2000 in video games

The year 2000 saw the release of numerous video games as well as the launch of the PlayStation 2. Critically acclaimed games originally released in 2000 include sequels such as Madden NFL 2001, NBA Live 2001, NBA 2K1, WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role, Baldur's Gate II, Diablo II, Dragon Quest VII, Final Fantasy IX, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, NFL 2K1, Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, Spyro: Year of the Dragon, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, along with new intellectual properties such as Deus Ex, Hitman, Jet Set Radio, Perfect Dark, Skies of Arcadia, The Sims, SSX, Vagrant Story, and Sin and Punishment. The year's best-selling home video games worldwide were Pokémon games for the third year in a row, while the highest-grossing arcade game in Japan was Virtua Striker 2.

Legend

Hardware releases

The list of game-related hardware released in 2000.
Sony released the PlayStation 2, which as to this day is still the best selling video game console of all time. Sony also released the PS One, a small revision model of the original PlayStation that can be played portably with a LCD add-on.

Date	System
March 4	PlayStation 2
July 7	PS One
September 19	PS One
September 29	PS One
October 26	PlayStation 2
November	PS One
November 24	PlayStation 2
November 30	PlayStation 2
December 9	WonderSwan Color
Unknown	Sega NAOMI 2

Top-rated games

Game of the Year awards

The following titles won Game of the Year awards for 2000.

Awards	Game of the Year	Developer	Publisher	Genre	Platform
GameSpot	Chrono Cross	Squaresoft	Square EA	RPG	PS1
IGN	Chrono Cross	Squaresoft	Square EA	RPG	PS1
BAFTA Interactive Awards	Deus Ex	Ion Storm	Eidos	Action RPG	WIN, MAC
IGN	Deus Ex	Ion Storm	Eidos	Action RPG	WIN, MAC
Electronic Playground	Deus Ex	Ion Storm	Eidos	Action RPG	WIN, MAC
GameSpy	Deus Ex	Ion Storm	Eidos	Action RPG	WIN, MAC
Electronic Gaming Monthly	Final Fantasy IX	Squaresoft	Square EA	RPG	PS1
Golden Satellite Awards	Final Fantasy IX	Squaresoft	Square EA	RPG	PS1
Electronic Playground	Final Fantasy IX	Squaresoft	Square EA	RPG	PS1
Core Magazine	Final Fantasy IX	Squaresoft	Square EA	RPG	PS1
IGN	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Action-adventure	N64
Nintendo Power Awards	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Action-adventure	N64
GameRevolution	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Action-adventure	N64
Electronic Playground	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Action-adventure	N64
DailyRadar UK	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Action-adventure	N64
Electronic Playground	Jet Set Radio	Smilebit	Sega	Platform	DC
GameSpot	The Sims	Maxis	EA	Life sim	WIN, MAC
GDC Awards	The Sims	Maxis	EA	Life sim	WIN, MAC
Interactive Achievement Awards	The Sims	Maxis	EA	Life sim	WIN, MAC
	The Sims	Maxis	EA	Life sim	WIN, MAC
Electronic Gaming Monthly	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2	Neversoft	Activision	Sports	PS1, DC
Game Informer	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2	Neversoft	Activision	Sports
GameRevolution	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2	Neversoft	Activision	Sports	PS1
BAFTA Interactive Awards	MediEvil 2	SCE Cambridge	Sony	Hack & slash	PS1
BAFTA Interactive Awards	Pokémon Yellow	Game Freak	Nintendo	RPG	GBC
Digitiser	Metropolis Street Racer	Bizarre	Sega	Racing	DC
Electronic Gaming Monthly	Shenmue	Sega AM2	Sega	Action-adventure	DC
IGN	Metal Gear Solid	KCEJ	Konami	Stealth	GBC
Interactive Achievement Awards	Diablo II	Blizzard North	Blizzard	Action RPG	WIN, MAC
Japan Game Awards	Phantasy Star Online	Sonic Team	Sega	Action RPG	DC
Japan Media Arts Festival	Dragon Quest VII	Heartbeat	Enix	RPG	PS1
RPGFan	Grandia II	Game Arts	Ubisoft	RPG	DC
VSDA Awards	Pokémon Stadium	Nintendo EAD	Nintendo	Strategy	N64

Critically acclaimed titles

''Famitsu'' Platinum Hall of Fame

The following video game releases in 2000 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40.

Title	Platform	Publisher	Genre	Score
Vagrant Story	PS1	Squaresoft	Action RPG	40
Tekken Tag Tournament	PS2	Namco	Fighting	38
Final Fantasy IX	PS1	Squaresoft	RPG	38
Dragon Quest VII: Eden no Senshi-tachi	PS1	Enix	RPG	38
The Legend of Zelda: Mujura no Kamen	N64	Nintendo	Action-adventure	37
Phantasy Star Online	DC	Sega	Action RPG	37
Ridge Racer V	PS2	Namco	Racing	36
Fushigi no Dungeon: Fūrai no Shiren 2	N64	Nintendo	Roguelike	36
Biohazard – Code: Veronica	DC	Capcom	Survival horror	35
Trade & Battle: Card Hero	GBC	Nintendo	Card battle	35
The Typing of the Dead	DC	Sega	Edutainment	35
Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 7	PS2	Konami	Sports	35
Grandia II	DC	Game Arts	RPG	35
MotoGP	PS2	Namco	Racing	35
Tsumi to Batsu: Hoshi no Keishōsha	N64	Nintendo	Rail shooter	35

Metacritic and GameRankings

and GameRankings are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.

