2002 in video games
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
Notable releases
- January 22 - Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (PC)
- February 11 - Maximo: Ghosts to Glory (PS2)
- March 4 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (GBA, Xbox)
- March 25 - Global Operations (PC)
- March 26 - Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (PC)
- March 28 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PC)
- March 31 - Dungeon Siege (PC)
- April 30 - Resident Evil (GC)
- May 2 - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC)
- May 16 - Final Fantasy XI (Japan) (PS2)
- May 20 - Grand Theft Auto III (PC)
- May 20 - Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix (PC)
- May 28 - Medal of Honor: Frontline (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 13 - Aliens versus Predator 2: Primal Hunt (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 29 - Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven (PC)
- September 4 - Icewind Dale II (PC)
- September 10 - Battlefield 1942 (PC)
- September 15 - Animal Crossing (GC)
- September 17 - Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
- September 23 - Tekken 4 (PS2)
- September 24 - Unreal Championship (Xbox)
- September 30 - Burnout 2: Point of Impact (PS2)
- September 30 - No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way (PC)
- September 30 - Unreal Tournament 2003 (PC)
- October 1 - Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (GC, PC, PS2, Xbox)
- October 9 - TimeSplitters 2 (PS2)
- October 15 - Red Faction II (PS2)
- October 16 - TimeSplitters 2 (GC, Xbox)
- October 22 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (Xbox)
- October 23 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (GC, PS2, Xbox)
- October 25 - Civilization III: Play the World (PC)
- October 27 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2)
- October 28 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (GBA)
- November 1 - Age of Mythology (PC)
- November 4 - Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Xbox)
- November 4 - Ratchet & Clank (PS2)
- November 6 - The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal (PC)
- November 10 - Medal of Honor: Frontline (GC, Xbox)
- November 10 - Resident Evil 0 (GC)
- November 10 - Serious Sam (Xbox)
- November 11 - MechAssault (Xbox)
- November 11 - Medal of Honor: Allied Assault: Spearhead (PC)
- November 15 - Metroid Prime (GC)
- November 18 - Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (GC)
- November 18 - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Xbox)
- November 20 - Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (GC, Xbox)
- November 20 - Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (PS2)
- December 13 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Japan) (GC)
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 just start works.
- 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
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:
Handheld game systems
The dominant handheld system in 2002 was Nintendo's Game Boy Advance.
Video game sales
The top 10 selling console video games in 2002 in the United States ranked by units sold, according to NPD, were:
| 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 |