2001 in video games
2001 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Madden NFL 2002, NBA Live 2002, NBA 2K2, WWF Smackdown! Just Bring It, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Crazy Taxi 2, Dead or Alive 3, Final Fantasy X, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, Grand Theft Auto III, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Myst III: Exile, Silent Hill 2, Sonic Adventure 2, SSX Tricky, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Tekken 4, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and Virtua Fighter 4. New intellectual properties include Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Advance Wars, ''Animal Crossing, Burnout, Gothic, Black & White, Devil May Cry, Fatal Frame, Ghost Recon, Halo: Combat Evolved, Jak and Daxter, Max Payne, Oni, Onimusha: Warlords, Operation Flashpoint, Pikmin, Pro Evolution Soccer, Red Faction, Serious Sam, and Tropico.
Three major video game systems were released in 2001: the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance by Nintendo, and the Xbox by Microsoft. Sega, which had been a major competitor in the video game hardware market to this point, ended its involvement in the market after the failure of the Dreamcast.
The year 2001 is remembered for its influence on the video game industry with the release of many games recognized as classics. Many video games released in 2001 defined or redefined their respective genres, including hack and slash game Devil May Cry, first-person shooter game Halo: Combat Evolved, and open world action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto III, which is regarded as an industry-defining work.
The year has been retrospectively considered one of the best and most influential in video game history due to the release of numerous critically acclaimed, commercially successful and influential titles across all platforms and genres at the time. It was the peak year for the sixth generation of video game consoles, with the launch of the GameCube and Xbox, the latter focusing on online games, and the Dreamcast's last year of production with Sega's exit from console manufacturing. Storytelling and mature themes also became a more mainstream trend.
The year's best-selling video game worldwide was Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal, the fourth year in a row for the Pokémon series. The year's most critically acclaimed titles were Gran Turismo 3 and Final Fantasy X in Japan, and Halo and Grand Theft Auto III'' in the West.
Hardware releases
This is a list of game hardware released in 2001.Nintendo released two consoles this year; the Game Boy Advance, the second & final entry in the Game Boy family, and the GameCube, Nintendo's home console entry in the sixth generation of game consoles.
Microsoft entered the video game industry this year with the launch of the Xbox.
| Month | Day | Console |
| March | 21 | Game Boy Advance |
| June | 11 | Game Boy Advance |
| June | 22 | Game Boy Advance |
| September | 14 | GameCube |
| November | 15 | Xbox |
| November | 16 | Pokémon Mini |
| November | 18 | GameCube |
Top-rated games
Major awards
GameRankings named Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty the Game of the Year for 2001, citing its position as the highest-rated title of the year with an aggregated score of 97% based on reviews from more than 50 gaming publications.Critically acclaimed titles
''Famitsu'' Platinum Hall of Fame
In Japan, the following video game releases in 2001 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.| Title | Platform | Publisher | Genre | Score |
| Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PS2 | Sony | Racing simulation | 39 |
| Final Fantasy X | PS2 | Squaresoft | Role-playing | 39 |
| Fushigi no Dungeon: Fūrai no Shiren GB2 | GBC | Chunsoft | Roguelike | 38 |
| Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | PS2 | Konami | Stealth | 38 |
| Culdcept Second | DC | Media Factory | Turn-based strategy | 37 |