Game	Publisher	Release Date	Platform	MC score	GR score
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2	Activision	September 20, 2000	PS1	98/100	94.75%
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2	Activision	November 7, 2000	DC	97/100	94.86%
Perfect Dark	Nintendo	May 22, 2000	N64	97/100	94.55%
NFL 2K1	Sega	September 7, 2000	DC	97/100	94.5%
Metal Gear Solid	Konami	April 24, 2000	GBC		95.61%
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn	Interplay Entertainment	September 21, 2000	WIN	95/100	93.97%
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	Nintendo	April 27, 2000	N64	95/100	91.95%
Resident Evil – Code: Veronica	Capcom	February 3, 2000	DC	94/100	93.79%
Final Fantasy IX	Square	July 7, 2000	PS1	94/100	92.72%
Jet Set Radio	Sega	June 29, 2000	DC	94/100	91.9%
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater	Crave Entertainment	May 22, 2000	DC		94%
Rayman 2: The Great Escape	Ubisoft	March 21, 2000	DC		93.05%
SSX	EA Sports	October 26, 2000	PS2	93/100	92.39%
Skies of Arcadia	Sega	October 5, 2000	DC	93/100	90.59%
NBA 2K1	Sega	October 31, 2000	DC	93/100	89.69%
Le Mans 24 Hours	Sega	November 13, 2000	DC	93/100	89.5%
Paper Mario	Nintendo	August 11, 2000	N64	93/100	88.81%
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater	Activision	February 29, 2000	N64		92.4%
Vagrant Story	Square	February 10, 2000	PS1	92/100	91.97%
The Sims	Electronic Arts	February 4, 2000	WIN, MAC	92/100	89.74%
Dead or Alive 2	Tecmo	February 29, 2000	DC		91.37%
Virtua Tennis	Sega	June 8, 2000	DC	92/100	91.37%
Banjo-Tooie	Nintendo	November 20, 2000	N64	90/100	91.31%
Deus Ex	Eidos Interactive	June 23, 2000	WIN, MAC	90/100	91.03%
Madden NFL 2001	EA Sports	October 26, 2000	PS2	91/100	90.78%
Spyro: Year of the Dragon	Sony Computer Entertainment	October 10, 2000	PS1	91/100	90.59%
The Operative: No One Lives Forever	Fox Interactive	November 9, 2000	WIN	91/100	88.34%
DOA2: Hardcore	Tecmo	October 26, 2000	PS2	91/100	87.38%
Mario Tennis	Nintendo	July 21, 2000	N64	91/100	87.32%
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2	Activision	October 25, 2000	WIN	91/100	85.77%
Mario Tennis	Nintendo	November 1, 2000	GBC		90.78%
Donkey Kong Country	Nintendo	November 4, 2000	GBC		90.38%
Pokémon Puzzle Challenge	Nintendo	September 21, 2000	GBC		90.2%
Crazy Taxi	Sega	January 24, 2000	DC		90.19%
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes	Capcom	March 30, 2000	DC	90/100	90.15%
Colin McRae Rally 2.0	Codemasters	July 7, 2000	PS1	90/100	88.82%
Grandia II	Game Arts	August 3, 2000	DC	90/100	88.81%
Madden NFL 2001	EA Sports	August 22, 2000	PS1	90/100	88.65%
Jane's F/A-18	Electronic Arts	January 11, 2000	WIN		88.43%
NHL 2001	EA Sports	September 28, 2000	WIN	90/100	86.75%
Rayman Revolution	Ubisoft	December 22, 2000	PS2	90/100	85.17%
WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role	THQ	November 21, 2000	PS1	90/100	84.27%
Wario Land 3	Nintendo	March 21, 2000	GBC		90%
Phantasy Star Online	Sega	December 21, 2000	DC	89/100	89.88%
Sacrifice	Interplay Entertainment	November 17, 2000	WIN	89/100	89.53%
Counter-Strike	Sierra Entertainment	November 9, 2000	WIN	88/100	89.2%
Thief II	Eidos Interactive	March 23, 2000	WIN	87/100	89.14%
Age of Empires II: The Conquerors	Microsoft	August 24, 2000	WIN	88/100	89.11%
EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark	Sony Online Entertainment	April 24, 2000	WIN	86/100	89.08%
Excitebike 64	Nintendo	April 30, 2000	N64	88/100	89.07%
Homeworld: Cataclysm	Sierra Entertainment	June 30, 2000	WIN	89/100	88.64%
Samba de Amigo	Sega	April 27, 2000	DC	89/100	86.15%
WWF No Mercy	THQ	November 17, 2000	N64	89/100	85.27%
Madden NFL 2001	EA Sports	August 28, 2000	N64	89/100	84.82%
Metropolis Street Racer	Sega	November 3, 2000	DC	87/100	88.59%
Diablo II	Blizzard Entertainment	June 28, 2000	WIN, MAC	88/100	88.58%
MDK2	Interplay Entertainment	March 31, 2000	DC	N/A	88.08%
Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord	Battlefront.com	May 31, 2000	WIN	N/A	88%
Ultimate Fighting Championship	Crave Entertainment	August 29, 2000	DC	88/100	87.8%
Superbike 2001	EA Sports	October 6, 2000	WIN	88/100	87.32%
NHL 2001	EA Sports	September 26, 2000	PS1	88/100	84.11%
Enemy Engaged: RAH-66 Comanche vs. KA-52 Hokum	Empire Interactive	July 31, 2000	WIN	86/100	87.96%
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver	Eidos Interactive	January 27, 2000	DC	N/A	87.94%
PGA Championship Golf 2000	Sierra Entertainment	June 1, 2000	WIN	N/A	87.77%
Steel Beasts	Shrapnel Games	September 24, 2000	WIN	86/100	87.58%