2000s in video gaming

The 2000s in video gaming is the current decade of video games. This decade has been primarily dominated by Sony, Nintendo, the newcomer Microsoft and their respected systems. Overall the decade has seen the last of the blocky 3D polygons of the 1990s and has entered the realm of true High Definition 3D games, and has often focused on developing immersive and interactive environments, implementing realistic physics, and improving artificial intelligence.^[1][2]

Consoles of the 2000s

Sixth generation consoles

Main article: History of video game consoles (sixth generation)

The sixth generation of video games officially began in 1998 with the introduction of the short lived Dreamcast. The sixth generation improved on the 3D graphics of the fifth generation consoles as an era of many 128-bit games. Some of the new features in the consoles included built-in DVD players and Hard drives^[3][4]. The PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox were the best-selling systems of this generation,^[5] dropping Nintendo's GameCube to third and eliminating Sega from the console war. Nintendo releases the Game Boy Advance series, which dominates as the most widely played handheld system, despite growing competition.^{[citation needed]} The internet begins to become a resource for gamers through the new Xbox Live feature that allows players to play anyone around the world.

Seventh generation consoles

Main article: History of video game consoles (seventh generation)

The seventh generation of video games began in late-2005 as the Microsoft's Xbox 360 was released. Some of the new features include HD ready graphics, Media Centers, and Blu-Ray compatibility as seen with the PlayStation 3. Sega did not return to release a home console after dropping out of the console war in 2001 after the failure of the Dreamcast and becoming a solely third-party developer. Nintendo's Wii introduced new motion-sensor controllers, implementing a more realistic and interactive interface for playing its games. In response, the PlayStation 3 also features tilt-sensitive controllers.

Interactive gaming

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Interactive gaming becomes one of the many features in video games in the late-2000s with systems such as the Wii Remote using motion as a method of controlling your character; the PS3 later releases a similar feature. The music video game genre found in many video arcades such as Beatmania and later Dance Dance Revolution caught on extremely well in the early-2000s with smaller home versions appearing by the mid-2000s being popular throughout the decade. Guitar Hero, a game that allows players to play songs using a guitar-like controller is released in 2005 and quickly becomes a best-seller. The original developers of Guitar Hero went on to produce Rock Band, which expands on the concept to include drumming and singing.

Computer games in the 2000s

The personal computer (PC) becomes the primary system for strategy based games, simulators, and first-person shooters (e.g. Half-Life 2, Portal, Crysis). The Sims, released by Maxis in 2000, sold more than 6.3 million copies worldwide by March 22, 2002, to become the best-selling PC game in history, surpassing Myst.^[6] After Electronic Arts bought Maxis, the company produced numerous expansions, turning The Sims franchise, which has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide as of April 16, 2008,^[7] into the best-selling PC franchise in history as of March 19, 2008.^[8]

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games, originating in the mid-to-late 1990s, become a popular PC trend and virtual online worlds become a reality, as games such as EVE Online (2003), Final Fantasy XI (2003), Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (2003), World of Warcraft (2004), Everquest II (2004), Runescape (2001) and The Lord of the Rings Online (2007) are released. These worlds come complete with their own economies and social organization as directed by the players as a whole. The persistent online worlds allow the games to remain popular for many years. World of Warcraft remains one of the most popular games in PC gaming.^{[citation needed]}

Controversial mature-content in gaming

Mature content in video gaming is nothing new to the gaming world. In 1999, the Columbine High School massacre sparked many widespread debates regarding video games and their effects on children's minds. Doom (1993) was brought up a lot during those debates as a scapegoat.^[9] Usually, violence^[10] and sexual content are brought up the most when talking of video games, but language and pornography are also sometimes mentioned.

The Grand Theft Auto series, notable for many violent and sexual plotlines, was a best-seller of the 2000s. The series' popularity sparked a fad of several Mature-rated video games based on including gang warfare, drug use, and perceived "senseless violence" into the gameplay. The Hot Coffee controversy, a sex mini-game, was discovered in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and caused widespread controversy and have fueled efforts to ban the sale of Mature-rated games to minors. The effort has been spearheaded by mothers, lawmakers, and activists (such as Jack Thompson), although all such efforts to pass any laws concerning this have been firmly struck down. Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas was originally an M-rated game, but due to much controversy was later turned into an AO-rated game.^[11] However, the game was changed and was re-released as an M-rated game again.

Other

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• Video games like Halo (2001) and Half-Life 2 (2004) with its Source engine revolutionize the physics aspect of gameplay.^{[citation needed]} Red Faction in 2001 became among the first games to feature destructible environments on any level.^{[citation needed]} Age of Empires III (2005) becomes the first real-time strategy (RTS) game to use the Havok Physics engine and thus feature realistic physics. Company of Heroes, an RTS released in 2006, was the first game of any genre to feature fully-destructible environments.^{[citation needed]} Crysis, released in 2007, pushed physics technology one step further, featuring a sandbox environment where nearly everything is affected by its surroundings.
• 3D games become the staple of the video game industry, with 2D games nearly fading from the market. Partially 3D and fully-2D games were still common in the industry early in the decade, but these have now become rare as developers look almost exclusively for fully 3D games to satisfy the increasing demand for them in the market.

Best-selling video games of the 2000s

See also: List of best-selling video games

This is a list of video games that were released in the 2000s and have sold over ten million copies.

• Wii Sports (Wii, 2006 – 21.56 million,^[12] packaged with system in all regions except Japan)
• Nintendogs (NDS, 2005 – 18.67 million)^[12]
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2, 2002 – 17.5 million,^[13] includes PC and Xbox versions)
• The Sims (PC, 2000 – 16 million shipped)^[14]
• Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (PS2, 2001 – 14.89 million shipped)^[15]
• Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (NDS, 2006 – 14.77 million)^[12]
• Pokémon Gold and Silver (GB, 1999 – 14.51 million approximately, 7.6 million in US,^[16] 6.91 million in Japan)^[17]
• Grand Theft Auto III (PS2, 2001 – 14.5 million,^[13] includes PC and Xbox versions)
• New Super Mario Bros. (NDS, 2006 – 14.16 million)^[12]
• Lineage II (PC, 2003 – 14 million customers)^[18]
• Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (GBA, 2002 – 13 million)^[19]
• The Sims 2 (PC, 2004 – 13 million)^[20]
• Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! (NDS, 2005 – 12.98 million)^[12]
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, 2004 – 12 million)^[21]
• Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (GBA, 2004 – 11.82 million)^[12]
• Wii Play (Wii, 2006 – 11.51 million)^[12]
• Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! (NDS, 2005 – 10.83 million)^[12]
• Mario Kart DS (NDS, 2005 – 10.45 million)^[12]
• Gran Turismo 4 (PS2, 2004 – 10.06 million shipped)^[15]
• World of Warcraft (PC, 2004 – 10 million subscribers)^[22]

References