2002 in video games


The year 2002 in video games saw the release of many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Madden NFL 2003, NBA Live 2003, NBA 2K3, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, Final Fantasy XI, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Jet Set Radio Future, Metroid Prime, Onimusha 2, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Pro Evolution Soccer 2, Resident Evil and Zero, Super Mario Sunshine, ''The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, along with new titles and franchises such as Battlefield, Dungeon Siege, Kingdom Hearts, Mafia, Ratchet & Clank, Sly Cooper, SOCOM, and Splinter Cell. The year's best-selling video game was Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for the PlayStation 2, while the year's most critically acclaimed titles were Metroid Prime and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker'' for the GameCube.

Legend

Hardware releases

This is a list of all game hardware released in 2002.
The GameCube and Xbox continued to release in European & Australian countries, and the PlayStation 2 released in Russia and some East Asian countries.
MonthDayConsole
January24PlayStation 2
February22PlayStation 2
February22Xbox
March14Xbox
May3GameCube
May17GameCube
November7PlayStation 2

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:
  • Nintendo's GameCube
  • Microsoft's Xbox
  • Sony's PlayStation
  • Sony's PlayStation 2
  • Nintendo's Game Boy Advance

    Handheld game systems

The dominant handheld systems in 2002 were Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and Nintendo's Game Boy Color.

Critically acclaimed titles

''Famitsu''

The following video game releases in 2002 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" and received Famitsu scores of at least 36 out of 40.
TitlePlatformDeveloperPublisherGenreScore
The Legend of Zelda: Kaze no Takuto GCNNintendo EADNintendoAction-adventure40
Biohazard GCNCapcomCapcomSurvival horror39
Final Fantasy XI OnlinePS2SquaresoftSquaresoftMMORPG38
Biohazard 0 GCNCapcomCapcomSurvival horror38
Virtua Fighter 4PS2Sega AM2SegaFighting37
Dead or Alive 3XBOXTeam NinjaTecmoFighting37
Super Mario SunshineGCNNintendo EADNintendoPlatformer37
Onimusha 2 PS2CapcomCapcomHack and slash36
Sakura Taisen 4: Koiseyo Otome DCRed CompanySegaSRPG36
Kingdom HeartsPS2SquaresoftSquaresoftAction RPG36
Tekken 4PS2NamcoNamcoFighting36
Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi GBAIntelligent SystemsNintendoSRPG36
Winning Eleven 6 PS2Konami TokyoKonamiSports36
Kamaitachi no Yoru 2PS2ChunsoftChunsoftVisual novel36
IkarugaDCTreasureESPShoot 'em up36
Winning Eleven 6: Final EvolutionPS2Konami TokyoKonamiSports36

