By Eugene Oh The 2000s: A Forgettable Decade for World Peace, An Unforgettable Decade for Video Games
We’re nearly a month away from the end of a decade, and there have been several sobering retrospective stories highlighting the milestones of the 2000s. If you haven’t checked them out already, Newsweek posted a popular video titled, “A decade in seven minutes,” while TIME highlighted several lowlights of the 00’s, appropriately titling their story, “The ’00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade from Hell.”
Surely there were many forgettable moments that were unforgettable over the last ten years. But what about looking at the decade from a video game perspective? Surely this has been a landmark decade, both technologically and socially, full of groundbreaking milestones and memories. It would be challenging to sum up the 2000s in videogames in a seven minute video or a two page article, for that matter. Therefore I’ve highlighted a couple of memorable milestones for each year based on magnitude and uniqueness that every gamer can relate to.
2000
Sony kicks off the decade with the in-demand PlayStation 2. Remember how hard it was to get your hands on one of those? Late nights with SSX and Tekken Tag Tournament kicked off the decade with next-generation gaming.
2001
The GameBoy Advance, Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube all see the light of day. We see a new level of competition take place between three giants, which overall, is healthy for both the industry and beneficial for gamers. Grand Theft Auto III makes its rounds into the homes of millions, and creates a craze from both the fans and anti-violence supporters.
2002
Xbox LIVE launches and the world will never be the same, as online gaming is taken to a new level. Games like Kingdom Hearts and Resident Evil Remake show off what both developers and the technology of the current generation of consoles are capable of.
2003
Square Co. and Enix Corporation officially merge as Square Enix Co., Ltd. RPG lovers are provided with many memorable RPGs for years to come. Nintendo announces that their next generation console (later codenamed “Revolution“), will be fully backwards compatible with GameCube games.
2004
Electronics Arts purchases rights to the NFL for use in their football videogames via a five year exclusive agreement. The Madden franchise as we know it becomes the only destination for authentic NFL teams, stadiums, players and logos. Half-Life 2 is released to PC, garnering exceptional ratings and further spurring the first-person shooter craze on the platform.
2005
The Xbox 360 and its integrated Xbox LIVE service launch in time for the Holiday, and thus, a new generation of video game consoles have officially kicked off. Launch titles show a hint of promise for what’s to come (i.e. “Halo 3″).
2006
Both the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 launch amidst a holiday crazed frenzy. Remember those over-the-top eBay auctions and Web sites like SmashMyPS3.com? Gears of War launches for Xbox 360, and sets a new mark for graphical capabilities on the current generation of consoles. The Nintendo DS Lite is released, setting off a new wave and craze of portable handheld gaming.
2007
Landmark title Halo 3 makes its way onto the Xbox 360, receiving both massive critical and commercial success that has rarely been seen before in any entertainment property.
2008
Super Smash Bros. Brawl is released and dominates the charts, selling 820,000 copies in Japan and becoming the fastest-selling video game in the history of Nintendo of America with 1.4 million sold in the U.S. in its first week. Grand Theft Auto IV makes its way onto retail shelves, setting of another firestorm of controversy and receiving a perfect score from GameSpot (the first time since 2001).
2009
Ensemble Studios, famed creators of the Age of Empires series, closes its doors after 15 years. Sony launches a new version of the PlayStation 3 dubbed, “PS3 Slim,” giving gamers a more compact and affordable version of the console. The Beatles: Rock Band launches, exposing a new generation to arguably the greatest band of all time.
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