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, 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, Crazy Taxi 2, SSX Tricky, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Sonic Adventure 2, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and Virtua Fighter 4. New intellectual properties include Ace Attorney, Advance Wars, Animal Crossing, Burnout, Gothic, Black & White, Devil May Cry, Fatal Frame, Ghost Recon, Halo, Jak and Daxter, Max Payne, Oni, Onimusha: Warlords, Operation Flashpoint, Pikmin, Pro Evolution Soccer, Red Faction, Serious Sam, and Tropico.
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Three major video game systems were released in 2001: the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance by Nintendo, and the Xbox by Microsoft.[1] 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.[2] The year 2001 is remembered for its influence on the video game industry with the release of many games recognized as classics.[3][4] Many video games released in 2001 defined or redefined their respective genres, including hack and slash game Devil May Cry,[5][6] first-person shooter game Halo: Combat Evolved,[7][8] and open world action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto III, which is regarded as an industry-defining work.[9][10]
The year has been retrospectively considered one of the best and most important 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 (following SegaNet the previous year), 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.[11][12] The year's best-selling video game worldwide was Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal, the fourth year in a row for the Pokémon series (since 1998). 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.
Month | Day | Console |
---|---|---|
March | 21 | Game Boy Advance |
September | 14 | GameCube |
November | 15 | Xbox |
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.[13]
In the West, Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher | Sales | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | United States[18] | Combined | ||||
1 | Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal | Game Boy Color | Nintendo | 826,125[a] | 3,127,659 | 3,953,784 |
2 | Final Fantasy X | PlayStation 2 | Squaresoft | 2,434,015[19] | 746,632[20] | 3,180,647 |
3 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PlayStation 2 | Sony | 1,656,959[19] | 1,172,322 | 2,829,281 |
4 | Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | PlayStation 2 | Konami | 750,560[19] | 1,800,000+[21] | 2,550,560+ |
5 | Madden NFL 2002 | PS2, PlayStation | EA Sports | — | 2,220,112 | 2,220,112 |
6 | The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons / Oracle of Ages | Game Boy Color | Nintendo | 772,858[19] | 1,248,191 | 2,021,049 |
7 | Grand Theft Auto III | PlayStation 2 | Rockstar | — | 1,965,832 | 1,965,832 |
8 | Super Mario Advance | Game Boy Advance | Nintendo | 777,899[22] | 1,172,323+[23][18] | 1,950,222+ |
9 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | PlayStation, PC | EA | 83,954[22] | 1,628,744[18][24] | 1,712,698 |
10 | The Sims | PC | EA | — | 1,482,182[24] | 1,482,182 |
Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Sales revenue | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
USA[18][23][25] | Europe[26] | Combined | Inflation | |||
1 | Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal | GBC | $91,038,324 | €221,000,000 ($198,000,000) | $289,038,324 | $497,000,000 |
2 | Grand Theft Auto III | PlayStation 2 | $98,940,325 | €54,000,000 ($48,000,000) | $146,940,325 | $253,000,000 |
3 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Multi-platform | $55,148,445[18][23][24] | €92,000,000 ($82,000,000) | $137,148,445 | $236,000,000 |
4 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PlayStation 2 | $58,264,403 | €64,000,000 ($57,000,000) | $115,264,403 | $198,000,000 |
5 | Madden NFL 2002 | PS2, PS1 | $110,000,000 | Unknown | $110,000,000+ | $190,000,000+ |
6 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 | Multi-platform | $81,000,000 | €24,000,000 ($21,000,000) | $102,000,000 | $176,000,000 |
7 | Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | PlayStation 2 | $87,000,000+ | — | $87,000,000+ | $150,000,000+ |
8 | The Sims | PC | $60,499,079[24] | €25,000,000 ($22,000,000) | $82,499,079 | $142,000,000 |
9 | Super Mario Advance | GBA | $37,000,000+ | €23,000,000 ($21,000,000) | $56,000,000+ | $96,000,000+ |
10 | FIFA Football 2002 | Multi-platform | Unknown | €52,000,000 ($47,000,000) | $47,000,000+ | $81,000,000+ |
Rank | Title | Platform | Sales | Sales revenue | Inflation | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Final Fantasy X | PS2 | 2,434,015 | ¥17,600,000,000+ ($145,000,000+) | $250,000,000+ | [19][27] |
2 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PS2 | 1,656,959 | Unknown | [19] | |
3 | Dragon Quest Monsters 2 | PlayStation | 1,138,756 | Unknown | [22] | |
4 | Dragon Quest IV: Michibikareshi Monotachi | PlayStation | 1,039,443 | Unknown | [19] | |
5 | Onimusha (Onimusha: Warlords) | PS2 | 1,000,000+ | Unknown | [28][29] | |
6 | Minna no Golf 3 (Everybody's Golf 3) | PS2 | 871,167 | Unknown | [19] | |
7 | Dai Rantō Smash Brothers DX (Smash Bros. Melee) | GameCube | 838,237 | |||
8 | Pocket Monsters: Gold / Silver / Crystal (Pokémon) | GBC | 826,125 | Unknown | [a] | |
9 | Winning Eleven 5 (Pro Evolution Soccer) | PS2 | 789,515 | Unknown | [19] | |