| Dai Rantō Smash Brothers DX | GCN | Nintendo | Fighting | 37 |
| Dōbutsu no Mori + | GCN | Nintendo | Social simulation | 37 |
| Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 2 | GBA | Enix | Roguelike | 36 |
| Madden NFL 2001 | PS2 | Square EA | Sports | 35 |
| Onimusha | PS2 | Capcom | Hack and slash | 35 |
| Kessen II | PS2 | Koei | Real-time tactics | 35 |
| Crazy Taxi 2 | DC | Sega | Driving | 35 |
| Zeonic Front: Kidō Senshi Gundam 0079 | PS2 | Bandai | Strategy | 35 |
| Capcom vs. SNK 2: Millionaire Fighting 2001 | DC, PS2 | Capcom | Fighting | 35 |
| Magical Vacation | GBA | Nintendo | Role-playing | 35 |
| Battle Network Rockman EXE 2 | GBA | Capcom | Tactical role-playing | 35 |
Metacritic and GameRankings
In the West, Metacritic and GameRankings are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.| Game | Publisher | Release date | Platform | MC score | GR score |
| Halo: Combat Evolved | Microsoft Game Studios | November 15, 2001 | XB | 97/100 | 95.54% |
| Grand Theft Auto III | Rockstar Games | October 22, 2001 | PS2 | 97/100 | 95.19% |
| Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | Konami | November 13, 2001 | PS2 | 96/100 | 95.09% |
| Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | Sony Computer Entertainment | April 28, 2001 | PS2 | 95/100 | 94.54% |
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 | Activision | October 30, 2001 | PS2 | 97/100 | 93.43% |
| Devil May Cry | Capcom | August 23, 2001 | PS2 | 94/100 | 92.6% |
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 | Activision | June 11, 2001 | GBA | 95/100 | 89.88% |
| Madden NFL 2002 | EA Sports | August 19, 2001 | PS2 | 94/100 | 92.32% |
| NBA 2K2 | Sega | October 24, 2001 | DC | 93/100 | 92.82% |
| Mario Kart: Super Circuit | Nintendo | July 21, 2001 | GBA | 93/100 | 91.54% |
| SSX Tricky | EA Sports | November 5, 2001 | PS2 | 92/100 | 92.49% |
| Advance Wars | Nintendo | September 10, 2001 | GBA | 92/100 | 92.38% |
| Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 | Nintendo | December 14, 2001 | GBA | 92/100 | 92.36% |
| The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages | Nintendo | February 27, 2001 | GBC | 92.2% | |
| Final Fantasy X | Square | July 19, 2001 | PS2 | 92/100 | 91.73% |
| Super Smash Bros. Melee | Nintendo | November 21, 2001 | GCN | 92/100 | 90.52% |
| Conker's Bad Fur Day | Rare | March 5, 2001 | N64 | 92/100 | 89.28% |
| NHL 2002 | EA Sports | September 24, 2001 | PS2 | 92/100 | 88.84% |
| Pro Evolution Soccer | Konami | March 15, 2001 | PS2 | 91.69% | |
| The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons | Nintendo | February 27, 2001 | GBC | 91.37% | |
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 | Activision | November 18, 2001 | GCN | 91/100 | 91.12% |
| IL-2 Sturmovik | 1C Company | November 18, 2001 | WIN | 91/100 | 90.65% |
| Golden Sun | Nintendo | August 1, 2001 | GBA | 91/100 | 89.1% |
| Twisted Metal: Black | Sony Computer Entertainment | June 18, 2001 | PS2 | 91/100 | 88.52% |
| Castlevania: Circle of the Moon | Konami | March 21, 2001 | GBA | 91/100 | 88.11% |
| Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil | Namco | March 22, 2001 | PS2 | 91/100 | 84.76% |
| Madden NFL 2002 | EA Sports | November 17, 2001 | GCN | 89/100 | 90.39% |
| Ico | Sony Computer Entertainment | September 24, 2001 | PS2 | 90/100 | 90.29% |
| NCAA Football 2002 | EA Sports | July 23, 2001 | PS2 | 90/100 | 90.25% |
| Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy | Sony Computer Entertainment | December 3, 2001 | PS2 | 90/100 | 90.22% |
| Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader | LucasArts | November 18, 2001 | GCN | 90/100 | 90.04% |
| Black & White | Electronic Arts | March 30, 2001 | WIN | 90/100 | 89.79% |
| NFL 2K2 | Sega | September 19, 2001 | DC | 90/100 | 89.35% |
| Civilization III | Infogrames | October 30, 2001 | WIN | 90/100 | 88.75% |
| Madden NFL 2002 | EA Sports | October 31, 2001 | XB | 90/100 | 88.72% |