Metacritic and GameRankings

and GameRankings are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
GamePublisherRelease DatePlatformMC scoreGR score
Metroid PrimeNintendoNovember 17, 2002GCN97/10096.33%
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind WakerNintendoDecember 13, 2002GCN96/10094.43%
Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityRockstar GamesOctober 29, 2002PS295/10094.43%
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four SwordsNintendoDecember 2, 2002GBA95/10091.74%
Madden NFL 2003EA SportsAugust 12, 2002PS295/10091.2%
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4ActivisionOctober 23, 2002PS294/10092.53%
Virtua Fighter 4SegaJanuary 31, 2002PS294/10091.33%
Grand Theft Auto IIIRockstar GamesMay 21, 2002WIN93/10093.54%
Warcraft III: Reign of ChaosBlizzard EntertainmentJuly 3, 2002WIN92/10093.02%
Tom Clancy's Splinter CellUbisoftNovember 17, 2002XBOX93/10092.49%
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3ActivisionMarch 4, 2002XBOX93/10090.69%
Pro Evolution Soccer 2KonamiApril 25, 2002PS293/10090.54%
NFL 2K3SegaAugust 21, 2002PS293/10088.1%
Super Mario SunshineNintendoAugust 26, 2002GCN92/10091.5%
Metroid FusionNintendoNovember 18, 2002GBA92/10091.21%
Eternal DarknessNintendoJune 23, 2002GCN92/10090.58%
Madden NFL 2003EA SportsAugust 12, 2002GCN92/10090.47%
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003EA SportsOctober 31, 2002WIN92/10089.83%
Madden NFL 2003EA SportsAugust 12, 2002XBOX92/10089.57%
NFL 2K3SegaAugust 21, 2002GCN92/10089.45%
TimeSplitters 2Eidos InteractiveOctober 8, 2002PS290/10091.67%
NCAA Football 2003EA SportsJuly 20, 2002PS291/10091.36%
Medal of Honor: Allied AssaultElectronic ArtsJanuary 22, 2002WIN91/10091.05%
No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s WaySierra EntertainmentSeptember 30, 2002WIN91/10091.03%
NCAA Football 2003EA SportsJuly 20, 2002GCN91/10090.57%
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / Master QuestNintendoDecember 13, 2002GCN91/10089.77%
Resident EvilCapcomMarch 22, 2002GCN91/10089.75%
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3NintendoSeptember 24, 2002GBA91/10089.55%
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4ActivisionOctober 23, 2002GCN91/10089.39%
Neverwinter NightsInfogramesJune 18, 2002WIN91/10088.98%
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003EA SportsOctober 27, 2002GCN90/10090.55%
NBA 2K2SegaMarch 20, 2002GCN90/10090.53%
Panzer Dragoon OrtaSegaDecember 19, 2002XBOX90/10090.36%
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3ActivisionMarch 28, 2002WIN90/10090.29%
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4ActivisionOctober 23, 2002XBOX90/10088.79%
NCAA Football 2003EA SportsJuly 20, 2002XBOX90/10088.79%
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3ActivisionMarch 4, 2002GBA90/10088.33%
Freedom ForceElectronic ArtsMarch 26, 2002WIN90/10087.88%
NBA 2K2SegaFebruary 27, 2002XBOX90/10086.91%
NFL 2K3SegaAugust 21, 2002XBOXN/A89.79%
Ratchet & ClankSony Computer EntertainmentNovember 4, 2002PS288/10089.74%
MafiaGathering of DevelopersAugust 27, 2002WIN88/10089.51%
TimeSplitters 2Eidos InteractiveOctober 16, 2002GCN88/10089.31%
The Elder Scrolls III: MorrowindBethesda SoftworksMay 1, 2002WIN89/10089.01%
NBA 2K2SegaJanuary 12, 2002PS289/10088.89%
Battlefield 1942Electronic ArtsSeptember 10, 2002WIN89/10088.67%
Age of MythologyMicrosoft Game StudiosOctober 30, 2002WIN89/10088.67%
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2Electronic ArtsOctober 2, 2002PS289/10088.01%
Madden NFL 2003EA SportsAugust 12, 2002WIN89/10087.64%
Combat Mission II: Barbarossa to BerlinBattlefront.comSeptember 20, 2002WIN89/10087.18%
NHL 2K3SegaNovember 19, 2002XBOX89/10086.86%
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi OutcastActivisionMarch 26, 2002WIN89/10086.8%
NASCAR Racing 2002 SeasonSierra EntertainmentFebruary 14, 2002WIN89/10086.7%
NHL 2K3SegaDecember 11, 2002GCN89/10086.12%
NBA 2K3SegaOctober 8, 2002PS289/10085.81%
NHL 2K3SegaNovember 10, 2002PS289/10085.81%
Medieval: Total WarActivisionAugust 19, 2002WIN88/10088.49%
Dark ChronicleSony Computer EntertainmentNovember 28, 2002PS287/10088.46%
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003EA SportsOctober 27, 2002XBOX88/10088.28%
Burnout 2: Point of ImpactAcclaim EntertainmentSeptember 30, 2002PS286/10088.22%
TimeSplitters 2Eidos InteractiveOctober 16, 2002XBOX88/10088.12%
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003EA SportsOctober 27, 2002PS288/10087.9%
F1 2002EA SportsJune 13, 2002WIN88/10086.93%
Medal of Honor: FrontlineElectronic ArtsMay 29, 2002PS288/10086.67%
Aggressive InlineAcclaim EntertainmentJuly 31, 2002GCN88/10086.47%
FIFA Football 2003Electronic ArtsNovember 1, 2002XBOX88/10086.33%
Jet Set Radio FutureSegaFebruary 22, 2002XBOX88/10085.97%
NBA StreetEA SportsFebruary 5, 2002GCN88/10084.96%
FIFA Football 2003Electronic ArtsOctober 25, 2002PS288/10082.9%