90 days from 2.75-3.0 million units to 2.5 million due to supply shortage. The yearly estimate (4.5 to 5.5 million) is unchanged since Microsoft plans to increase its console production with the help of a new manufacturer, Celestica. [(TeamXbox)] Meanwhile, Microsoft postpones the Australian 360 launch from March 2 to March 23, 2006 due to a "short term manufacturing challenge" . [(Gamasutra)]
- January 30 2006 -- Shares of Take-Two Interactive, the controversial creater of the Grand Theft Auto series, rose Monday after news that the company was in takeover talks with an unnamed buyer. ([Yahoo)], [(Marketwatch)], [(TTWO Stock Chart)]
- January 31 2006 -- CNET reports that Cisco Systems might be interested in buying Nintendo. [(CNET)], [(GameDaily.biz)]
Notable releases
| Release Date | Title | Systems |
|---|---|---|
| February 14 | [[Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy]] | PC |
| February 18 | [[Star Wars: Empire at War]] | PC |
| February 21 | [[EverQuest II: Kingdom of Sky]] | PC |
| Sonic Riders | GC, PS2, Xbox | |
| February 27 | [[Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords]] | PC |
| February 28 | Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach | PC |
| March 2 | [[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II]] | PC |
| [[The Sims 2: Open for Business]] | PC | |
| March 7 | [[Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai]] | PSP |
| March 15 | Battlefield 2: Euro Force | PC |
| March 16 (Japan only) | Final Fantasy XII | PS2 |
| March 20 | [[Metroid Prime: Hunters]] | DS |
| Tetris DS | DS | |
| [[The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion]] | PC, Xbox 360 | |
| March 21 | [[The Godfather: The Game]] | PC, PS2, Xbox |
| March 28 | Kingdom Hearts II | PS2 |
| March 31 | [[Animal Crossing: Wild World]] | DS |
| April 5 | [[Metroid Prime: Hunters]] | DS |
| April 11 | [[Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend>Tomb Raider: Legend]] | PC, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360 |
| [[Battlefield 2: Modern Combat]] | Xbox 360 | |
| April 13 | Auto Assault | PC |
| April 17 | [[Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day]] | DS |
| April 18 | Dreamfall: The Longest Journey | PC, Xbox |
| Final Fantasy XI | Xbox 360 | |
| [[Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan]] | PC, PS2 | |
| April 20 | Mother 3 | GBA |
| April 24 | Black & White 2 - Battle of the Gods | PC |
| April 25 | [[OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast]] | Xbox, PS2, PSP |
| Lost Magic | DS | |
| April 28 | [[Guild Wars: Factions]] | PC |
| May 9 | [[Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends]] | PC |
| May 10 | [[SiN Episodes: Emergence]] | PC |
| May 15 | New Super Mario Bros. | DS |
| May 16 | Heroes of Might and Magic V | PC |
| [[X-Men: The Official Game]] | Xbox 360, PS2, PC, Xbox, DS, GC, GBA | |
| May 23 | [[Jaws: Unleashed]] | PC, Xbox, PS2 |
| May 30 | [[Hitman: Blood Money]] | Xbox 360, PC, PS2, Xbox |
| June 1 | [[Half-Life 2: Episode One]] | PC |
| June 6 | Battlefield 2: Armored Fury | PC |
| Cars | PS2, Xbox, GC, PSP, DS, PC | |
| [[The Movies: Stunts & Effects]] | PC | |
| June 12 | [[Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War]] | PC |
| June 21 | [[Tomb Raider: Legend]] | PSP |
| June 26 | Titan Quest | PC |
| June 29 | Panzer Command | PC |
| July 5 | The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II | Xbox 360 |
| July 11 | Chromehounds | Xbox 360 |
| Prey | PC, Xbox 360 |
Expected releases
- July 20 -- AFL Premiership 2006 (PS2)
- July 24 -- [[CivCity: Rome]] (PC)
- July 24 -- [[Civilization IV: Warlords]] (PC)
