2002 in video gaming Information & 2002 in video gaming Links at HealthHaven.com

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The year 2002 in video gaming saw the release of many games to sixth-generation video game consoles, predominately, the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.

[edit] 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.
8th annual E³ (Electronic Entertainment Expo); the 5th annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E³
Eidos Interactive selects Dutch model Jill De Jong as the new digitized Lara Croft character
G4 Media, LLC (subsidiary of Comcast Corporation) launches the G4 cable television video game network channel
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
March 22 — The Sims overtakes Myst as all-time best-selling computer game, having sold 6.3 million units [1]
July - IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association) hosts 3rd annual Executive Summit

[edit] Business

January 2 – Cyberactive Media, publishers of GameWeek, is closed down.
February 19 — Sierra Entertainment, Inc. renamed from Sierra On-Line
May 10 — Tiwak renamed from Yeti Interactive
November 15 — Xbox Live, the largest online network for video game consoles is launched.
November 26 — Squaresoft and Enix announces a fusion. The new name is Square Enix.
Activision acquires Luxoflux Corporation, Gray Matter Interactive Studios, Shaba Games LLC, and Z-Axis Ltd.
Empire Interactive PLC acquires eJay AG (renamed eJay Entertainment GmbH)
Infogrames Entertainment SA acquires Eden Studios and Shiny Entertainment
Microsoft acquires Rare Ltd.
PCCW: Jaleco USA merges with its VR1 Entertainment (renamed Jaleco Entertainment) division
Sony Corporation acquires Aiwa Corporation
Vivendi Universal acquires Massive Entertainment
Bankrupt/Defunct: Encore Software, Inc. (assets acquired by Navarre Corporation)
.400 Software Studios founded
Realtime Worlds Founded by David Jones

[edit] Notable releases

Video game platforms

GBA	Game Boy Advance
GCN	Nintendo GameCube

PS2	PlayStation 2
Win	Microsoft Windows

Xbox	Xbox

North American release dates:

February 22 - Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox)
March 4 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (GBA, Xbox)
March 26 - Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (PC)
March 31 - Dungeon Siege (PC)
April 30 - Resident Evil Remake (GC)
May 2 - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC)
May 16 - Final Fantasy XI (Japan) (PS2)
June 1 - The House of the Dead III (Arcade)
June 6 - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Xbox)
June 16 - Neverwinter Nights (PC)
July 3 - Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (PC)
August 19 - Medieval: Total War (PC)
August 25 - Super Mario Sunshine (GC)
August 25 - Super Monkey Ball 2 (GC)
August 27 - SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs (PS2)
August 28 - Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven (PC)
September 10 - Battlefield 1942 (PC)
September 15 - Animal Crossing (GC)
September 17 - Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
September 23 - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (PS2)
September 23 - Tekken 4 (PS2)
September 30 - No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.'s Way (PC)
October 9 - TimeSplitters 2 (PS2)
October 22 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (Xbox)
October 27 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2)
November 1 - Age of Mythology (PC)
November 4 - Ratchet & Clank (PS2)
November 6 - The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal (PC)
November 10 - Resident Evil 0 (GC)
November 11 - MechAssault (Xbox)
November 15 - Metroid Prime (GC)
November 18 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (GC)
November 18 - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Xbox)
November 20 - Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (PS2, Xbox, GBA)
December 13 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Japan) (GC)

[edit] 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.

[edit] Video game consoles

The dominant video game consoles in 2002 were:

[edit] Handheld game systems

The dominant handheld system in 2002 was Nintendo's Game Boy Advance.

[edit] Video game sales

The top 10 selling console video games in 2002 in the United States ranked by units sold, according to NPD, were:

**Top Grossing Video Games of 2002**
Rank	Title	Platform	Publisher
1	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	PS2	Rockstar Games
2	Grand Theft Auto III	PS2	Rockstar Games
3	Madden NFL 2003	PS2	Electronic Arts
4	Super Mario Advance 2	GBA	Nintendo
5	Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec	PS2	Sony
6	Medal of Honor: Frontline	PS2	Electronic Arts
7	Spider-Man: The Movie	PS2	Activision
8	Kingdom Hearts	PS2	Squaresoft
9	Halo: Combat Evolved	Xbox	Microsoft
10	Super Mario Sunshine	GameCube	Nintendo

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