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The 2000s in video gaming is the current decade of video games. This decade has been primarily dominated by Sony, Nintendo, the newcomer Microsoft and their respected systems. Sega, being Nintendo's main rival in the 1980s and 1990s, left the console market in 2002 in favor of returning to the third party company they once were. Overall the decade has seen the last of the low resolution three dimensional polygons of the 1990s and has entered the realm of High Definition games, and has often focused on developing immersive and interactive environments, implementing realistic physics, and improving artificial intelligence.¹²

Contents 1 Consoles of the 2000s 1.1 Sixth generation consoles 1.2 Seventh generation consoles 2 Games of the 2000s 2.1 3D gaming 2.2 Computer games 2.3 Interactive gaming 2.4 Rhythm games 2.5 MMORPGs 3 Controversial mature-content in gaming 4 Best-selling video games of the 2000s 5 References

Consoles of the 2000s

Sixth generation consoles

Main article: History of video game consoles (sixth generation)

The sixth generation of video games officially began in 1998 with the introduction of the short-lived Dreamcast, which was discontinued in 2001 due to disappointing sales. Sega announced that they would no longer produce video game consoles after 2 straight underperforming consoles and became a third-party developer. The PlayStation 2 was released in 2000 and became the best-selling video game console of all time. The console is still produced. Microsoft entered the home console market with the Xbox. Although initially expected to struggle, it vaulted into a solid second place behind the PS2 on the strength of the launch title Halo: Combat Evolved. The Nintendo GameCube, launched in 2001 alongside the Xbox, fell into third place, a first for Nintendo. The Game Boy Advance was launched as a replacement for the Game Boy Color in 2001.

The sixth generation improved on the 3D graphics of the fifth generation consoles as an era of many 128-bit games. Some of the new features in the consoles included built-in DVD players and hard drives.³⁴ Internet play on consoles, pioneered by the Dreamcast, became commercially viable with the Xbox Live system, which was launched in November 2002, one year after the console's release. It featured a broadband connection and downloadable content and was a major success.

Seventh generation consoles

Main article: History of video game consoles (seventh generation)

The seventh generation of consoles began with the release of the Xbox 360 in 2005. This was followed by the Wii and the PlayStation 3 in 2006. The seventh-generation featured widespread implementation of HD-ready graphics, media centers, and wireless game controllers, as well as complete online service for all consoles. The PS3 also has Blu-ray Disc compatibility. The Wii implemented an innovative game controller that features full motion sensitivity and is wielded like a remote, with limited button interaction. In response, the PS3 features tilt-sensitive controllers.

Nintendo continued to dominate the handheld console market with the release of the dual-screen Nintendo DS in 2004. One of the screens is a touchscreen. The PlayStation Portable, released in 2005 by Sony, was the first serious competitor to Nintendo's handheld gaming consoles and is by far the best-selling non-Nintendo handheld.

Games of the 2000s

3D gaming

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By the turn of the century, the only genres of gaming that were predominantly 3-dimensional were role-playing games (RPGs) and first-person shooters (FPSs). The real-time strategy (RTS) genre had seen its first successful 3D release, Homeworld, in 1999, although it wasn't until the 2002 releases of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Age of Mythology that 3D became the standard for the genre. Today, it is nearly impossible for any 2d RTS game to succeed in the market.^{citation needed}

Computer games

The Sims, released by Maxis in 2000, sold more than 6.3 million copies worldwide by March 22, 2002, to become the best-selling PC game in history, surpassing Myst.⁵ After Electronic Arts bought Maxis, the company produced numerous expansions, turning The Sims franchise, which has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide as of April 16, 2008,⁶ into the best-selling PC franchise in history as of March 19, 2008.⁷

Interactive gaming

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Nintendo has led the market in console interactivity. The handheld Nintendo DS, released in 2004, features a touchscreen. Game interactivity took a major step forward with the introduction of the motion-sensitive Wii Remote with the Nintendo Wii in 2006. The PS3 introduced a tilt-sensitive controller on its release as well.

The 2000s has also seen the implementation of physics engines and increasing in-game interactivity into video gaming. Red Faction, a first-person shooter (FPS) released in 2001 for the PS2 and the PC, features one of the earliest examples of destructible environments in video gaming through its use of "Geo-Mod" technology. Certain sections of walls could be destroyed to provide alternate pathways or reveal hidden locations. Half-Life 2, released in 2004, is widely considered to have revolutionized physics in gaming with its Havok engine, which allowed for what was at the time widespread interactivity with objects in the environment of the game, although very little of the environment was destructible. The Havok engine brought realistic physics implementations to real-time strategy (RTS) with Age of Empires III in 2005. Black, a console FPS released in early 2006, allowed the player's weapons to extensively damage the environment. The PC games Company of Heroes (an RTS), released in late 2006, and Crysis (an FPS), released in 2007, both extended the implementation of physics in video gaming, featuring environments that were nearly entirely destructible and interactive. Since the use of physics engines has greatly increased since around 2004, so has the level of interactivity and destructibility in video games.

