2002 in video games
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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Year nav topic5 Template:Jagged 85 cleanup
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
{{#invoke:VgData|main|ct=platform|col=3|Arcade|DC|GBA|GBC|GCN|LIN|N64|OSX|PS1|PS2|WIN|XBOX}}
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Metacritic and GameRankings
Metacritic (MC) and GameRankings (GR) are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
| CitationClass=web
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| Game | Publisher | Release Date | Platform(s) | MC score | GR score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metroid Prime | Nintendo | November 17, 2002 | GCN | 97/100 | 96.33% | ||
| The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker | Nintendo | December 13, 2002 | GCN | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | Rockstar Games | October 29, 2002 | PS2 | 95/100 | 94.43% | ||
| The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords | Nintendo | December 2, 2002 | GBA | 95/100 | 91.74% | ||
| Madden NFL 2003 | EA Sports | August 12, 2002 | PS2 | 95/100 | 91.2% | ||
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 | Activision | October 23, 2002 | PS2 | 94/100 | 92.53% | ||
| Virtua Fighter 4 | Sega | January 31, 2002 | PS2 | 94/100 | 91.33% | ||
| Grand Theft Auto III | Rockstar Games | May 21, 2002 | WIN | 93/100 | 93.54% | ||
| Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos | Blizzard Entertainment | July 3, 2002 | WIN | 92/100 | 93.02% | ||
| Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell | Ubisoft | November 17, 2002 | XBOX | 93/100 | 92.49% | ||
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 | Activision | March 4, 2002 | XBOX | 93/100 | 90.69% | ||
| Pro Evolution Soccer 2 | Konami | April 25, 2002 | PS2 | 93/100<ref name="Metacritic 2003"/> | 90.54%<ref name="GameRankings 2003"/> | ||
| NFL 2K3 | Sega | August 21, 2002 | PS2 | 93/100 | 88.1% | ||
| Super Mario Sunshine | Nintendo | August 26, 2002 | GCN | 92/100 | 91.5% | ||
| Metroid Fusion | Nintendo | November 18, 2002 | GBA | 92/100 | 91.21% | ||
| Eternal Darkness | Nintendo | June 23, 2002 | GCN | 92/100 | 90.58% | ||
| Madden NFL 2003 | EA Sports | August 12, 2002 | GCN | 92/100 | 90.47% | ||
| Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 | EA Sports | October 31, 2002 | WIN | 92/100 | 89.83% | ||
| Madden NFL 2003 | EA Sports | August 12, 2002 | XBOX | 92/100 | 89.57% | ||
| NFL 2K3 | Sega | August 21, 2002 | GCN | 92/100 | 89.45% | ||
| TimeSplitters 2 | Eidos Interactive | October 8, 2002 | PS2 | 90/100 | 91.67% | ||
| NCAA Football 2003 | EA Sports | July 20, 2002 | PS2 | 91/100 | 91.36% | ||
| Medal of Honor: Allied Assault | Electronic Arts | January 22, 2002 | WIN | 91/100 | 91.05% | ||
| No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way | Sierra Entertainment | September 30, 2002 | WIN | 91/100 | 91.03% | ||
| NCAA Football 2003 | EA Sports | July 20, 2002 | GCN | 91/100 | 90.57% | ||
| The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / Master Quest | Nintendo | December 13, 2002 | GCN | 91/100<ref name="Metacritic 2003"/> | 89.77%<ref name="GameRankings 2003"/> | ||
| Resident Evil | Capcom | March 22, 2002 | GCN | 91/100 | 89.75% | ||
| Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 | Nintendo | September 24, 2002 | GBA | 91/100 | 89.55% | ||
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 | Activision | October 23, 2002 | GCN | 91/100 | 89.39% | ||
| Neverwinter Nights | Infogrames | June 18, 2002 | WIN | 91/100 | 88.98% | ||
| Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 | EA Sports | October 27, 2002 | GCN | 90/100 | 90.55% | ||
| NBA 2K2 | Sega | March 20, 2002 | GCN | 90/100 | 90.53% | ||
| Panzer Dragoon Orta | Sega | December 19, 2002 | XBOX | 90/100<ref name="Metacritic 2003"/> | 90.36%<ref name="GameRankings 2003"/> | ||
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 | Activision | March 28, 2002 | WIN | 90/100 | 90.29% | ||
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 | Activision | October 23, 2002 | XBOX | 90/100 | 88.79% | ||
| NCAA Football 2003 | EA Sports | July 20, 2002 | XBOX | 90/100 | 88.79% | ||
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 | Activision | March 4, 2002 | GBA | 90/100 | 88.33% | ||