- August 1 -- Dungeon Siege II: Broken World (PC)
- August 1 -- Super Monkey Ball Adventure (GC)
- August 22 -- The King of Fighters 2006 (PS2)
- August 28 -- Star Fox Command (DS)
- September -- Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (PC)
- September -- LocoRoco (PSP)
- September -- Okami (PS2)
- September -- TimeShift (PC, Xbox, Xbox 360)
- September -- [[Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent]] (GC, PC, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360)
- September -- Tomb Raider: Legend (DS)
- September 11 -- Company of Heroes (PC)
- September 12 -- Caesar IV (PC)
- September 12 -- [[LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy]] (DS, GC, PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360)
- September 12 -- The Godfather: The Game (PSP)
- September 19 -- Neverwinter Nights 2 (PC)
- September 28 -- Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (Japan) (DS)
- Quarter 3 -- Huxley (PC, Xbox 360)
- Quarter 3 -- The Godfather: The Game (Xbox 360)
- October -- [[Hellgate: London]] (PC)
- October 2 -- [[Mortal Kombat: Armageddon]] (PS2, Xbox)
- October 27 -- Tabula Rasa (PC)
- October 31 -- Final Fantasy XII (United States) (PS2)
- October 31 -- [[Killzone: Liberation]] (PSP)
- November -- Guitar Hero II (PS2)
- November -- [[Medieval 2: Total War]] (PC)
- November -- Tekken 6 (PS3)
- November -- Xiaolin Showdown (DS, PS2, PSP, Xbox)
- November 17 -- PlayStation 3
- Quarter 4 -- [[Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs]] (PC)
- Quarter 4 -- Battlefield 2142 (PC)
- Quarter 4 -- Crysis (PC)
- Quarter 4 -- F.E.A.R. Extraction Point (PC)
- Quarter 4 -- Gears of War (Xbox 360)
- Quarter 4 -- Half-Life 2 (PS3, Xbox 360)
- Quarter 4 -- Half-Life 2: Episode One (PS3, Xbox 360)
- Quarter 4 -- [[Half-Life 2: Episode Two]] (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Quarter 4 -- Lumines II (PSP)
- Quarter 4 -- [[Metroid Prime 3: Corruption]] (Wii)
- Quarter 4 -- Red Steel (Wii)
- Quarter 4 -- Sonic the Hedgehog (PS3, Xbox 360)
- Quarter 4 -- [[Star Trek: Legacy]] (PC)
- Quarter 4 -- [[Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption]] (PC)
- Quarter 4 -- [[Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz]] (Wii)
- Quarter 4 -- [[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass]] (DS)
- Quarter 4 -- [[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]] (GC, Wii)
- Quarter 4 -- Tomb Raider: Legend (GBA, GC)
- Quarter 4 -- Unreal Tournament 2007 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
- Quarter 4 -- [[Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War#Dark Crusade|Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Dark Crusade]] (PC)
- Quarter 4 -- [[Warhammer: Mark of Chaos]] (PC)
- Quarter 4 -- [[WarioWare: Smooth Moves]] (Wii)
- Quarter 4 -- Wii
- Quarter 4 -- [[World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade]] (PC)
- Unknown -- Heavenly Sword (PS3)
- Unknown -- Kaitou Wario Seven (DS)
- Unknown -- [[Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops]] (PSP)
- Unknown -- [[StarCraft: Ghost]] (PS2, Xbox) (status in question)
- Unknown -- Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
- Unknown -- The Godfather: The Game (Wii)
- Unknown -- The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (PC)
Trends
Video game consoles
- Microsoft Xbox & Xbox 360
- Nintendo GameCube
- Sony PlayStation 2
Handheld game systems
- Nintendo DS / Nintendo DS Lite
- Nintendo's Game Boy Advance SP / Game Boy Micro
- Sony's PlayStation Portable
Video game sales
References
[link]
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