10 | Super Mario Advance | GBA | 777,899 | Unknown | [22] |
Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Sales | Revenue | Inflation | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal | Game Boy Color | 3,127,659 | $91,038,324 | $157,000,000 | [18][23][25] |
2 | Madden NFL 2002 | PlayStation 2, PlayStation | 2,220,112 | $110,000,000 | $190,000,000 | [23][18] |
3 | Grand Theft Auto III | PlayStation 2 | 1,965,832 | $98,940,325 | $170,000,000 | [23][18] |
4 | Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | PlayStation 2 | 1,800,000+ | $87,000,000+ | $150,000,000+ | [21][23] |
5 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 | PlayStation 2, PlayStation | 1,693,037 | $81,000,000 | $139,000,000 | [23][18] |
6 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | PlayStation, PC | 1,628,744 | $55,148,445 | $95,000,000 | [18][23][24] |
7 | The Sims | PC | 1,482,182 | $60,499,079 | $100,000,000 | [24] |
8 | The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons / Oracle of Ages | Game Boy Color | 1,248,191 | $39,000,000 | $67,000,000 | [23][18] |
9 | Super Mario Advance | Game Boy Advance | 1,172,323+ | $35,000,000+ | $60,000,000+ | [23][18] |
10 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PlayStation 2 | 1,172,322 | $58,264,403 | $100,000,000 | [23][18] |
Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher | Genre | Sales revenue | Inflation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pokémon Gold / Silver / Crystal | Game Boy Color | Nintendo | Role-playing | €221,000,000 ($198,000,000) | $341,000,000 |
2 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Multi-platform | Electronic Arts | Action-adventure | €92,000,000 ($82,000,000) | $140,000,000 |
3 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PlayStation 2 | Sony | Racing sim | €64,000,000 ($57,000,000) | $98,000,000 |
4 | Grand Theft Auto III | PlayStation 2 | Rockstar Games | Action-adventure | €54,000,000 ($48,000,000) | $83,000,000 |
5 | FIFA Football 2002 | Multi-platform | EA Sports | Sports | €52,000,000 ($47,000,000) | $81,000,000 |
6 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? | Multi-platform | Eidos Interactive | Quiz | €33,000,000 ($30,000,000) | $52,000,000 |
7 | FIFA 2001 | Multi-platform | EA Sports | Sports | €31,000,000 ($28,000,000) | $48,000,000 |
8 | Final Fantasy IX | PlayStation | Squaresoft | Role-playing | €30,000,000 ($27,000,000) | $46,000,000 |
9 | Black & White | PC | Electronic Arts | God game | €28,000,000 ($25,000,000) | $43,000,000 |
10 | The Sims | PC | Electronic Arts | Life simulation | €25,000,000 ($22,000,000) | $38,000,000 |
Rank | Title | Platform | Developer | Publisher | Genre |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pokémon Crystal | Game Boy Color | Game Freak | Nintendo | Role-playing |
2 | Pokémon Gold | ||||
3 | Pokémon Silver | ||||
4 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | PlayStation | Argonaut Games | Electronic Arts | Action-adventure |
5 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Game Boy Color | Griptonite Games | Role-playing | |
6 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PlayStation 2 | Polyphony Digital | Sony | Racing simulation |
7 | Gran Turismo 2 | PlayStation | |||
8 | Pokémon Stadium 2 | Nintendo 64 | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Turn-based strategy |
9 | Super Mario Advance | Game Boy Advance | Nintendo R&D2 | Platformer | |
10 | Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped | PlayStation | Naughty Dog | Sony |
Rank | Title | Developer | Manufacturer | Type | Genre | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Canvas Shot / Flash Shot / Chaopi | Omron | Omron | Other | Purikura | 8712 |
2 | Derby Owners Club | Sega AM3 | Sega | Dedicated | Simulation | 3837 |
3 | Battle Gear 2 | Taito | Taito | Dedicated | Racing | 2601 |
4 | Tekken Tag Tournament | Namco | Namco | Software | Fighting | 2568 |
5 | Shakatto Tambourine (Samba de Amigo) | Sega | Sega | Dedicated | Rhythm | 2523 |
6 | Time Crisis 2 | Namco | Namco | Dedicated | Light gun shooter | 2400 |
7 | The King of Fighters 2000 | SNK | SNK | Software | Fighting | 2382 |
8 | Virtua Striker 2 ver. 2000 | Sega AM2 | Sega | Software | Sports | 2345 |
9 | Street Snap EG | Hitachi | Hitachi | Other | Purikura | 2291 |
10 | Kidō Senshi Gundam: Renpō vs. Zeon (Federation vs. Zeon) | Capcom | Banpresto | Software | Third-person shooter | 2280 |
Month | Day(s) | Event |
---|---|---|
January | 29 | Infogrames acquired Hasbro Interactive, including the Game.com division, the MicroProse and Atari labels, and a right to publish and develop games based on Hasbro properties. Paradigm Entertainment was also acquired.[32] |
31 | Sega announced it would be departing from the console market[33] and discontinuing the Dreamcast, and develop and publish games for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.[34] |
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The dominant video game console in 2001 was Sony's PlayStation 2.
Nintendo released the GameCube on September 14 in Japan (North America on November 18 and in Europe on May 3, 2002). Microsoft released the Xbox in North America on November 15 (in Europe on March 14, 2002).
The dominant handheld system in 2001 was Nintendo's Game Boy Color.
Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance in Japan on March 21 (in North America on June 11 and Europe on June 22).