| Freedom Force | Electronic Arts | March 26, 2002 | WIN | 90/100 | 87.88% | ||
| NBA 2K2 | Sega | February 27, 2002 | XBOX | 90/100 | 86.91% | ||
| NFL 2K3 | Sega | August 21, 2002 | XBOX | N/A | 89.79% | ||
| Ratchet & Clank | Sony Computer Entertainment | November 4, 2002 | PS2 | 88/100 | 89.74% | ||
| Mafia | Gathering of Developers | August 27, 2002 | WIN | 88/100 | 89.51% | ||
| TimeSplitters 2 | Eidos Interactive | October 16, 2002 | GCN | 88/100 | 89.31% | ||
| The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind | Bethesda Softworks | May 1, 2002 | WIN | 89/100 | 89.01% | ||
| NBA 2K2 | Sega | January 12, 2002 | PS2 | 89/100 | 88.89% | ||
| Battlefield 1942 | Electronic Arts | September 10, 2002 | WIN | 89/100 | 88.67% | ||
| Age of Mythology | Microsoft Game Studios | October 30, 2002 | WIN | 89/100 | 88.67% | ||
| Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 | Electronic Arts | October 2, 2002 | PS2 | 89/100 | 88.01% | ||
| Madden NFL 2003 | EA Sports | August 12, 2002 | WIN | 89/100 | 87.64% | ||
| Combat Mission II: Barbarossa to Berlin | Battlefront.com | September 20, 2002 | WIN | 89/100 | 87.18% | ||
| NHL 2K3 | Sega | November 19, 2002 | XBOX | 89/100 | 86.86% | ||
| Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast | Activision | March 26, 2002 | WIN | 89/100 | 86.8% | ||
| NASCAR Racing 2002 Season | Sierra Entertainment | February 14, 2002 | WIN | 89/100 | 86.7% | ||
| NHL 2K3 | Sega | December 11, 2002 | GCN | 89/100 | 86.12% | ||
| NBA 2K3 | Sega | October 8, 2002 | PS2 | 89/100 | 85.81% | ||
| NHL 2K3 | Sega | November 10, 2002 | PS2 | 89/100 | 85.81% | ||
| Medieval: Total War | Activision | August 19, 2002 | WIN | 88/100 | 88.49% | ||
| Dark Chronicle | Sony Computer Entertainment | November 28, 2002 | PS2 | 87/100<ref name="Metacritic 2003"/> | 88.46%<ref name="GameRankings 2003"/> | ||
| Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 | EA Sports | October 27, 2002 | XBOX | 88/100 | 88.28% | ||
| Burnout 2: Point of Impact | Acclaim Entertainment | September 30, 2002 | PS2 | 86/100 | 88.22% | ||
| TimeSplitters 2 | Eidos Interactive | October 16, 2002 | XBOX | 88/100 | 88.12% | ||
| Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 | EA Sports | October 27, 2002 | PS2 | 88/100 | 87.9% | ||
| F1 2002 | EA Sports | June 13, 2002 | WIN | 88/100 | 86.93% | ||
| Medal of Honor: Frontline | Electronic Arts | May 29, 2002 | PS2 | 88/100 | 86.67% | ||
| Aggressive Inline | Acclaim Entertainment | July 31, 2002 | GCN | 88/100 | 86.47% | ||
| FIFA Football 2003 | Electronic Arts | November 1, 2002 | XBOX | 88/100 | 86.33% | ||
| Jet Set Radio Future | Sega | February 22, 2002 | XBOX | 88/100 | 85.97% | ||
| NBA Street | EA Sports | February 5, 2002 | GCN | 88/100 | 84.96% | ||
| FIFA Football 2003 | Electronic Arts | October 25, 2002 | PS2 | 88/100 | 82.9% |
Best-selling video games
| Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher | Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan<ref name=":0" /><ref name="EBsales">Template:Cite book</ref> | USA<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Europe | Worldwide | |||||
| 1 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | PS2 | Rockstar | Template:NA | 4,446,676 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref name=":7" /> |
5,796,677+ | |
| 2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup | EA Sports | Template:Unknown | 331,626 | Template:Unknown | 3,500,000+<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |||
| 3 | Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire | GBA | Nintendo | 3,197,762 | Template:NA | Template:NA | 3,197,762 | ||
| 4 | Madden NFL 2003 | PS2, XBOX, GCN, PS1 | EA Sports | Template:Unknown | 3,193,545 | Template:Unknown | 3,194,065+ | ||
| 5 | Kingdom Hearts | PS2 | Squaresoft | 838,323 | 1,190,152 | 1,161,677+<ref name="greatesthits" /><ref name=":0" /> | 3,190,152+ | ||
| 6 | FIFA Football 2003 | EA Sports | Template:NA | 261,238 | 2,500,000+<ref name=":8" /> | 2,761,238+ | |||
| 7 | Grand Theft Auto III | PS2, WIN | Rockstar | Template:NA | 2,412,997+ | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
2,712,997+ |
| 8 | Pro Evolution Soccer 2 (Winning Eleven 6) | PS2, PS1 | Konami | 1,693,519 | Template:Unknown | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
2,693,519+ | |