Rhythm games

The rhythm game genre took off in the late 1990s with Beatmania in 1997 and Dance Dance Revolution in 1998. Although beginning their lives in arcades, they made the move to the home console market and each spawned a number of sequels and spinoffs. The popularity of rhythm games accelerated in the mid-2000s, led primarily by Guitar Hero, which was released in 2005 and featured a guitar-like controller and licensed soundtracks. Initially available only for the PS2, its sequels have expanded the franchise to include all consoles. The developer of the first two Guitar Hero games went on to create Rock Band in 2007, which expanded the concept to include drums and vocals. Guitar Hero World Tour, released in 2008, added drums and vocals as well, largely in an effort to compete with Rock Band. The independent game Audiosurf, released in 2008, allows the user to play their own mp3 files and maneuver a spaceship-like object across a track to hit the music "notes".

MMORPGs

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Although massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) began in the 1990s with such titles as Ultima Online (1997), Everquest (1999), and Asheron's Call (1999), during the 2000s, MMORPGs became a dominant genre among PC gaming. Phantasy Star Online, released on the Dreamcast in 2000 and later ported to the Xbox, GameCube, and PC, popularized MMORPGs for consoles, although it remains a PC-dominated genre. MMORPGs feature persistent worlds, player-driven economies, frequent content updates, and massive servers that contain thousands of players. Most MMOs also feature monthly fees to help with the massive costs required to maintain and continually upgrade the games. The MMO genre has gained much of its success by cashing in on previous popular titles (such was the case with Ultima Online and Phantasy Star Online) with such titles as Final Fantasy XI (2002), Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (2003), World of Warcraft (2004), The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (2007), Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (2008), Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (2008), and the in-development titles Star Trek Online and Warhammer 40,000 Online. World of Warcraft, released in 2004, has established itself as one of the most popular games on the PC and set what are now the generally-accepted standards for the genre. Lineage II has established a large market outside of the United States, particularly in Asia, and is the second-most popular MMO worldwide.^{citation needed} MMOs free of monthly charge, including MapleStory (2003), and Guild Wars (2004) have also proven to be popular.

MMOFPSs have also been developed, although they have not gained nearly the popularity that MMORPGs have. Perhaps the two most successful games of this genre have been World War II Online (2001) and PlanetSide (2003).

Controversial mature-content in gaming

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Main article: Video game controversy

The Grand Theft Auto series, notable for many violent and sexual plotlines, was a best-seller of the 2000s. The series' popularity sparked a fad of several Mature-rated video games based on including gang warfare, drug use, and perceived "senseless violence" into the gameplay. The Hot Coffee controversy, a sex mini-game, was discovered in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and caused widespread controversy and have fueled efforts to ban the sale of Mature-rated games to minors. The effort has been spearheaded by mothers, lawmakers, and activists (such as Jack Thompson), although all such efforts to pass any laws concerning this have been firmly struck down. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was originally an M-rated game, but due to much controversy was later turned into an AO-rated game.⁸ However, the game was changed and was re-released as an M-rated game again.

Best-selling video games of the 2000s

Platform key
DC	Dreamcast
GB	Game Boy
GBA	Game Boy Advance
GBC	Game Boy Color
GCN	Nintendo GameCube
iPod	iPod
Lin	Linux
Mac	Macintosh personal computer
NDS	Nintendo DS
PS1	PlayStation
PS2	PlayStation 2
PS3	PlayStation 3
PSP	PlayStation Portable
Wii	Wii
Win	Windows-based personal computer
XB	Xbox
X360	Xbox 360

See also: List of best-selling video games

This is a list of video games that were released in the 2000s and have sold over ten million copies.

• Wii Sports (Wii, 2006 – 21.56 million,⁹ packaged with system in all regions except Japan)
• Nintendogs (NDS, 2005 – 18.67 million)⁹
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2, 2002 – 17.5 million,¹⁰ includes PC and Xbox versions)
• The Sims (PC, 2000 – 16 million shipped)¹¹
• Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (PS2, 2001 – 14.89 million shipped)¹²
• Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (NDS, 2006 – 14.77 million)⁹
• Pokémon Gold and Silver (GB, 1999 – 14.51 million approximately, 7.6 million in US,¹³ 6.91 million in Japan)¹⁴
• Grand Theft Auto III (PS2, 2001 – 14.5 million,¹⁰ includes PC and Xbox versions)
• New Super Mario Bros. (NDS, 2006 – 14.16 million)⁹
• Lineage II (PC, 2003 – 14 million customers)¹⁵
• Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (GBA, 2002 – 13 million)¹⁶
• The Sims 2 (PC, 2004 – 13 million)¹⁷
• Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! (NDS, 2005 – 12.98 million)⁹
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, 2004 – 12 million)¹⁸
• Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (GBA, 2004 – 11.82 million)⁹
• Wii Play (Wii, 2006 – 11.51 million)⁹
• World of Warcraft (PC, 2004 – 11 million subscribers)¹⁹
• Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! (NDS, 2005 – 10.83 million)⁹
• Mario Kart DS (NDS, 2005 – 10.45 million)⁹
• Gran Turismo 4 (PS2, 2004 – 10.06 million shipped)¹²

References

v • d • e History of video games By generation First (1972–1977) · Second (1976–1984) · Video game crash of 1983 · Third (1983–1992) · Fourth (1987–1996) · Fifth (1993–2002) · Sixth (1998–2006) · Seventh (2004–) By decade 1990s · 2000s By year Years prior to 1972  · 1970 1971 1972 · 1973 · 1974 · 1975 · 1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989 1990 · 1991 · 1992 · 1993 · 1994 · 1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 2010

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