2001 in video games
2001 saw many sequels and prequels in video games. New intellectual properties include Animal Crossing, Burnout, Gothic, Black & White, Devil May Cry, Oni, Halo: Combat Evolved, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Max Payne, Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis, Pikmin, Red Faction, Serious Sam, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon and Tropico.
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Events
- Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts John Carmack of id Software to the AIAS Hall of Fame.
- British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) hosts the 4th annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards for multimedia technologies; 15 of 21 awards go to video games.
- March 21 – The Game Boy Advance handheld is released by Nintendo. Also to back-up the GBA's identical graphics to the SNES an enhanced remake of Super Mario Bros 2 was launched.
- May 17–19 – 7th annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3);[1] the 4th annual Game Critics Awards For The Best Of E3
- June 23 – Sonic the Hedgehog celebrates its 10th anniversary.
- July – IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) hosts 2nd annual Executive Summit.
- Gama Network hosts the 3rd annual Independent Games Festival (IGF).
- Game Developers Conference hosts the 1st annual Game Developers Choice Awards.
- Spring – Reuters reports that the Dreamcast console has an estimated 800,000 online users playing its various online games already by midyear.
- Sony cooperates with AOL to incorporate Internet features with the PlayStation 2 console; which include a browser, email, and instant messaging capabilities.
- August – 2nd annual Dreamcast Championships (featuring the Crazy Taxi 2 video game).
- Nikkei News reports that the video game Phantasy Star Online (for Dreamcast) has had 300,000 worldwide users login already by midyear.
- September 14 – Nintendo releases the GameCube and its launch title Luigi's Mansion.
- November 15 – The Microsoft Xbox is introduced.
- November 18 – Nintendo releases the GameCube in North America.
- November 23 – Game Park releases the GP32 wireless-multiplayer multimedia handheld console in South Korea.
- December 31 – Jez San is awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours, becoming the first person awarded specifically for services to video games.
- December – Panasonic releases the Game Cube-based Q multimedia console.
Business
- Defunct companies: Indrema, Dynamix, Sanctuary Woods, SNK.
- After Dynamix (1984–2001) is closed as part of Sierra's restructuring under Vivendi Universal, several veterans of the studio found GarageGames.
- Sega announces that it will no longer develop home consoles, to focus on game development. The Dreamcast is discontinued in May, but games including Sonic the Hedgehog will continue to be released.
- Activision acquires Treyarch Invention LLC.
- PCCW Japan (Pacific Century CyberWorks Japan Co., Ltd.) acquires VR1 Entertainment.
- Long-time arcade developer Midway Games announces that it will no longer manufacture arcade games.
- August – Loki Software declares Chapter 11 Bankruptcy over internal financial troubles, before going defunct next January. In response Michael Simms of the Tux Games retailer and former Loki game tester founds Linux Game Publishing alongside ex-Loki employee Mike Philips on October 15 to keep games coming to Linux.
- October – Infogrames announces to revive Atari as a sub-brand of Infogrames. Infogrames, MX Rider and TransWorld Surf were the first 3 games to receive this treatment.
Lawsuits
- Sega of America Inc. v. Kmart Corporation; Sega sues Kmart over an unpaid debt of over US$2 million
- Uri Geller v. Nintendo; Geller sues Nintendo over his resemblance to a Pokémon character. The suit is dismissed.
Notable releases
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Trends
Video game consoles
The dominant video game consoles in 2001 were:
Additionally, Nintendo released the Nintendo GameCube on September 14 in Japan (U.S. on November 18 and in Europe on May 3, 2002). Microsoft released the Xbox video game console in the U.S. on November 15 (in Europe on March 14, 2002).
The Nintendo GameCube
Handheld game systems
The dominant handheld systems in 2001 were:
Additionally, Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance (GBA) in Japan on March 21 (in the U.S. on June 11 and Europe on June 22).
The Game Boy Advance
Video game sales
According to the NPD Group, Grand Theft Auto III was the top selling console video game in 2001 in the United States with just under two million sold; the top 10 selling console video games in 2001 in the United States ranked by units sold were:[2]
| Rank | Title | Platform | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Theft Auto III | PS2 | Rockstar Games |
| 2 | Madden NFL 2002 | PS1-PS2 | Electronic Arts |
| 3 | Pokémon Crystal | GBC | Nintendo |
| 4 | Mario Kart: Super Circuit | GBA | Nintendo |
| 5 | Super Mario Advance | GBA | Nintendo |
| 6 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PS2 | Sony |
| 7 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | PS1 | Electronic Arts |
| 8 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | PS1 | Activision |
| 9 | Pokémon Silver | GBC | Nintendo |
| 10 | Wario Land 4 | GBA | Nintendo |
Personal computer game sales
According to the NPD Group, the top 10 selling personal computer games in 2001 in the United States ranked by units sold were:[2]
| Rank | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Sims | Electronic Arts |
| 2 | RollerCoaster Tycoon | Infogrames |
| 3 | Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone | Electronic Arts |
| 4 | Diablo II: Lord of Destruction | Vivendi Universal |
| 5 | The Sims: House Party | Electronic Arts |
| 6 | The Sims: Livin' Large | Electronic Arts |
| 7 | The Sims: Hot Date | Electronic Arts |
| 8 | Diablo II | Vivendi Universal |
| 9 | Sim Theme Park | Electronic Arts |
| 10 | Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings | Microsoft |
Critically acclaimed titles
Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
Deaths
- March 16 – Isao Okawa, 74, chairman of Sega.[7]
References
- "Attendance and Stats". IGN. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- "NPD REPORTS ANNUAL 2001 U.S. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT SALES SHATTER INDUSTRY RECORD" (Press release). Port Washington, New York: NPD Group. February 7, 2002. Archived from the original on August 14, 2004. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
- "Best Video Games for 2001". Metacritic. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- "Highest-Ranking Games of 2001 (with at least 10 reviews)". GameRankings. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- "Best Video Games for 2002". Metacritic. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- "Highest-Ranking Games of 2002 (with at least 10 reviews)". GameRankings. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- John Chartier (May 18, 2001). "Sega's gaming gambit". CNN. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
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