| 9 | Spider-Man: The Movie | PS2, XBOX, GCN | Activision | Template:NA | 1,987,038 | 300,000+<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":3" /> | 2,287,038+ | ||
| 10 | Super Mario Sunshine | GCN | Nintendo | 677,440 | 1,495,381<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /> | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
2,172,821+ | |
Japan
| CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref name="EBsales" /> |
Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Developer(s) | Publisher | Genre | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pokémon Ruby / Sapphire | GBA | Game Freak | Nintendo | RPG | 3,197,762 | |
| 2 | Winning Eleven 6 (Pro Evolution Soccer 2) | PS2, PS1 | Konami Tokyo | Konami | Sports | 1,693,519 | |
| 3 | Onimusha 2 (Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny) | PS2 | Capcom | Capcom | Hack and slash | 1,002,968 | |
| 4 | Kingdom Hearts | PS2 | Squaresoft | Squaresoft | Action RPG | 838,323 | |
| 5 | Shin Sangokumusou 2 (Dynasty Warriors 3) | PS2 | Omega Force | Koei | Hack and slash | 688,655 | |
| 6 | Mario Party 4 | GCN | Hudson Soft | Nintendo | Party | 677,890 | |
| 7 | Super Mario Sunshine | GCN | Nintendo EAD | Nintendo | Platformer | 677,440 | |
| 8 | Tales of Destiny 2 | PS2 | Wolf Team, Telenet | Namco | Action RPG | 662,699 | |
| 9 | Super Robot Taisen Impact (Super Robot Wars Impact) | PS2 | TOSE | Banpresto | SRPG | 632,536 | |
| 10 | From TV Animation - One Piece: Grand Battle! 2 | PS1 | Ganbarion | Bandai | Fighting | 545,506 |
United States
| CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":4"/> |
Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher | Genre | Sales | Revenue | Inflation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | PS2 | Rockstar | Action-adventure | 4,446,676 | Template:US$ | $Template:Inflation | |
| 2 | Madden NFL 2003 | PS2, XBOX, GCN, PS1 | EA Sports | Sports | {{#expr:2,412,996+424,280+181,345+174,924}} | Template:US$ | $Template:Inflation | |
| 3 | Grand Theft Auto III | PS2 | Rockstar | Action-adventure | 2,412,997+ | Template:US$+ | $Template:Inflation+ | |
| 4 | Spider-Man: The Movie | PS2, XBOX, GCN | Activision | Action-adventure | {{#expr:1,193,023+450,416+343,599}} | Template:US$ | $Template:Inflation | |
| 5 | Medal of Honor: Frontline | PS2, XBOX, GCN | EA Games | FPS | {{#expr:1,480,273+243,100+106,255}} | Template:US$ | $Template:Inflation | |
| 6 | Super Mario Sunshine | GCN | Nintendo | Platformer | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Template:US$ | $Template:Inflation |
| 7 | Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World | GBA | Nintendo | Platformer | 1,480,275+ | Template:US$+ | $Template:Inflation+ | |
| 8 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PS2 | Sony | Racing sim | 1,480,274+ | Template:US$+ | $Template:Inflation+ | |
| 9 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 | PS2, XBOX, GCN, PS1 | Activision | Sports | {{#expr:971,176+200,070+195,163+143,817}} | Template:US$ | $Template:Inflation | |
| 10 | NCAA Football 2003 | PS2, XBOX, GCN | EA Sports | Sports | {{#expr:868,515+234,736+94,153}} | Template:US$ | $Template:Inflation |
Europe
| Title | Platform(s) | Publisher | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":3" /> | Germany<ref name=":7">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Europe | ||
| FIFA Football 2003 | EA Sports | 300,000+ | Template:Unknown | 2,500,000+<ref name=":8">Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | PS2 | Konami | 300,000+ | 100,000+ | 1,570,000+<ref name=":9">Template:Cite news</ref> |
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | PS2 | Rockstar Games | 1,250,000+<ref name=":5" /> | 100,000+ | 1,350,000+ |
| Kingdom Hearts | PS2 | Sony | Template:Unknown | Template:Unknown | 1,161,677+<ref name="greatesthits">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=":0" /> |
| Pro Evolution Soccer 2 | PS2 | Konami | Template:Unknown | Template:Unknown | 1,000,000+<ref name="multiplayer"/> |
| Medal of Honor: Frontline | EA Games | 300,000+ | 100,000+ | 400,000+ | |
| Grand Theft Auto III | PS2, WIN | Rockstar Games | 300,000+ | Template:Unknown | 300,000+ |
| Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | EA Games | 300,000+ | Template:Unknown | 300,000+ | |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | EA Games | 300,000+ | Template:Unknown | 300,000+ | |
| Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PS2 | Sony | 300,000+ | Template:Unknown | 300,000+ |
| Rank | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | PS2 | Rockstar Games | 1,250,000+<ref name=":5" /> |
| 2 | FIFA Football 2003 | EA Sports | 300,000+ | |
| 3 | Grand Theft Auto III | PS2, WIN | Rockstar Games | 300,000+ |
| 4 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | EA Games | 300,000+ | |
| 5 | Medal of Honor: Frontline | EA Games | 300,000+ | |
| 6 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | EA Games | 300,000+ | |
| 7 | Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | PS2 | Konami | 300,000+ |
| 8 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PS2 | Sony | 300,000+ |
| 9 | Spider-Man: The Movie | Activision | 300,000+ | |
| 10 | Monsters, Inc. | GBA, GBC | THQ | 300,000+ |
| Title | Publisher | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Final Fantasy X | Sony | 100,000+ |
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | Rockstar Games | 100,000+ |
| Medal of Honor: Frontline | EA Games | 100,000+ |
| Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | Konami | 100,000+ |
Australia
| Rank | Australia<ref name="Australia">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Platform | Publisher | ||
| 1 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 | PS2 | Activision | |
| 2 | Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec | PS2 | Sony | |
| 3 | V8 Supercars: Race Driver | PS2 | Codemasters | |
| 4 | Gran Turismo 3 | PS2 | Sony | |
| 5 | Medal of Honor: Frontline | PS2 | Electronic Arts | |
| 6 | Halo: Combat Evolved | XBOX | Microsoft | |
| 7 | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City | PS2 | Rockstar | |
| 8 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | PS1 | Electronic Arts | |
| 9 | Grand Theft Auto III | PS2 | Rockstar | |
| 10 | Gran Turismo 2 | PS1 | Sony | |
Events
- Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Will Wright of Maxis to the AIAS Hall of Fame.
- BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) holds 5th annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards for multimedia technologies; 10 of 21 awards go to video games; awards Ian Livingstone the BAFTA Interactive Special Award.
- Big Fish Games is founded with Paul Thelen as the only employee.
- Eidos Interactive selects Dutch model Jill De Jong as the new digitized Lara Croft character.
- Gama Network hosts the 4th annual Independent Games Festival (IGF).
- Game Developers Conference hosts the 2nd annual Game Developers Choice Awards.
- SEGA establishes the Sega Mobile division to develop, produce, and distribute video games for mobile phones and PDAs; establishes the Sega.com Business Solutions division to service video game developers and publishers.
- Rockstar Games embroiled in controversy for its Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City video games.
- Early 2002 – Titus Software buys out Interplay Entertainment's European operations, owning the rights to publish their games in Europe and also owning 100% of Virgin Interactive. They also buy a majority stake in Interplay.
- March 22 – The Sims overtakes Myst as all-time best-selling computer game, having sold 6.3 million units. [1]
- March 25 – GameTrailers, an American video gaming website is launched.
- April 24 – G4 Media, LLC (subsidiary of Comcast Corporation) launches the G4 cable television video game network channel.
- May 14 – Virgin Interactive España is split up from its parent Titus Software and renames to Virgin Play, becoming the first "100% Spanish" game distributor and publisher.
- May 22–24 – 8th annual E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo);<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> the 5th annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E3.
- July – IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) hosts 3rd annual Executive Summit.
- July 29 – Greece passed Law 3037/2002 which outlawed electronic games being played in public in attempt to fight illegal gambling in the country. The controversial law was repealed in 2011.
- September 24 – Microsoft purchases Rare for $375 million.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- October 28-November 3 – The 2002 World Cyber Games are held.