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The year 2002 in video gaming saw the release of many games to sixth-generation video game consoles, predominately, the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.
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 Entertainment Awards for multimedia technologies; 10 of 21 awards go to video games; awards Ian Livingstone the BAFTA Interactive Special Award
- Big Fish Games is founded with Paul Thelen as the only employee.
- 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 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City video games
- March 22 — The Sims overtakes Myst as all-time best-selling computer game, having sold 6.3 million units [1]
- July - IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) hosts 3rd annual Executive Summit
Business
- January 2 – Cyberactive Media, publishers of GameWeek, is closed down.
- 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 is launched.
- 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
- Realtime Worlds Founded by David Jones
Notable releases
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North American release dates:
- February 22 - Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox)
- March 4 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (GBA, Xbox)
- March 26 - Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (PC)
- March 31 - Dungeon Siege (PC)
- April 30 - Resident Evil Remake (GC)
- May 2 - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC)
- May 16 - Final Fantasy XI (Japan) (PS2)
- June 1 - The House of the Dead III (Arcade)
- June 6 - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Xbox)
- June 16 - Neverwinter Nights (PC)
- July 3 - Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (PC)
- August 19 - Medieval: Total War (PC)
- August 25 - Super Mario Sunshine (GC)
- August 25 - Super Monkey Ball 2 (GC)
- August 27 - SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs (PS2)
- August 28 - Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven (PC)
- September 10 - Battlefield 1942 (PC)
- September 15 - Animal Crossing (GC)
- September 17 - Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
- September 23 - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (PS2)
- September 23 - Tekken 4 (PS2)
- September 30 - No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way (PC)
- October 9 - TimeSplitters 2 (PS2)
- October 22 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (Xbox)
- October 27 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2)
- November 1 - Age of Mythology (PC)
- November 4 - Ratchet & Clank (PS2)
- November 6 - The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal (PC)
- November 10 - Resident Evil 0 (GC)
- November 11 - MechAssault (Xbox)
- November 15 - Metroid Prime (GC)
- November 18 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (GC)
- November 18 - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Xbox)
- November 20 - Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (PS2, Xbox, GBA)
- December 13 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Japan) (GC)
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
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 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | 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 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PS2 | Sony |
| 6 | Medal of Honor: Frontline | PS2 | Electronic Arts |
| 7 | Spider-Man: The Movie | PS2 | Activision |
| 8 | Kingdom Hearts | PS2 | Squaresoft |
| 9 | Halo: Combat Evolved | Xbox | Microsoft |
| 10 | Super Mario Sunshine | GameCube | Nintendo |
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