| Unreal Tournament | Infogrames | March 13, 2001 | DC | 90/100 | 87.8% |
| Virtua Tennis 2 | Sega | October 24, 2001 | DC | 90/100 | 87.22% |
| Dance Dance Revolution | Konami | March 6, 2001 | PS1 | 90/100 | 83.63% |
| Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 | Microsoft | October 16, 2001 | WIN | 90/100 | 82.44% |
| Shenmue II | Sega | September 6, 2001 | DC | 89.63% | |
| Max Payne | Gathering of Developers | July 23, 2001 | WIN | 89/100 | 89.26% |
| NASCAR Racing 4 | Sierra Entertainment | February 6, 2001 | WIN | 89/100 | 88.5% |
| NBA Street | EA Sports | June 19, 2001 | PS2 | 89/100 | 86.92% |
| Pikmin | Nintendo | October 26, 2001 | GCN | 89/100 | 86.71% |
| Final Fantasy Chronicles | Square | June 29, 2001 | PS1 | 89/100 | 86.7% |
| NHL 2002 | EA Sports | December 10, 2001 | XB | 89/100 | 86.33% |
| Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies | Namco | September 13, 2001 | PS2 | 89/100 | 86.07% |
| Max Payne | Rockstar Games | December 12, 2001 | XB | 89/100 | 85.95% |
| Silent Hill 2 | Konami | September 24, 2001 | PS2 | 89/100 | 85.82% |
| Sonic Adventure 2 | Sega | June 23, 2001 | DC | 89/100 | 83.26% |
| Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal | Interplay Entertainment | June 22, 2001 | WIN | 88/100 | 88.73% |
| Super Monkey Ball | Sega | September 14, 2001 | GCN | 87/100 | 88.7% |
| Red Faction | THQ | May 22, 2001 | PS2 | 88/100 | 88.32% |
| Dark Age of Camelot | Vivendi Universal Games | October 10, 2001 | WIN | 88/100 | 88.08% |
| Return to Castle Wolfenstein | Activision | November 19, 2001 | WIN | 88/100 | 86.75% |
| SSX Tricky | EA Sports | December 10, 2001 | XB | 88/100 | 86.6% |
| Wario Land 4 | Nintendo | August 21, 2001 | GBA | 88/100 | 85.34% |
| Madden NFL 2002 | EA Sports | August 13, 2001 | PS1 | 88/100 | 85.08% |
| Tribes 2 | Sierra Entertainment | March 28, 2001 | WIN | 88/100 | 84.85% |
| Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis | Nintendo | June 21, 2001 | GBA | 88/100 | 83.62% |
Financial performance
Best-selling home video games
PAL regions
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 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 ; the 4th annual Game Critics Awards For The Best Of E3
- June 23 – Sonic the Hedgehog celebrates its 10th anniversary.
- July – IEMA hosts 2nd annual Executive Summit.
- Gama Network hosts the 3rd annual Independent Games Festival.
- 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.
- Nikkei News reports that the video game Phantasy Star Online has had 300,000 worldwide users login already by midyear.
- September 14 – Nintendo releases the GameCube and its launch titles Luigi's Mansion and Wave Race: Blue Storm.
- November 15 – The Microsoft Xbox is introduced.
- November 18 – Nintendo releases the GameCube in North America with launch titles Luigi's Mansion and Wave Race: Blue Storm.
- November 23 – Game Park releases the GP32 wireless-multiplayer multimedia handheld console in South Korea.
- December 5–9 – World Cyber Games 2001 are held 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 GameCube-based Q multimedia console.
Business
- Defunct companies: Bullfrog Productions, Indrema, Dynamix, Sanctuary Woods, SNK.
- After Dynamix 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 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. Splashdown, 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
Trends
Video game consoles
The dominant video game console in 2001 was Sony's PlayStation 2.Nintendo released the GameCube on September 14 in Japan. Microsoft released the Xbox in North America on November 15.
Handheld game systems
The dominant handheld system in 2001 was Nintendo's Game Boy Color.Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance in Japan on March 21.
Deaths
- January 12 - David Pridie, 30, developer on Unreal Tournament.
- March 16 – Isao Okawa, 74, chairman of Sega.
- May 3 - Doug Myers, 36, Audio and Visual production on Railroad Tycoon II.
- September 21 - Andrew Bradfield, 35, creator of Laser Hawk